The kauri-constructed Ewelme Cottage has a link with the Anglican community in Auckland, the dwelling designed and built by the Reverend Vicesimus Lush (1817-1882) and his wife Blanche in 1863-64.
Ewelme, after being extended 18 years after it was originally built, remained in family hands till 1968.
Some architects have suggested that the design with ground floor rooms laid out progressively along the axial length of the building, rather than having a conventional front and back, displays an influence from medieval British dwellings, and a religious consideration of the time which sought to blend medieval architecture into contemporary architecture.
Ewelme Cottage is of considerable importance for its well-preserved interiors and furnishings, and provides great value on colonial building materials and techniques.
It boasts close to 2000 books, hundreds of pages of sheet music, original artworks and a vast array of everyday objects from ointment pots to knitting needles.