History

Hampton Beach House - 'Waterfront Serenade' . The original house on this site was built prior to 1900 and belonged to the Spinley family.

Next door was the Ventnor a very popular boarding house, and later a private hotel was taken over by the New Zealand Navy during the 2nd World War. It was the IR wrenery, housing female navy personnel until the late 1980's. Now the property is back in private ownership as six luxury apartments.

One afternoon around 1910 the "Ventnor" caught fire and the flames spread to the Spinley house. The son, Rob Spinley, was home and rushed upstairs and threw belongings down to friends in the garden. However the Spinley home and two identical properties were burnt to the ground. The fire was successfully extinguished in the Ventnor, although extensive rebuilding was necessary.

The present home at No 4 King Edward Parade was built, it is believed , around 1911 for Hugh Wright Esquire and the freehold of the land was owned by the Auckland Grammar School Board and leased in perpetuity to Hugh Wright. The Wright family owned the home for many years until 1961.

When the new house was built in 1911 it is understood that the fire wall was constructed between it and the Ventnor to protect against any future disasters. This fire wall is still intact today and provides excellent privacy between the two buildings.

Early photographs show the present two buildings standing alone as early landmarks on Devonport's waterfront Parade. In the 1960's the house was converted to three flats and then in the 1980's returned to one main house with a small flat attached at the rear of the dwelling.

Further extensive renovations were carried out in 1994 when the property was converted to a Bed and Breakfast.

The current dining room was part of the original breakfast room and also housed a bathroom right up to the 90's.The bifold doors have added tremendous light and an excellent outdoor flow intergrating the whole house.

The gardenside Zinnia and Jacaranda rooms are new additions from 1994.

The Kauri room on the west boundary facing the garden was probably added in the 1920's and was also part of the original breakfast room and features Kauri floorboards

The Parituhu room facing the water was originally the sitting room and the fireplace, still relatively intact is purely decorative. The French doors were added in the 60's removing part of the original bay window.

The guest living room in its former life was the dining room with a serving hatch through to the kitchen now a doorway. In the 80's this room housed a full sized billiard table.

The paneling around the room is a very recent addition and the charming fireplace mantel features its original tile motif.

More recently the hallway has also been paneled to match the lounge.