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Fairfield House

The Changing Faces of Fairfield House

If Fairfield House was a person, it would have a fantastic story to tell. It's the sort of story that would be told sitting around a campfire, marshmallows in hand and mouths open in amazement. It's hard to believe that there is a house in Nelson with so much history.

Drawing room of 'Fairfield', Brougham Street, Nelson, ca 1890. Photo taken by Charles Yates Fell. Alexander Turnbull Library,  PA1-q-075-13-1
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=13933  
Click image to enlarge

Yet, there it sits, at the top of the hill, where hundreds of people drive past without giving it a second glance. The story of Fairfield is a long one, complete with fairy-tale beginning, almost tragic middle and a...well. The ending is something you have to read to believe.

English lawyer turned emigrant, Arthur Atkinson  started the story when he bought an eight acre block of land in 1872 and built a house, which was  completed in 1883.¹ Fairfield House was born. Atkinson's family lived in Fairfield House for around forty years, until 1922 when the house was given to the newly founded Girls' College, which was desperately in need of a boarding hostel.

Fairfield House became an integral part of Girls' College, with many girls living and learning there, as the House also became the first site for a Prep school. Nelson College also had an interest in the House, and moved their boarding students into it after the Murchison earthquake damaged their original hostel. However, after many years of existing as a boarding hostel, Fairfield House suffered the first of many setbacks, when a fire ravaged the accommodation block. The colleges built new hostels closer to their campuses, and all the students had moved out by 1976, after which Fairfield House fell into disrepair.² 

In 1979 the College gave Fairfield House to Nelson City Council in exchange for funding for a new sanatorium. It was in this year that a demolition order for the House was about to be put through the Council, and people began to worry about the fate of the beautiful, old house that was so close to being destroyed. Out of this came the ‘Friends Of Old Fairfield' ³,  a group determined to restore the house to its original splendour. 

Fairfield House, 2009
Click image to enlarge

However, the task was to be an almost impossible one. Restoration costs were set to be around $500,000,⁴ and even with the Friends Of Old Fairfield raising $44000, it was going to be a long journey. However, the group were committed. A man called Alan Stanton stepped in, quite literally, and saved Fairfield House from being demolished. Stanton "...squatted in near derelict premises..."⁵ and started restoring the house tirelessly.

The house Fairfield, in Nelson, 12 Mar 1913, F.N.Jones. Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/2-032979-G
http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/detail/?id=63294
Click image to enlarge

Restoration was hindered greatly by thefts. When the house was deserted, collectors came in and took all the original Victorian features, such as lights, switches, and other valuable accessories. Some of the only remaining original features are the front doors, which stand strong despite having over 100 years of weather thrown at them. ⁶

The restoration of Fairfield house took a long time, with many people believing that it would never be completed. Money and time were not the only crucial ingredients to success - it was the dedication and love of the Friends of Old Fairfield that allowed the project to be completed successfully.

Caitlin Chapman, Nelson College for Girls, 2009

Sources used in this story

Want to find out more about the Fairfield House ? View Further Sources here.

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