Constructed as one of an identical pair some time between 1874 and 1881, the single storeyed timber cottage at 391 Selwyn Street has architectural, historical and social significance as an example of a simple dwelling in the historically working class suburb of Addington.

In the early days of colonial settlement, Addington had been purchased as a substantial block of land outside the central city boundaries, and subsequently subdivided. The location of the railway line between this area and the city centre encouraged settlement in Addington by labourers and tradesmen. The cottage at 391 Selwyn Street is one of a number of small cottages surviving in the area. Two identical dwellings (389 and 391 Selwyn Street) were built on the same land parcel next to one another for labourer Andrew Neill, after he purchased the section in 1874.

Fronting the west side of Selwyn Street, opposite the Addington Cemetery, the cottage at 391 Selwyn Street is a single storeyed rusticated timber building, with a straight verandah extending the length of the façade. It has a central door flanked by sash windows, a gable roof running north to south and a lean-to at the west rear. The roof is corrugated steel. The piles are volcanic rock.

The history of the cottage at 391 Selwyn Street has long been intertwined with that of its neighbour, 389 Selwyn Street (List No. 3700). Neill’s name appears on the certificate of title from 1874 until the time of his death in 1905, and he may have lived in one of the cottages until the late 1880s. The cottage at 391 Selwyn Street along with the neighbouring cottage were then passed to his children Eliza Down and James Neill and remained in the ownership of the Neill family until 1967. In 1913 the land was subdivided, resulting in 389 and 391 Selwyn Street each having their own land parcel. Minor changes have been made to the building over time. In circa 1981 both the verandah and parts of the exterior timber cladding was replaced. An addition at the rear, with a gable roof running east to west, dates to circa 1989.