Turvey House at 208 King Street in Rangiora is architecturally, technologically and historically significant as an example of a cavity brick house constructed by pioneer settler, Samuel Ayers, for himself and family in 1875. Samuel Ayers and his father Thomas made a significant contribution to the brick building in North Canterbury in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Samuel Ayers was born in Turvey, Bedfordshire, England in 1846. In 1858 at the age of 13 he travelled with his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Ayers (née Gibbs) to New Zealand where they settled Woodend. Samuel followed his father’s trade and became a well-known bricklayer and builder. In 1873 Samuel purchased land in Rangiora (then Oddfellows Road/North Street, now King Street) and soon began building a two storeyed six-roomed brick home. In 1875 he settled there with his new wife Sarah Ann Judson.

Set in a well-established garden on a large section on the east side of King Street, Rangiora, Turvey House is built with hollow wall (cavity brick) construction, using Flemish Bond where the header bricks act as ties between the outer wall and inner wall skins. Other distinctive features are polychromatic brickwork on the north wall, a dog tooth brick course at the top of the walls under the eaves, bull-nosed verandah with iron tracery, fretted fascias with finials at the top, gabled iron roof and bay windows. Interior details include steep narrow dog leg stairs with winders in the hallway, patterned tin ceiling in the sitting room, moulded timberwork and bedrooms with built in wardrobes. Most of the timberwork is kauri.

Samuel and Sarah Ann lived in the house all their married lives and were very active in the Methodist church community. Samuel carried on his trade as a bricklayer from the house, and was sufficiently well thought of to lead the bricklayers’ section of the Queen Victoria Jubilee parade in 1887. Between 1903 and 1912 he was a member of the Rangiora Borough Council. The Ayers’ had nine surviving children. Over time three rooms were added to the house and bay windows were built in the front rooms. Samuel died in 1939 and Sarah Ann died in 1947, but the house has remained in the family through to the present day (2018). It was converted into two flats in 1953 but was reverted back to a single dwelling in 1971. In 2003 the building was presented with a Waimakariri District Council Landmark plaque to commemorate the Borough’s 125th anniversary. Strengthening and repair was carried out following damage was caused in the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010-11.