House

Crossways Community Centre

46 Brougham Street, Mount Victoria, Wellington
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Photo: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015
Photo: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015
Extent: Cityview GIS 2013
Extent: Cityview GIS 2013
Map

  • Constructed

    c.1887 - c.1887

  • Architect(s)

    Unknown

  • Builder(s)

    Thomas Young

  • 46 Brougham Street is a good representative example of a late 19th century Italianate villa. 

    This building has considerable historic value for the associations that it has with a number of different important groups. The house’s builder and original owner, Thomas Young, was a prominent Wellingtonian who gathered wealth from his successful liquor importing business, T & W Young. Soon after Young’s death, the house was purchased by the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union, an advocacy group with an extensive network of branches which had some influence on national politics through its support of women’s suffrage and prohibition. The house was then owned by the Presbyterian Church, doubling as a place of worship and as a community centre and has been used by hundreds of different local groups and organisations during this time.  

    This building has been a part of the Mt Victoria streetscape for over a century, adding a great amount of visual interest to a busy street. It has achieved landmark status in the Mt Victoria community and contributes greatly to a sense of place and continuity. 


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  • close History

    • It is difficult to ascertain the date of the construction of the house on the corner of Brougham and Elizabeth streets. The land was owned by merchant Thomas Young, who purchased town acre 312 in the mid-1860s and was listed as an occupier at the same time. Thomas Young was a successful importer of wines and spirits, establishing the business of T & W Young with his brother in 1856. The present house does not appear to date from this time, and is more likely to have been constructed some time in the 1880s. There are few other clues to its provenance; there are no dramatic increases in the rateable value of the land at any point in the 19th century. Young took mortgages out on the property in 1879 and 1887, suggesting that he may have built the house at these times. No permit applications were received after records began in 1892, and Ward Map 48, drawn in 1890, shows that the 12 room house was on the site by that date. At the time of its (probable) construction, the house was then the only occupant of its town acre. The Elizabeth Street extension was not formed at the time, and Young sold land to the Wellington City Corporation in 1902, presumably for the purpose of forming the electric tramway, which opened in 1906.

      Thomas Young died in 1928, and his estate was inherited by his sons Arthur and Campbell, who also worked at their father’s firm. Campbell had been listed as an occupier of the Brougham Street house from the mid 1910s onwards on his own, so it is possible that Thomas may not have lived there in the last years of his life. The sons immediately sold the property to the Provident Land and Investment Corporation, which may have been interested in the land as it had not been subdivided. The Corporation created Moncrieff Street, just west of the house, and sold off a number of sections. The land occupied by the house was subdivided and the property sold to the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1929 and used as their national headquarters.

      The WCTU were not the only occupants of the building, with part of it being used as residences. Les Ross, a salesman, lived there for much of the period of the WCTU’s ownership in an upstairs flat. The WCTU retained ownership until 1952, when the property was sold to William Aitken and Co., which used the house as commercial premises for their olive oil importation business. The firm, which began around 1937, is still in existence and now based in Taupo.

      In 1978, William Aitken and Co. put the house on the market and it was purchased by the Kent Terrace Presbyterian Church. The Church had been looking for new premises following the sale of their church on Kent Terrace (the site of which is now a Kentucky Fried Chicken). The Church had been struggling to meet its maintenance costs, and faced with falling congregations and the cost of upkeep of a church and hall. The congregation had to decide whether to close, amalgamate, or reinvent itself. The purchase of the Brougham Street house as a church and community centre made good sense for the Kent Terrace church. The church been one of the founding members of the Inner City Ministry, and the ministry had an emphasis upon a shared ministry of service and advocacy for the inner city’s underprivileged.

