Lock's Cottage was one of four cottages constructed on Education Reserve land at the top of Standish Street during 1900-1901 by or for William Dawson Webster.
It seems Webster had leased the block bounded by Standish Street, Barrett Street, Wallace Place and Frankley Road since at least 1894, but it had remained vacant (and was probably grazed) until late 1900 or early 1901 when Webster had four cottages erected on the Standish Street frontage.
The 1900-01 New Plymouth Borough Council rates book notes the value of the property as £18, with no houses noted as being present. However, by the following 1901-02 rating year, the value of the property has increased to £70, and four houses are noted as being present.
The first mention of the four cottages is an advertisement in the Taranaki Daily News listing for sale the lease of "Education Reserve of 2½ acres with 4 new cottages of 4-rooms each, returning over £2 per week". The advertisement was first placed by land agent R. Barr Brown in early April 1901 and appeared for several months; it is unclear if they were sold at this time.
The four cottages were again listed for sale in September 1905, when several advertisements were placed listing for sale "4 cottages, ¼ acre each" on Standish Hill.
Whilst only two of the cottages survive, as a pair, they add significant value to this part of Standish Street and are relatively rare examples of early 1900s workers cottages in New Plymouth.
Related items:
Draft Heritage Assessment, Lock’s Cottage, 23 Standish Street New Plymouth (Hamish Crimp)
Taranaki DP655 Sheet 1, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Taranaki DP4023 Sheet 1, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
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