Story: Domestic architecture

Homewood, in suburban Karori, Wellington, began as a large cottage for Wellington judge Henry Chapman in 1847. In 1852 the house passed into the hands of businessman John Johnston, whose son Charles extensively extended it in 1903 under architect Joshua Charlesworth. Charles Johnston renovated it in the Edwardian Scottish baronial style, evident in the tower and repeated use of crenellations (the notches on a rampart). In 1958 the house became the residence of the British high commissioner.