The house at 23 Allan Street, in the hills overlooking Nelson College, was constructed in the early 1940s and is part of the architectural legacy of notable local family, the Beatsons. This plastered timber two-storey house is a good example of English Cottage style architecture and has local historic importance because of its links to Nelson’s Exclusive Brethren community.

This house was built on the former location of Robert and Elizabeth Allan’s residence. They owned the property from 1897 and are the namesakes of the associated street. Godfrey (1905–1994) and Margaret Field (1909–1991) purchased the property in 1940 and planned to replace the existing structure with a new house in early 1941. They were medical professionals of recognised ability – a dental surgeon and nurse respectively. The house was completed by 1943 and they owned it until 1971.

The Fields’ house was designed by Henry Reynolds Beatson (1881–1953). He was the grandson of important Nelson architect William Beatson (1833–1904). Some of William’s sons and subsequent descendants trained as architects, but it seems that Henry and his father did not. Henry was apparently involved in the local Exclusive Brethren community, with links going back to its early history in New Zealand. It is thought that the Fields were also Exclusive Brethren. This Brethren connection was perhaps why Henry, a longstanding Wakatu orchardist, was approached to design the house rather than an architecture specialist.

The Allan Street house is a characteristic example of New Zealand’s second phase of English Cottage style domestic architecture. This building has a main gabled section with a secondary perpendicular gable and two dormers projecting in a north-western direction. Other typical stylistic features include the house’s slate roof, tall slender chimneys, stickwork on the gable ends and casement windows. Some internal modifications were made to the five bedroom home in 2016, including creating an en-suite and office space upstairs and remodelling the kitchen/dining area.

After popularity in the early twentieth century, particularly the 1920s, this style had a revival in New Zealand in the late 1930s and post-war period and was favoured in the first Labour Government’s state housing projects. There are several examples of 1920s English Cottage style Nelson houses on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero (the List). However, 23 Allan Street is the only two storey example from the revival period. It is stylistically similar, albeit on a grander scale, to a Nelson state house which is also entered on the List. These places demonstrate the breadth of the style.