A story from the Historic Places August 2009 Newsletter."The historical collection of objects at Antrim House in Wellington, now the headquarters of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, has recently been fortunate to benefit from the generosity of a Wellington resident.
The Hannah family built Antrim House in 1905 and lived there until Robert Hannah’s death in 1930. When the family sold the property, an auction was held to sell off some of their effects. The donor's mother, who had recently arrived in Wellington from Napier after the 1931 earthquake, attended this auction and bought this small silver-plated sugar bowl, inscribed 'Antrim House' on the rim. The maker's marks on the base tell us that the bowl was made by Walker and Hall of Sheffield and dates to between 1900 and 1909, so it was obviously made at around the same time as the house itself.
The sugar bowl is part of a set that NZHPT already had in its collection - comprising two dessert spoons, two jugs and a two-handled bowl also inscribed with 'Antrim House'.
Very few objects original to Antrim remain at the house, so the NZHPT is grateful to add such a rare and well-provenanced object to its collection. Other objects that do remain are a cricket scorebook and a rugby shield from the days when Antrim was used as a Boys Hostel and competitions were held against other similar hostels in Wellington."
The Hannah family built Antrim House in 1905 and lived there until Robert Hannah’s death in 1930. When the family sold the property, an auction was held to sell off some of their effects. The donor's mother, who had recently arrived in Wellington from Napier after the 1931 earthquake, attended this auction and bought this small silver-plated sugar bowl, inscribed 'Antrim House' on the rim. The maker's marks on the base tell us that the bowl was made by Walker and Hall of Sheffield and dates to between 1900 and 1909, so it was obviously made at around the same time as the house itself.
The sugar bowl is part of a set that NZHPT already had in its collection - comprising two dessert spoons, two jugs and a two-handled bowl also inscribed with 'Antrim House'.
Very few objects original to Antrim remain at the house, so the NZHPT is grateful to add such a rare and well-provenanced object to its collection. Other objects that do remain are a cricket scorebook and a rugby shield from the days when Antrim was used as a Boys Hostel and competitions were held against other similar hostels in Wellington."
