Riccarton House was the centre of Canterbury society for many years. The house was built in three stages. The first dates from 1856 and was built for Jane Deans (1823-1911), the widow of John Deans (1820-1854), one of the earliest permanent Pakeha settlers in Canterbury.
John Deans and his brother William (1817?-1851) arrived from Scotland and first attempted to settle in Nelson [and Wellington respectively]. In 1843 they moved to Canterbury and became, along with their farmworkers, the Gebbie and Manson families, the first Pakeha to settle permanently on the Canterbury Plains. (A small group, led by James Herriot, had attempted to settle at Putaringamotu in 1840 but this settlement had failed and was abandoned by 1841.)
With the arrival of the Canterbury Association colonists in 1850 the isolation of the Deans brothers changed. Many of the settlers came to stay with the Deans. Jane Deans recalled that 'the newcomers flocked to it [Riccarton] in troops...All required to be fed and some lodged for the night' and that her husband and brother-in-law 'literally kept open house'.
John Deans died from tuberculosis in 1854 and his wife was left with a small son, John Dean II (1853-1902), and the Deans estate to manage. (William had drowned in 1851). Three of Jane's half-brothers came out to New Zealand in the following years to assist her and her cousin, Douglas Graham, to manage the Riccarton farm from 1854. In 1855 construction of the first part of Riccarton House began, using timber cut from Riccarton Bush. Jane moved into it in March 1856, although it was another month before the house was complete.
Riccarton House was extended in 1874 to accommodate the guests who came to Riccarton to celebrate John Deans II's coming of age. Of this Jane said, 'The building was not so satisfactory as I had wished it to be; the wood was not well seasoned and the workmanship rough'.
In 1900 further additions were made by the England Brothers giving the house its current character. The England Brothers, one of the foremost architectural firms in Christchurch, was established by Robert William England in 1886. His brother Edward joined him in 1906 and the firm became well known for both domestic work, such as McLean's Mansion, and commercial buildings, such as the former D.I.C. building in Cashel Street.
To Riccarton House the England Brothers added a large entrance hall, drawing room and first floor bedroom, as well as a bedroom wing and service rooms to the south of the earlier building. In doing so, a large portion of the 1856 house was removed. Ornate late Victorian verandahs and gables added by the England Brothers give the exterior of the house its distinctive appearance.
Riccarton House was occupied by the Deans family until 1947 when it was purchased by the Christchurch City Council. It is now administered by the Riccarton Bush Board of Trustees and open to the public. While the vegetable and flower gardens and the orchards of earlier times have disappeared, the mature trees surrounding the house remain. Also associated with the house is the adjoining remnant of native bush, gifted to Christchurch City by the Deans family in 1914. Riccarton Bush is the only surviving stand of wetlands podocarp forest in Christchurch, and is dominated by kahikatea.
Riccarton House is significant as a historic homestead built in three distinct stages. In conjunction with Riccarton Bush and Deans' Cottage it illustrates the history of the area, from the bush that existed prior to Pakeha settlement, through to the first cottages of the settlers and the later houses built by the successful immigrants.
John Deans and his brother William (1817?-1851) arrived from Scotland and first attempted to settle in Nelson [and Wellington respectively]. In 1843 they moved to Canterbury and became, along with their farmworkers, the Gebbie and Manson families, the first Pakeha to settle permanently on the Canterbury Plains. (A small group, led by James Herriot, had attempted to settle at Putaringamotu in 1840 but this settlement had failed and was abandoned by 1841.)
With the arrival of the Canterbury Association colonists in 1850 the isolation of the Deans brothers changed. Many of the settlers came to stay with the Deans. Jane Deans recalled that 'the newcomers flocked to it [Riccarton] in troops...All required to be fed and some lodged for the night' and that her husband and brother-in-law 'literally kept open house'.
John Deans died from tuberculosis in 1854 and his wife was left with a small son, John Dean II (1853-1902), and the Deans estate to manage. (William had drowned in 1851). Three of Jane's half-brothers came out to New Zealand in the following years to assist her and her cousin, Douglas Graham, to manage the Riccarton farm from 1854. In 1855 construction of the first part of Riccarton House began, using timber cut from Riccarton Bush. Jane moved into it in March 1856, although it was another month before the house was complete.
Riccarton House was extended in 1874 to accommodate the guests who came to Riccarton to celebrate John Deans II's coming of age. Of this Jane said, 'The building was not so satisfactory as I had wished it to be; the wood was not well seasoned and the workmanship rough'.
In 1900 further additions were made by the England Brothers giving the house its current character. The England Brothers, one of the foremost architectural firms in Christchurch, was established by Robert William England in 1886. His brother Edward joined him in 1906 and the firm became well known for both domestic work, such as McLean's Mansion, and commercial buildings, such as the former D.I.C. building in Cashel Street.
To Riccarton House the England Brothers added a large entrance hall, drawing room and first floor bedroom, as well as a bedroom wing and service rooms to the south of the earlier building. In doing so, a large portion of the 1856 house was removed. Ornate late Victorian verandahs and gables added by the England Brothers give the exterior of the house its distinctive appearance.
Riccarton House was occupied by the Deans family until 1947 when it was purchased by the Christchurch City Council. It is now administered by the Riccarton Bush Board of Trustees and open to the public. While the vegetable and flower gardens and the orchards of earlier times have disappeared, the mature trees surrounding the house remain. Also associated with the house is the adjoining remnant of native bush, gifted to Christchurch City by the Deans family in 1914. Riccarton Bush is the only surviving stand of wetlands podocarp forest in Christchurch, and is dominated by kahikatea.
Riccarton House is significant as a historic homestead built in three distinct stages. In conjunction with Riccarton Bush and Deans' Cottage it illustrates the history of the area, from the bush that existed prior to Pakeha settlement, through to the first cottages of the settlers and the later houses built by the successful immigrants.
