The house at 16 Ngatitama Street, Nelson has architectural significance as a residential design by A.R. Griffin, an architect who significantly shaped the look of Nelson in the decades before World War Two. The house exemplifies the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement in New Zealand residential architecture. Arthur Reynold Griffin (1883-1967) was the grandson of John Griffin, the founder of Griffin & Sons Ltd, the Nelson-based biscuit company. Born and raised in Nelson, A.R. Griffin trained in architecture via the International Correspondence School based in Pennsylvania in the United States. Simultaneously, he worked as a draughtsman in the offices of JD and L Robertson before setting up his own offices in the Norwich Union Chambers. His work in Nelson was diverse and prolific including the Nelson Institute (1911; List No. 1603), the former Nelson Hospital (1925) and Nurses Home (1916), and the Church Steps (1913; List No. 253), funded by Griffin’s patron, Thomas Cawthron. He designed Nelson’s Plunket and Rest Rooms (1936; List No. 5169), and a host of commercial buildings including the Ritz Kerr Building (c.1930; List No. 3027), the former Dalgety and Co Ltd Building (c.1930; List No. 1621) and the Anchor Shipping and Foundry Co Ltd Building (1928; List No. 1554). He was also successful in winning a number of design competitions, notably Hokitika’s Carnegie Free Public Library (List No. 1702) completed in 1908. It was noted in the local press that Griffin made trips to Australia and brought ideas back with him both for his commercial work, and for the hospital, illustrating the architectural connection between the two countries. A.R Griffin probably built this house for his brother’s business partner, Charles B. Hodgson and Hodgson’s wife Mabel. C.B Hodgson was an active member of the Nelson community and participated in a number of organisations including acting as secretary to the Board of Governors of the Kirkpatrick Masonic Institute. In his youth he had been the Head Boy at Nelson College and he reportedly remained an enthusiastic member of the Old Boys Football Club. The lot on which the house stands was originally part of 18 Ngatitama Street, A.R. Griffin’s own residence (List No. 1573). The lot was subdivided in 1934 and the house built sometime thereafter. Wise’s directory shows the Hodgsons living there by 1942 and they remained in the house for at least the next forty years. Their daughter Judith Tidswell later owned 18 Ngatitama Street with her husband. At the front of the house, the long sweeping hipped gable slate shingle roof drops almost to window height and is broken up by a row of centred shed dormer windows. Such lines are characteristic of Edwardian and Interwar Arts and Crafts in New Zealand and show the influence of British architects, C F A Voysey and Sir Edwin Lutyens. Other facades feature shingle cladding and asymmetrical placement of windows much like the work of R.K Binney. The house underwent internal renovations in 2006 and the replacement of chimneys as a seismic upgrade in 2012.