Miss Lane's Cottage, 105 Pendarves Street (circa 1910)

This house was constructed for developers E. Gilmour and others in early 1910 - the earliest known photograph of the building is a panoramic from Boys High taken circa 1912 (see linked).

A permit was granted to 'Gilmour & Others' on 16 March 1910 for the construction of a 'dwelling house' on Part Town Section 1628 Eliot Street (should be Pendarves Street) - W. Howson was the builder, and the estimated construction cost was noted as just £89 - perhaps a little understated.

In late April 1910, the property was subdivided and the eastern portion with the present cottage, likely still under construction, was conveyed from Gilmour and others to Miss Katherine Louisa Hamerton. Miss Hamerton didn’t occupy the house herself and rented it out during her period of ownership.

As was typical for cottages of this style in other New Zealand localities, early occupants were principally members of the working class; in the case of this house, members of the skilled working class. The house first seems to appear in street directories in 1913, with cabinetmaker Albert Roch listed as the occupier, followed by tailor James Charles Clarke in 1915 and 1916, Ernest A. Phillips in 1917, and Miss W. Jamieson in 1918 and 1919.

In May 1919 the property was purchased from Miss Hamerton by engineer Henry John Anthony, who resided in the house himself. Anthony only retained ownership for a little over a year before the house was conveyed to Miss Alice Maude Lane. Little is known about Miss Lane, although she never married and lived in the property for a considerable period until the 1950s.

This is the only building of this age and style in New Plymouth. 

See: Taranaki Land Deeds Index I13, page 96; also Deeds Plan 49.

Related items:

Miss Lane's Cottage, 105 Pendarves Street New Plymouth, Draft Heritage Assessment (Hamish Crimp, 2019).

A Panoramic View of New Plymouth from the High School (Auckland Weekly News 14 November 1912), E.J. Neil. Collection of Puke Ariki (ARC2003-1160)

Taranaki DEED9 Sheet 1, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DEED49 Sheet 1 (1929), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)