This unassuming building is a rare surviving stable in New Plymouth's CBD. Stables were once a common sight around New Plymouth and served an important function for visitors travelling to New Plymouth.
A permit was granted to M. Jones in October 1903 for "Stables etc." on Town Section 629, King Street - the architect was listed as J. Jones, and the estimated construction cost was £850. The building appears to be complete by April 1904, when the Taranaki Herald reported that "the delegates of the Taranaki Friendly Societies Association met in Mr M. Jones new building, King Street, on Thursday night".
The building's facade has been altered considerably from its original form and is now almost unrecognisable from early photos.
An advertisement for Criterion Livery and Bait Stables in Taranaki, The Garden of New Zealand: Short history and general description published in 1906, mentions the stables operating in only Devon Street (opposite the Criterion Hotel). However, the 1908 Cyclopedia of New Zealand entry for the Criterion Livery and Bait Stables mentions the stables operating in both Devon Street and King Street.
Town Section 629, Taranaki Land Deed Index I5 Page 10.
Related plans:
Taranaki DP2062 Sheet 1 (1903 showing building under construction), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Taranaki DP4853 Sheet 1 (1926), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
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