Belmont was built c1860 for Captain Thomas B Taylor, a wealthy landowner and one of the Principals of the shipping firm Taylor and Watt. This firm played a very significant role in the development of the Wanganui District during the early-mid 19th Century. The house is the sole surviving link with Captain Taylor and the firm of Taylor and Watt.

Set on an elevated site amidst a garden of mature trees and overlooking Wanganui Golf Course, Belmont is a distinguished example of a Victorian country homestead. Built in 1860 by Thomas Ballardie Taylor, a senior partner with the mercantile firm Taylor and Watt, the house is constructed of native rimu and mataī timber. Belmont holds architectural significance as an excellent example of an early New Zealand country residence. It features the characteristic symmetrical design, rectangular form, timber framing, weather cladding, and hipped roof typical of the Georgian/Regency style. Of local historical significance for its connection to Thomas Ballardie Taylor and his role in the development of Whanganui as an important port town in the mid-nineteenth century, the house stands as a testament to Victorian entrepreneurial success.

The Whanganui rohe lies between Mount Ruapehu and the Tasman Sea, a landscape carved by rivers and streams, with the Whanganui River at its heart. Māori have lived in the region for generations, tracing their whakapapa to one of three waka - the Aotea, the Kurahaupō and the Tākitimu - together becoming known as Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. The densely forested inland slopes of the Whanganui River valley provided an ideal conditions for settlement, with abundant food resources and large trees to build waka that enabled trade and communication further afield. Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi were known for their skill in managing the river environment, and for their exceptional canoeing abilities They built pā strategically above river bends and developed sheltered terraces for māra kūmara (kūmara gardens).

In the 1820s, migration and raiding parties from the north resulted in a changed tribal dynamic during the turbulent period associated with the advent of European muskets. Following a raid led by Te Rauparaha of Ngāti Toa in 1829, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Raukawa settled in the rohe. Nonetheless, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi remain mana whenua.

Further changes came with the arrival of European settlers, who followed hard on the heels of the missionaries in the 1840s. Land sales created an atmosphere of distrust amongst Māori as the terms of land sales were disputed. The town of Whanganui was established in 1841, but unease persisted throughout the 1840s, with conflicts erupting between Māori and settlers ending in the battle of St John’s Wood in 1847. In 1848, the government repurchased the Whanganui Block, through a deed signed by 207 Māori, leading to a period of consolidation as the town grew. However, conflict continued into the 1860s, with fighting between Māori and colonial forces, and between groups of Māori. It was not until 1870, with the departure of the last British regiment, that Whanganui entered a period of rapid growth, becoming the second-most important port in the North Island.

The port’s success created opportunities for two young Scotsmen, Thomas Ballardie Taylor and William Hogg Watt, who established an importing and merchant firm during the 1860s. Their commerical success enabled the purchase of land in Whanganui and in outlying areas such as Westmere and Tayforth, where they developed profitable farms. Taylor’s two-storeyed country house, Belmont, was constructed in the Georgian/Regency style, expressed in its rectangular plan and symmetrical arrangement of double-hung sash windows with glazing bars. The main entrance is flanked by French doors - an English feature that allowed residents to enjoy close contact with nature, particularly fitting to the New Zealand context of integrating house and garden. This connection continues with the wide verandas, providing much-needed shade for the warm climate. The entrance hallway leads into a central corridor with reception and service rooms on the ground floor and bedrooms upstairs.

Taylor died in 1871, drowned after being swept overboard during a voyage. His son, Thomas Chalmers Taylor, continued the business and assumed management of Belmont for his widowed mother. After his death in 1907, the Belmont estate was sold to the Wanganui Golf Club, though the homestead remained in private ownership. While the interior has been renovated over time, the house has not undergone major structural changes and a retains much of its historical integrity. Today, Belmont remains a private residence.