Story: Public, commercial and church architecture

St John's College Chapel, Auckland

St John's College Chapel, Auckland

This watercolour depicts St John's College Chapel in Auckland, around 1870. The building was designed by architect Frederick Thatcher and built in 1846. It was among a number of churches constructed under the direction of Bishop George Selwyn, who thought the Gothic revival style was most suitable for church building. These became known as the Selwyn churches. They had cruciform floor plans, gabled 60-degree-pitch roofs and lancet windows. Thatcher's first designs had an exterior frame (seen here), but these collected water, and his later designs had board-and-batten exteriors.

Using this item

Auckland Art Gallery – Toi o Tāmaki
Reference: 1940/15/3
Watercolour by John Kinder

Permission of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Ben Schrader, 'Public, commercial and church architecture - Revivalist architecture: 1830s to 1860', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/44752/st-johns-college-chapel-auckland (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Ben Schrader, published 22 Oct 2014