38 Winchester Street is a double bay square villa, with an attractive porch (decorated with unusual iron lace work) in Lyttelton’s Residential Conservation area. It was built by Holliss and Brown (Lyttelton Architect-Builders) at the turn of the 19th century. The building has had a chequered past, one that is now secure, thanks to the Lyttelton community caring about its heritage and its new owners Dr. and Mrs. Buckett.
Built for Lyttelton’s first Town Clerk: George Lewin (born in Lyttelton, 1867);a journalist for 17 years George Lewin was correspondent for the Lyttelton Times. He entered the Borough Council in 1896 and was appointed Town Clerk in 1899. The Lewins were a well respected Lyttelton family; George’s father, Captain John Lewin, was head pilot for Lyttelton Harbour. They were very much involved with Lyttelton’s New Year’s Day regattas, a huge annual event. In 1867 (the year the rail tunnel opened) the trains were packed to double capacity bringing 3000 people to the event! During George Lewin’s time over 10,000 people attended Regatta Day and Captain and Mrs Lewin had four sittings for midday lunch! George was secretary for the organising committee for 12 years. As well as the yacht races, people enjoyed fireworks and the spectacle of old hulks being blown up as added attractions. 1892 saw the old barge, Sumner, end in this way. George Lewin left Lyttelton in 1911 to become Town Clerk of Dunedin until 1937.
John Eli Wilson, Lyttelton shipping clerk lived here from 1911 until 1930, then Laura Alice Carson and her husband William came to live here. William was Lyttelton’s plumber; his family was much involved with Lyttelton’s volunteer fire brigade. In 1946 William died, so Laura let out rooms to Nurse Schen, the District nurse, who is well remembered by older Lyttelton residents as a busy, no-nonsense lady who struck fear into the hearts of the sensitive children undergoing her regular school checks.
In 1964 Laura sold the house to the Returned Services Association. The R.S.A adapted the front of the house for their clubrooms, which they enjoyed for almost 35 years; it would have been a lot more comfortable for them than the hall on Norwich Quay. However, by 2001, due to declining membership, they could no longer afford its upkeep, in December 2001 the house was sold. The R.S.A flagpole was taken down and re-sited at the Lyttelton Cenotaph for Anzac day services.
This house, along with many other historic buildings in Lyttelton is listed in the appendix V of Banks Peninsula District Council’s (BPDC) District Plan. This itemises all the notable buildings and what is special about them. The Council had identified two historic precincts in Lyttelton and developed guidelines for their protection (as part of their statutory responsibilities under the Resource Management Act - R.M.A). The two areas are RC: Residential Conservation area and TC: Town Centre area.
The Council’s District Plan outlined: “historical and cultural elements of the district and wishes to retain and preserve Cultural and historical heritage provides the context for community identity and enables people to relate to their physical environment and history… historical heritage provides visible evidence of the continuity of past, present and future. The community has indicated it values those them.”
38 Winchester Street is notable for ‘architectural significance’, ‘group significance’ and ‘landmark significance’. In the District Plan the Council is required to recognise and protect heritage values of structures, buildings, places and sites, that have architectural, historical or cultural significance due to the irreplaceable nature of these items and the irreversibility of destruction.
Unfortunately, the developers who bought the house did not seem to understand this and applied to BPDC to demolish the house in 2002. The Lyttelton community sent the Council a petition of over 400 signatures in opposition. The NZ Historic Places Trust’s Heritage Advisor supported the local residents in their submission to save the house.
Contrary to widespread belief and misrepresentation, the Historic Places Trust is not about making people live in ‘museums, it does not stop them from adapting old houses into comfortable homes: they prefer adaptive reuse to an old building standing empty, threatened by decay and vandalism. The local authority has the statutory power (RMA 1991). Historic Places Trust advises local authorities with the reasons why heritage places should be valued and cared for appropriately.
If people value their historic homes, they can nominate them for registration with the H.P.T. who will provide a free service researching its history and after public notification register those that they think appropriate. Category 1 is a place of outstanding significance (e.g., Timeball Station / Torpedo Boat Museum) Category 2 is a significant place (e.g., Warders House: Oxford Street, Grubb Cottage: London Street, Old Post Office: Norwich Quay). Historic areas can be registered (as in Akaroa) and wahi tapu (a place of great significance to Maori). Historic Places Trust informs the public about NZ’s heritage, it does not necessarily prevent places from being demolished or neglected but can help councils make an informed decision about heritage protection. Registration of a heritage building makes H.P.T. an ‘affected party’ so if demolition or major development is planned the local authorities notify the Trust who can then make a submission.
So in the case of 38, Winchester Street, Banks Peninsula District Council organised a hearing so everyone involved could talk about their submission and give their opinions, including the developers. On 15th April 2003, after considering all the submissions, the Council declined the application for demolition.
The house was sold to the current owners who have just completed the building of their new home at the back of the section. Their next project is to restore the old house with fresh paint work and then polish the beautiful Kauri doors and floors so the house can become a new home once again.
