Set amongst the farmland of rural South Canterbury, Ross Cottage is inland from Ashburton and at the base of Mount Somers. This exquisite cottage now restored and adapted to meet the requirements of its owners was built as a workers' cottage in the mid-1870s.
Over its lifetime the building has been added to by its owners (bushman, sawmiller, builder, rabbiter, farmers and other labourers). In recent years, with the help of their architect daughter and acutely aware of its heritage importance, the owners of Ross Cottage have had part of its interior redesigned to make better use of the space. As a result, the cottage has become a more comfortable place to live in whilst care has been taken to ensure that it has lost none of its original character and charm.