Liffey Cottage on the move, around the corner from Gerald Street into James Street, Lincoln, February 1977.

Malcolm L A Gordon. Lincoln and Districts Historical Society collection (LHS49)

Market Square, Lincoln, 1880.

Lincoln and Districts Historical Society collection (LHS126a)

Liffey Cottage still on its original site in Market Square, 1960s.

Lincoln and Districts Historical Society/Selwyn Heritage (LHS107)

Liffey Cottage, 2021

Courtesy of Janneen Love

Interior model of Liffey Cottage, made by Jackie Smith, 2000s.

On loan from Garden City Miniaturists

Te aroha ki kā taoka tuku ihoLove of heritage

Lincoln was one of some 40 villages and townships that sprang up across the plains as Pākehā migrants poured into Canterbury from the 1850s. In 1875, a cottage was built in the village centre, where it became a family home and, at the front, a butcher’s shop.

In 1975, the old cottage was due to be demolished to make way for a supermarket. But an action group formed to save this treasure from the town’s past. With community support, the cottage was moved to a new site by the Union Church and lovingly restored.

Liffey Cottage is now a community facility, home to and run by the Lincoln and Districts Historical Society. Both cottage and society illustrate Selwyn people’s passion for sharing their local history and preserving their heritage.

On display

Exterior and interior models of Liffey Cottage, made by Jackie Smith, 2000s

On loan from Garden City Miniaturists

Early days

The original cottage (far right) was small, had six rooms and was made of weatherboard. It was built in Market Square in 1875 for W A Murray. By the time this photo was taken in 1880, it was home to John and Agnes Muir. They lived there with their nine children (six born in the cottage). John ran his butcher’s shop from a window in the front room.

Taking action

In 1897, builder Henry Exon purchased the cottage from the Muirs and for many years it was used as a home for successive families, before being used as a shop, and lastly a student flat.

In 1975, plans were made to demolish the run-down cottage to make way for a supermarket. A group of locals passionate about preserving the town’s heritage formed the Liffey Cottage Action Committee. They gained council approval to relocate the cottage.

Liffey Cottage with storm damage, 1975. Signs indicate its former life as a shop selling 'Books. Shoes' and 'Arts & Crafts'.

Malcolm L A Gordon. Lincoln and Districts Historical Society collection (LHS55a)

On the move

In 1977, the town came out to watch the cottage move to the James Street site where it still sits today. Over the subsequent years, with community support, the cottage was restored – a piece of Lincoln’s heritage saved and preserved for future generations.

Liffey Cottage on its trailer at the new site in James Street, Lincoln, 1977.

Malcolm L A Gordon. Lincoln and Districts Historical Society (LHS112)

Liffey Cottage is managed and maintained by the Lincoln and Districts Historical Society, with support from Selwyn District Council. You can visit the cottage in James Street, Lincoln, from 2–4pm on the first Sunday of every month.

Making miniatures

In 2010, model-makers from Canterbury’s Garden City Miniaturists visited Liffey Cottage and then held a workshop where members modelled the cottage’s interior and exterior – in minute detail at ¼-inch scale. Take a closer look here to appreciate the detail of the interior model in the case.

But Liffey Cottage has long been of interests to miniaturists – people who collect and make small reproductions of objects. In the 1960s, Margaret King of Timaru made the model of Liffey Cottage shown below in memory of Albert and Maud Golding, for the Miniaturists Convention.

Liffey Cottage 1960s.jpg

Model of Liffey Cottage, made by Margaret King, 1960s. Gifted to the Lincoln and Districts Historical Society by Janet Clemens, granddaughter of the Goldings.

Lincoln and Districts Historical Society