Baptist Manse (former), 23 Gilbert Street (1904)

This villa was originally constructed in 1904 as a Manse for the Gill Street Baptist Church.

A permit was granted by the Borough Council to the Gill Street Baptist Church on 4 July 1904 for the construction of a Manse on Gilbert Street – John Arthur Maisey was the architect, and the estimated construction cost was £426.

The villa wasn't initially used as a manse for long, and by 1908 was advertised to let. However, the church trustees retained ownership, and it was again in use as a manse from about the mid-1910s; a purpose for which it continued to serve for many decades.  

The house was renovated and restored during 2018-19. 

Architect John Arthur Maisey

Maisey was born in 1860 in Birmingham England, where he practiced for a number of years. He arrived in New Plymouth with his family in 1897 and farmed on Barrett Road for several years, selling his farm in June 1900, and moving into New Plymouth soon after. Maisey is not well known in New Plymouth, although he apparently designed a significant number of local buildings (most notably the 1904 New Plymouth Exhibition Buildings - a 'temporary' structure located on Poverty Flat/St Michael's Square), before shifting to Wellington in early 1905. In Wellington Maisey practiced in partnership with Henry Johns from 1905 until his retirement in 1908 - in just three years Maisey and John designed over 40 buildings.

Related items:

Town Section 1051, Taranaki Land Deeds Index I1 page 435 and I13 page 544. (Archives New Zealand)

Tender Advertisement (Taranaki Herald 24 February 1904 p.5)