Some homes are bought. Others are entrusted to their next custodian.
Woodcroft is one of the latter.
Designed and built in 1921 by James Walter Chapman-Taylor and recognised on the Havelock North Architectural Trail, it is an important example of New Zealand Arts and Crafts architecture - but its significance becomes much easier to understand once you're inside it.
More than a century later, Chapman-Taylor's hand is still everywhere.
In timber that was shaped rather than manufactured. In small-framed windows capturing pieces of garden. In roughcast walls, intimate rooms and details that reveal themselves gradually rather than demanding attention.
Those are things a new house cannot recreate.
What Woodcroft's most recent custodians have achieved is equally important: they have preserved those qualities without requiring the next owner to live as though it were still 1921.
Between 2021 and 2025, the property underwent an extensive programme of restoration, alteration and infrastructure renewal in partnership with Designgroup Stapleton Elliott. Roofs were replaced, insulation added, electrical and plumbing systems substantially renewed, windows and hardware restored, bathrooms refreshed and floor finishes replaced.
The intention was never to turn Woodcroft into a museum.
It was to allow it to live beautifully in its second century.
Nowhere is that more apparent than the kitchen pavilion. Here the house shifts naturally from historic architecture to contemporary family life - a generous kitchen and social space where cooking, conversation and people can occupy the same room, before spilling outside into the garden.
Landscape architect Shannon Bray has approached the grounds with similar restraint. Rather than one manicured garden, the 1,386m² property unfolds through a collection of outdoor spaces, with established trees and planting providing the sense that the house has always belonged exactly where it sits.
The heated pool and cabana introduce a more relaxed contemporary layer, while the original brick service building has found an entirely new life as a self-contained studio apartment with independent access - useful for guests, family, older children or work.
The main house provides four bedrooms, including an ensuite, while the studio adds further accommodation, bringing the property to five bedrooms overall. Its position within walking distance of four Havelock North schools and close to the village makes what could easily have been simply an important architectural property an unusually workable family home.
Woodcroft will not be for everyone; nor should it be.
It is for someone who notices the difference between something old and something enduring. Someone who values workmanship that cannot easily be repeated, but who also wants warmth, function and modern infrastructure.
For its next owner, Woodcroft offers something increasingly scarce:
The opportunity to live comfortably in a piece of New Zealand architectural history - and become part of what happens to it next.
Key features
• • Designed and built in 1921 by James Walter Chapman-Taylor
• Recognised on the Havelock North Architectural Trail
• Significant Arts and Crafts architecture
• Major restoration and renovation between 2021-2025
• Architectural work by Designgroup Stapleton Elliott
• Landscape design by Shannon Bray
• Approximately 238m² main residence
• Four bedrooms within the main residence
• Self-contained approximately 34m² studio apartment
• Contemporary designer kitchen
• Heated 5m x 5m low-salt swimming pool
• New cabana and poolside entertaining
• Roofs replaced across home, studio and garage
• Plumbing and electrical systems substantially renewed
• Approximately 33m² garage
• 1,386m² established site
• Walking distance to four Havelock North schools
For a full information pack including floor plans, title and the LIM, please place this link into your browser - https://bit.ly/Woodcroft51SimlaAve
For sale by Negotiation.
