SELWYN ARCHITECTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19658, 9 June 1927, Page 8

SELWYN ARCHITECTURE.

PICTURESQUE HOUSES. AN AUCKLAND HERITAGE. STONE WALLS AND GABLES. OLD BISHOPSCOURT BUILDING. While Bishop Selwyn's great legacy to New Zealand was in the field of religion, he left a little-known but none the less yaluable heritage in the field of architecture. In and around Auckland ho erected a number of small but singularly beautiful little churches, which were described in a recent article. The stone hall and kitchen of the Melanesian Mission at Kohimarama, now sadly decayed, is another monument to his taste and good sense. So are the library hall at Bishopscourt, Parnell, and the adjoining belfry with its spire. But that by no means ends the list. Those who care to look for them may find several houses erected under Selwyn 3 supervision which in charm and quaintness "would be difficult to surpass. Except for the remaining domestic buildings at St. John's College, all these houses are in Parnell. Some are of stone, others of wood, but all have features which mark their authorship at once —steeply-gabled roofs, vertical weatherboardings, diamond-paned casements, and stout square chimneys. They are by no means typical of early house design in New Zealand, but are unique. Perhaps they may yet be an inspiration to the younger architects of the Dominion. The Bishop's Own House. First in personal associations is Old Bishopscourt. It stands near the top of St. Stephen's Avenue, on a site chosen by Selwyn because it commanded a sweeping view of the Waitemata and the island-dotted Hauraki Gulf. To make the most of this panorama, he had the house built in plan like a boomerang, with its blunt angle to the north, and a wide verandah along the seaward sides. Externally the house is not remarkable, being but one storey high, but the rooms are lofty and finely proportioned, especially one of hexagonal shape where the two wings join. Old Bishopsqpurt was superseded some twenty years ago when the present large three-storeyed residence of brick was erected next door for Bishop Neligan. It is now occupied in part by the Yen. Archdeacon Simkin, diocesan secretary. The finest of the "Selwyn" houses undoubtedly is the one built originally for ' the Rev. Dr. John Kinder, headmaster of the Church of England Grammar School, Parnell, and at one time warden of St. John's College. It stands at the corner of Parnell Road and Ayr Street, opposite the site on which the old grammar school building stood until its demolition a few years ago. The house has walls of nncoursed volcanic bluestone, and massive chimneys of the same material. There is no verandah, but French windows open directly on to the lawn, and the principal rooms are delightfully sunny. The house is now the property of Mr. and Mrs. E. L'E. Barton, who have completely renovated it •without destroying any of its charm. Other Stone Houses. A smaller house, though not less picturesque, is that known as "The Deanery," in St. Stephen's Avenue, nearly opposite Bishopscourt. It is said to have been built at a time when the creation of a dean and chapter for the cathedral was being considered. As a matter of fact the chapter wss not formed till many years afterward, anct Auckland does not yet boast a dean. The cottage—for it is little more—has its lower walls of stone. Above the ground floor they are of wood, and the steeply-gabled roof contains several rooms. Many clergy have occupied it at different times, and it is nbw the homo of Mr. A. E. Hardy. In Takutai Street is a third stone house, the history of which appears to have been lost, though the building itself unquestionably belongs to the "Selwyn" category. It was bought not long ago by Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Thomson, who pulled down some unsightly wooden additions and built a second storey in harmony with the original design, making the old place into a delightful home. ' The St. Stephen's Maori School, founded by Bishop Selwyn, occupies buildings of various ages. Those dating from the school's earliest days are most picturesque, especially a long row of stone rooms built long ago to accommodate older native pupils. The headmaster's house forms one wing of the main building, which is of wood. St. John's College. Outside Parnell, the best example of this early New Zealand architecture is the dining hall at St. John's College, a dignified room with its walls of dark kauri, its portraits and trophies of Melanesian spears. The old stone house, one of Selwyn's first ventures in building, is now no more. It had to be demolished five or six years ago owing to decay and faulty construction. The walls had been built without "footings," and though many appeals \yere made for its preservation that was' impossible. The stones were afterwards used to build a new house for the wai'den. Like the churches, the buildings here described were probably designed jointly -by Bishop Selwyn and Mr Frederic Thatcher, a young architect who afterwards became a clergyman and the first vicar of St. Matthew's All that have survived show the same firm hand, and the same artistry, combined with fine craftsmanship in stone, and such timber as can rarely be had in these days. The ideas of the architects about planning often do not square with modern practice, but on the aesthetic side the houses fire hard to praise enough. Their steep roofs, made for silvery-grey shingles, are now, alas, covered with corrugated iron. Few architects would make such angles to-day unless a client were willing to pay the extra insurance premiums that shingles involve, but otherwise the designs might inspire new homes different from the all-pervading bungalow. Ingenious Windows. One point of interest is to be found in the windows. There were no leadlight makers in New Zealand 60 years ago, so the ingenious Mr Thatcher utilised an every-day commodity—hoopiron. The muntins, or division bars, ware made of this, pieces of glass were cut to fit the openings and fastened in •with putty, both inside and out. This original method succeeded so well that the windows, if they have been looked after, are invariably in excellent order to Ibis day, being things of real grace and beauty into the bargain. •: * . ! "