Marivare

60 Ranfurly Road, Epsom, AUCKLAND

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Located in Epsom’s Ranfurly Road, Marivare is a large and unusually well-preserved nineteenth-century residence that consists of a two-storey Regency-style timber structure (circa 1862-5) and a brick ballroom addition of Tudor Revival design incorporating battlements and an attached conservatory (1880s). Marivare is of particular value for the extent and range of its surviving interior features and has strong historical associations with several prominent nineteenth century Auckland politicians and businessmen including Henry Ellis, Thomas Henderson and lawyer John Russell. Marivare is located to the south of Mt St John (Te Kopuke or Tikikopuke) a pa occupied by Waiohua peoples under the leadership of Kiwi Tamaki before Ngati Whatua conquered the Auckland isthmus in the eighteenth century. Following the founding of Auckland as colonial capital in 1840, the land at Ranfurly Road was part of several Crown Grants developed in 1859 as Maytown. In 1862 merchant Henry Ellis (1828-1879) bought a substantial land parcel in the subdivision on which to develop a country estate. Ulster-born Ellis commissioned the construction of a large two-storey family residence of Regency design, which was erected in circa 1862-5. Known as Windermere, the timber building had wide double-storeyed verandahs, a slate roof and a basement of local basalt. The structure contained twelve rooms, including a laundry, dairy and fuel stores in the basement. A kitchen, pantry, servant’s bedroom, drawing room and a dining room occupied the ground floor. A further drawing room was located upstairs. The property was unsuccessfully offered at auction in late 1865 and became the subject of a mortgagee sale two years later. Ellis was elected to the Provincial Council in 1869. He later worked as an immigration agent and subsequently as the Immigration Officer for Auckland before becoming a Wesleyan minister in mid-life. The residence subsequently passed through several hands and was owned for a decade by prominent Auckland businessmen and politician Thomas Henderson who had co-founded the Circular Saw Shipping Line and several influential colonial institutions including the Bank of New Zealand. The residence was purchased by prominent Auckland lawyer and businessman John Russell in the early 1880s and renamed Marivare. Russell commissioned renovations, a ballroom addition of Tudor Revival design and a conservatory. Ornate interior detailing included ceiling panels with impressed decoration in the ground floor drawing room; and a three-piece dado, a ceiling frieze and three fireplaces in the ballroom. Door panels in the ballroom were painted with landscape scenes. Following Russell’s death in 1894, Marivare was purchased by his eldest daughter Ada Carr. The residence on a reduced site was bought by the Carr’s elder son in the 1930s, by which time a musicians’ alcove in the ballroom may have been demolished. A timber addition constructed in 1944 accommodated a more modern kitchen. Following further subdivision in 1957, Marivare was converted into eight flats. New kitchen and bathroom facilities were largely fitted into existing rooms, and removed mouldings were put into storage. Under new owners in the 1990s, these alterations were carefully reversed to recover the building’s late nineteenth and early twentieth-century features and finishes. Marivare has outstanding aesthetic significance for the variety and quality of surviving elements of its nineteenth-century interior, including coloured glass, fireplaces, staircase, tiling and decorative finishes of considerable antiquity which include hand-painted scenes on four door panels. It has special architectural value as an unusually well-preserved example of a 1860s Regency-style residence, with a substantial 1880s ballroom addition and attached conservatory. The place has historical significance for its associations with Henry Ellis, Thomas Henderson, John Russell and other influential individuals, and illustrates the wealth of Auckland’s nineteenth-century business and political elite. Marivare has special social significance for reflecting the importance of status and social connections in colonial Auckland and the tastes and past times of well-to-do members of nineteenth-century society.

East facade with ground floor bay and upstairs sash window with side lights (left); north façade (right), looking southwest | Robin Byron | 14/01/2010 | NZ Historic Places Trust
Ballroom addition (1880s), looking north | Robin Byron | 14/01/2010 | NZ Historic Places Trust
Studio (former ballroom), two of four hand-painted panels, looking north | Robin Byron | 14/01/2010 | NZ Historic Places Trust

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

2642

Date Entered

12th December 2010

Date of Effect

12th December 2010

City/District Council

Auckland Council

Region

Auckland Council

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Lot 1 DP 193674 (RT NA121C/466), North Auckland Land District, and the building and structures known as Marivare thereon, and their fittings and fixtures. The registration includes a totara tree and a plum tree located to the east and to the north of the building respectively. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the registration report for further information).

Legal description

Lot 1 DP 193674 (RT NA121C/466), North Auckland Land District

Location Description

Approximate NZMG Easting 2668514.02; Approximate NZMG Northing 6478064.33 (Taken from approximate centre of site).

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