HERITAGE STATEMENT 37 VALLEY ROAD – DAME NGAIO MARSH HOUSE PHOTOGRAPH C. 2005 Statement of Heritage Significance Situated at 37 Valley Road, Cashmere, Dame Ngaio Marsh House and its setting (being the immediate land parcel) is listed in the Christchurch City Plan as a Group 3 protected heritage item. Originally named ‘Marton Cottage’, the dwelling is of social and historical value because it is associated with Dame Ngaio Marsh who lived there all her life and wrote many of her novels there. Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982) was one of New Zealand’s leading figures in literary and theatrical history. Marsh received the O.B.E in 1948 for her services to New Zealand theatre, and was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1966. Marsh’s reputation also extends to the international stage; she was world-renowned as a leading crime fiction writer and as an eminent Shakespearian producer. Marsh also attended the Canterbury College School of Art and painted with “The Group” in Christchurch in the late 1920s and 1930s. Marsh was therefore painting with artists such as Olivia Spencer-Bower, Evelyn Page, Rata Lovell-Smith and Louise Henderson. Spencer-Bower painted several portraits of Marsh as an artist and depicted her as a modern and independent artist (Hearnshaw & King, 1996). Cultural value is attributed to the residential dwelling at 37 Valley Road as Marsh is recognised in the community consciousness for her outstanding contribution to literature, theatre and the visual arts. In the 1930s Marsh was crowned as one of the 'Queens of Crime' alongside such figures as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Marsh has also been recognised with the naming of places and institutions after her; for example as the University of Canterbury’s Theatre in 1967, and more recently a Retirement Village in Christchurch. In 1972 Marsh came out of semi-retirement to direct Henry V for the gala opening of the new Christchurch Town Hall. The dwelling at 37 Valley Road is of architectural and aesthetic value. Designed in 1906 for Marsh’s parents Henry and Rose Marsh, the architect was none other than notable New Zealand architect Samuel Hurst Seager. There is an interesting connection between the architect and this dwelling as Rose Marsh (nee Seager) was Samuel Hurst Seager’s cousin, and he apparently did not charge for his work. Samuel Hurst Seager (1855-1933) studied at Canterbury College and at London University College. Hurst Seager worked part time for the architects A W Simpson and B W Mountfort, and after pursuing further training eventually established his own firm (Lochhead 2002). Although the house has been altered over the years from the basic four-roomed bungalow, the interior is largely intact and is fine Arts and Crafts interior. Additions to Dame Ngaio Marsh House have been undertaken by other respected architectural firms such as Helmore and Cotterill in 1948, and Don Donnithorne. Donnithorne’s later alterations were made in order to provide a space where Marsh could live almost entirely on the ground floor due to her failing health (Quigley, 1993). The garden setting and the contents of the house are also integral to the buildings architectural and aesthetic significance as it reflects the interests and lifestyle of Dame Ngaio Marsh. The garden setting is also important as it is recorded that Dame Ngaio enjoyed the garden and in particular liked to walk around the flower beds. There are three terraced cultivated beds separated by grass lawn and stone retaining walls. Dame Ngaio Marsh House has contextual value as it is one of many Hurst Seager designed homes in the suburb of Cashmere. There is also a connection to other protected homes in the Cashmere Hills area that are associated with important women writers such as Mary Ursula Bethell, and Jessie MacKay. Technological and craftsmanship value is of significance to Dame Ngaio House as the dwelling has retained much of its Arts and Crafts domestic architectural features. Marsh herself wrote of her memories of the dwelling at 37 Valley Road in her autobiography Black Beech and Honeydew. Marsh states: “The new house smelt of the linseed oil with which the panelled walls had been treated and the timber itself…The living room was biggish. There were recesses in its bronze wooden walls and there was a pleasant balance between them and the windows.” (quote used in Quigley, 1993) References: CCC heritage files and plans Hearnshaw, V., & King, J. (1996) . Art New Zealand. Ngaio Marsh Painting. Lochhead, I. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography ‘Seager, Samuel Hurst 1855-1933’., updated 22 April 2002. URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ Quigley, M. (1993). Historic Places. A Loved Home. March 1993. pp.22-25 Assessment Completed: 09.09.2009 Author: Sarah Dwyer .