Ngaio Marsh House

Ngaio Marsh House, the home of Dame Ngaio Marsh for most her life, is a heritage property in Valley Road in the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere. It serves as a museum to Dame Ngaio, one of New Zealand's most famous cultural figures and one of the original Queens of Crime from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, alongside Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, and Margery Allingham. It is by Heritage New Zealand for its outstanding historical significance in relation to Marsh. Tours of the house, run by a volunteer guide, can be booked via the website.

History

The house was built for Ngaio Marsh's parents. It was designed by their relation architect Samuel Hurst Seager. The house has been extended a number of times: firstly in 1948 by architectural firm Helmore and Cotterill; and later, in 1980, a studio, designed by Don Donnithorne, was added on the ground floor.

Heritage registration

The building was registered as a Category I heritage building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 27 June 1985, with registration number 3673.