Anna Holmes "Nancy" Northcroft (23 March 1913 – 31 July 1980) was a New Zealand

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

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. She was only the fourth woman to qualify as an architect in New Zealand. Northcroft won a 12-month British Council Empire Scholarship for Women, and travelled to England in 1942 to study town planning. Following her return to New Zealand, in 1949 she took up a position as town planning officer at the

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...

. In 1954 she was appointed as the founding chief executive of the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority (CRPA). In the later part of her career from 1963 to 1977, she worked in private practice for a Christchurch-based consultancy. She was awarded a Fellowship of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1966 and is the first known woman to receive this honour. In 1978 she was recognised with the inaugural gold medal award from the

New Zealand Planning Institute The New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) is a professional body for planners, resource managers, urban designers and environmental practitioners in New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. ...

, and was also awarded an

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for services to town planning.

Early life

Northcroft was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, New Zealand, on 23 March 1913. Her father was lawyer and later

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judge Erima Northcroft. Northcroft attended

Diocesan School for Girls, Auckland Diocesan School for Girls (Dio) is a private girls' school in Epsom, New Zealand, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand. It is consistently a top-achieving school nationally. The school is Anglican-based and was established in 1903. It caters to internatio ...

, where she was head prefect.

Career

Northcroft completed a degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

Auckland University College The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loca ...

, graduating with a BArch in 1940. She was only the fourth woman to qualify as an architect, and was at that time the only woman architect from the

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. Following graduation, she worked in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

for 16 months for the architects M. K Draffin and R. A Lippincott. She then moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, and worked for the

and the Canterbury Education Board. In 1942, she won a 12-month British Council Empire Scholarship for Women. There were only four women offered Empire Scholarships in that year, and Northcroft was the first architect to be awarded one. She travelled to England in 1942, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, to study town planning. In 1942, Northcroft gained an honours diploma in town planning at the School of Planning and Research, London. In 1943, Northcroft took part in a broadcast as part of "Calling New Zealand" on the

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Pacific

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programme, and discussed the application of English village concepts to town planning in New Zealand. She remained in England after the end of her scholarship, and from 1943 to 1946 she worked on surveys for the Association for Planning and Regional Reconstruction, based in London. She also taught correspondence courses for members of the armed forces to assist them in working towards membership of the

Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was granted ...

. She returned to New Zealand in 1947 after the end of the war, and in 1949 was appointed town planning officer at the

. In 1950, she delivered an address to the National Council of Women about the provision of housing for older people. In 1954 she was promoted to chief planner. Northcroft was the founding chief executive of the Christchurch Regional Planning Authority (CRPA). In 1957, she warned about the dangers of

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

in Christchurch and the associated increasing costs of transport, power, water and drainage. She gave an address at a school prize-giving in 1959, setting out some of her thoughts about planning for the future of the city. One of her significant achievements was the implementation of a "green belt" around the city, as part of the 1959 CRPA scheme. She also had a leading role in the development of a master transport plan for Christchurch. In the later part of her career from 1963 to 1977, she worked in private practice for the Christchurch-based consultancy Davie Lovell-Smith. From 1967 to 1969, Northcroft was the president of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Town and Country Planners.

Personal life

Northcroft was active in leadership in a wide range of community groups. In 1952, she was president of the Victoria League Young Contingent. She was elected President of the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Geographical Society in 1956. In 1960 she was the President of Canterbury Branch of the Federation of University Women, and in 1967 she was a committee member of Friends of Te Wai Pounamu Māori Girls College, and a representative on the school board of governors. She was also a Justice of the Peace, a president of the Soroptimist Club of Christchurch, and a member of a committee of the Diocese of Christchurch. Northcroft was a keen cricket player and in 1971 she was made a life member of the Riccarton Cricket Club. She remained single throughout her life, and died in Christchurch on 31 July 1980.

Honours and awards

Northcroft was awarded a Fellowship of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1966. She is the first known woman to receive this honour. In 1978 Northcroft was awarded the inaugural Gold Medal of the

. In the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, to celebrate the year passed and mark the begin ...

, Northcroft was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to town planning. In 1994, the New Zealand Planning Institute established the Nancy Northcroft Planning Practice Award in her honour.

References

External links

Photo of Nancy Northcroft - published 12 March 1962
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcroft, Nancy 1913 births 1980 deaths People from Hamilton, New Zealand New Zealand women architects 20th-century New Zealand architects New Zealand urban planners New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Diocesan School for Girls, Auckland New Zealand cricketers People from Christchurch Fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Architects