309 Devon Street West (1938)

Located on the corner of Devon Street West and Cutfield Road, this is one of New Plymouth's most distinctive single-storey Art Deco/Moderne homes.

A permit was granted by the Borough Council to Mrs Olive Blache Cave on 14 September 1938 for the construction of house on Lot 1, Town Section 228A, Devon Street & Cutfield Road. The builder was F. Ward and the estimated construction cost was £960. The original wooden windows have since been replaced with aluminium.

The site had previously been home to Chetwode School. Originally established by Miss Margaret Roser in 1893 and known as 'New Plymouth Ladies' College', it was the only private girls' boarding school in New Plymouth and charged £18 per term. Miss Edith Owen Stanford (1865-1946) took over in January 1898 and by the end of that year the name had changed to Chetwode School. Miss Stanford ran the school until it's closure on 28 January 1919, when it merged with St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls in Stratford. Pupils at Chetwode were offered an education in subjects including music, languages, scripture, drawing and gardening and held regular reunions for many years.

Chetwode House was sold in June 1919 for about £2200 then used to provide temporary accommodation for returned soldiers. By 1936 a Chetwode Private Hotel was operating on the site under proprietor Mrs B. Phillips.

It appears that the section that this house is sited on what was part of the school grounds, with the large schoolhouse located on the corner of Cutfield Road and Powderham Street. The large residence was finally demolished in January 1960. 

Related items:

Town Section 228A, Taranaki Land Deed Index I3 Page 47. (Archives New Zealand)

Taranaki (Lot 1) DP5731 Sheet 1 (1938), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)