Return to Alberton House

In Auckland City's Mount Albert stands this grand old lady. Alberton House was built in 1863. This entrance is from the side where the driveway is, I will show the front of it later on...altogether the house has 18 rooms.

Inside is the parlour room, this was used to welcome visitors for tea and cakes etc. Quite useful when people were calling on a member of the family.

The dining room, doesn't quite look like a huge table, probably just enough for only the members of the family. Apparently all the furniture etc in the house was used and left by the family. I just love the coloured glasses though.

The kitchen, coal range and scullery etc - again quite modest. There have been rumours over the years that apparitions have been seen in this part of the house, perhaps the servants are still keeping busy here.

Now when I was growing up my parents didn't have alot of money so mum use to take us to places that were either cheap or free, this is one place I remember visiting and from memory I think this room at that point in time was a bedroom now a sewing room.

 

The entrance way and a set of stairs - one light and airy and one dark. I have a thing for vintage glass so I admired the colours above the front door.

The bathroom right next to the master bedroom - I like how they've kept an old bathtub in there, I imagine running water through the taps would've been a very new thing back then.

The master bedroom with it's iron bed frame. The property itself was originally owned by a man named Allan Kerr Taylor of Scottish descent born in India in 1832 one of several brothers who purchased property in early Auckland.

The library full of old books, I would be quite interested to read through and see what he was interested in.

The nursery for the little ones. Allan Kerr Taylor married for the 2nd time a suffragette named Sophia.  Together they had 10 children.

Several of the doors in the house still have the original glass within the frames - they have been well looked after.

I did read in an article online that one of his daughter's Violet was pretty much disowned by her parents after marrying a working class shipping clerk. Sophia, being an advocate for women's rights apparently didn't want any of her daughters marrying.

Another of the many bedrooms, now this is the one that interested me the most. On the first visit to this place I was only little and I vividly remember coming in here and feeling like a very eerie atmosphere but it was the sewing room I use to call it the blue room from the colour of the wallpaper.

Perhaps a study area. I liked around the house how they still had photographs of each family member here and there.

Near the front entrance. All the original wallpaper and wooden floorboards have been meticulously looked after. Apparently Mr Kerr Taylor's first wife Martha who had already lost their first child, died after giving birth to their second hence him meeting Sophia.

My mum's mother use to live just around the corner from here and two of her best friends were caretakers back in the 1970s. After Mr Kerr Taylor became involved in several business ventures that failed he suddenly died of a cerebral haemorrhage most likely caused by stressed.

His financial situation was found to be less than satisfactory. The home was mortgaged by the loan company but is now owned by Heritage NZ and is open to the public.  As for Mr Kerr Taylor, he was laid to rest in St Luke's Church Cemetery.