Nelson City Council

History of Isel House

The somewhat stately home of watchmaker Thomas Marsden and wife Mary is found in Isel Park on the main road in Stoke. Marsden came from Derbyshire in 1810 to Nelson first setting up in business in Selwyn Place then moved to Isel, at that time a property of 930 acres, after six years in Nelson. He built the original house, gave the land for St Barnabas Church, planned the park and planted most of the older trees which are now well into their second century. After Thomas died, his son James took over the property and had the stone front built onto the house in the 1880s.

W.J Saxton, the Marsden's neighbour, was a great diarist whose daily jottings reveal a lot of domestic details about the life and times of early Nelson and Stoke.

The property is owned by the Council who manage the extensive park grounds. The house has been managed by the Isel House Charitable Trust since 2001. After some initial structural work the two big rooms on the ground floor at the front of the house have been restored to some of their former splendour. Wooden flooring has been replaced and wallpaper from England was imported to recreate the Victorian elegance of the Isel heyday. The carpet was computer scanned and a special run of the early pattern was made in Australia. The house is seen as a community exhibition space and also information about Isel and the Marsden family in the library

Opening hours and contact details

Isel House is open for public viewing 11am to 4pm Tuesday through Sunday from the beginning of October to the end of May. Visits are by appointment between June and September, please ring +64 3 547 5222. Entry is by donation.