Becklands (1896)

Becklands is a homestead in Inglewood built for Dr. Thomas Harcourt Ambrose Valintine in 1896. The property - including just over 21 acres of land - had been surveyed off earlier that year by Mr.R.H. Davies.

According to a short article published in the Waitara & Inglewood Press in 1988, the house originally had eight bedrooms and five open fireplaces. It goes on to say, "The piles were of split stone with 4 x 4 ground plates and 6 x 2 floor joists. The 10 foot stud ceilings were of rimu as were the partitions, and the studs were all morticed and nailed with four inch long sqaure nails."

Mr Ian Strang has provided the following information about changes in the ownership of the house:

1904 - Eleanor Eliza Nops

1907 (June) - Thomas Vernon Venables

1907 (October) - Frederick and Emily Bennett (Previous owners of the Coffee Palace in Inglewood. At this time the homestead was valued at £816.00 and the land value was £880.00.  Frederick died suddenly in 1912; his wife Emily remained in the house until it was sold)

1919 - Mary Elizabeth Weston

1920 - Harold Albert Bishop

1922 - Arthur Augustus Drake (Sold for £4,050.00)

1957 - Francis Dudley Drake

In 1988 the property (now with only 10 acres) had a valuation of $299,000.

The entrance to the house was originally from Mahoe Street. A short section of Mahoe Street has been renamed Becklands Place, after the historic homestead.