More Info →Sitting room of 'Birchanger', 544 Featherston Street

This 18-20 roomed house was built by William Coomb’s wife Alice upon returning to Palmerston North after her husband's death in Hastings in 1907. Known by the family as 'Birchanger', it was designed by C W Blackbourn as a replica of their Hawkes Bay, Tukituki home. Mrs Coombs lived in the house until her death in 1940 at the age of 82. In 2008 the house operated as a Rest Home. It was then known as 'Hillcrest', and now Woodlands [2020]', it is listed in category 4 of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust register because of its architectural significance.