Middleton Grange was built in 1856 by the pioneering Thomas Rowley, son of the Rev. Thomas Rowley, first Dean Designate of Christchurch Cathedral and it was later lived in by Robert Falcon Scott before leaving on his expedition to Antarctica. The building was extended in 1878 and again in 1930 and in the sixties it became the site of the teaching and administation block for the newly established Middleton Grange School. The original building has walls constructed of cob: a mixture of clay, cow manure and straw and a small section of this can still be seen behind a perspex screen alongside the front door.
Although it required minor work to be carried out in some rooms after the Christchurch earthquakes, the structure of the buidling itself stood firm and thankfully, it remained largely undamaged.
The old house at Middleton Grange is an imposing landmark with its elegant proportions and finely detailed woodwork decorating the gables. This building is also a significant example of Victorian Christchurch architecture and for an expanding school in the 21st Century, it serves as an important link with the past.