      The house had been left in poor condition by William Aitken and Co., and was in need of refurbishment. It was adapted for its new use and an internal refit was supervised by architect Martin Hill. The downstairs space was opened up, reusing doors from the old church and dado from the old Sunday school to maintain the Victorian ambiance. The combined front rooms served as a place of worship as well as the main meeting space. Numerous other spaces in the large house were put to use. The name ‘Crossways’ was agreed at a community party held in the garden in March 1978. The house opened as the ‘Crossways Community Centre’ in October 1978. Initially the church and community centre was a success though in 1999 with diminishing attendance the Mt Victoria congregation had to reassess its viability. Three years later it was decided to merge with St Andrew’s on The Terrace.

      The Community House continued, with the Crossways Community Crèche, established in 1983, being a major use. As a community facility it was well used by various Mt Victoria groups and others from further afield in the city. The Presbyterian Church, which still owned the building despite the merge of the Mt Victoria and St Andrew’s congregations in 2002, decided to sell the building in 2007/2008 due to increasing costs and decreasing attendance and use of the building. The building was sold in 2008 to a private buyer. The crèche subsequently moved to another location in Mt Victoria – 61 Majoribanks Street WCC heritage inventory ref 16/206.

    • Modifications close
      • c.1887 - c.1887
      • Constructed: Pre 1890, possibly 1887
      • 1953 - 1953
      • 46 Brougham Street, alterations to premises (00056:456:B34667)
      • 1971 - 1971
      • 46-48 Brougham Street, garage (00058:724:C32853)
      • 1978 - 1978
      • 46-48 Brougham Street, convert dwelling to church and two flats (00058:1137:C49120)
      • 1978 - 1978
      • 46-48 Brougham Street, repile (00058:1147:C49468)
      • 1979 - 1979
      • 46-48 Brougham Street, sign (00058:1194:C51280)
      • 2005 - 2005
      • 46 Brougham Street, kitchen alterations (00078:2533:123748)
    • Occupation History close
      • c.1860
      • Thomas Young
      • 1928
      • Arthur and Campbell Young
      • 1929
      • Women’s Christian Temperance Union
      • 1952
      • William Aitken and Co. Ltd.
      • 1978
      • (Kent Terrace Presbyterian Church
      • 2008
      • Cheryl Gulliver
  • close Architectural Information
    • Building Classification(s) close

      Not assessed

    • Architecture close

      The former Crossways Community Centre is a large, two storey building of timber construction with a hipped rood covered in corrugated iron. The principle elevation overlooking Elizabeth Street faces north-east. On the south-western boundary is a garage and car parking for vehicles accessing the property from Brougham Street. The house is designed in a simplified Italianate style that was popular in the 1870s and 1880s throughout New Zealand. Principal signifiers of the Italianate style are the bracketed eaves, round headed sash windows with brackets beneath the sills, and simplified Classical columns. On this building, the latter frame the three bays of the entrance porch. Modifications have replaced the round headed openings with square headed ones. The balustrading on the stairs leading to the entrance is also not original.

      The building is T-shaped in plan, with the principal rooms and entrance porch located in the shorter, cross wing, and the service rooms and first floor residence within the longer transverse wing. The single storey entrance porch at the front of the building supports a projecting bay that adds to depth to, and enlivens the façade. An open timber balcony and staircase also doubles as fire egress for the first floor. Square headed windows of generous size light the first floor, with round headed windows either singly or in pairs reserved for the ground floor and major first floor spaces.

      Another notable feature of the house is the integration of timber dados and doors that were salvaged from the Kent Terrace Presbyterian Church and Sunday school. Although material from one building is commonly recycled in another it is far less common that the provenance of that material should be known and the source be so relevant to its new location.

    • Materials close

      Timber

    • Setting close

      This building stands at the heart of Mt Victoria, on the western corner formed by the intersection of Brougham and Elizabeth Streets. Across the road, on the northern corner, is Clyde Quay School, while to the South is a neighbourhood dairy. A residential property is on the eastern corner of this busy intersection and completes a group that was once the nexus for the local community, and continues to be representative of its historic domestic and suburban character.

      Key features of the landscape setting include the distinctive, complementary picket fence, large heritage listed specimen tree (16, 27), and its generous garden frontage. The sweep of the corner, built for turning trams, is also a prominent feature of the properties setting.  

  • close Cultural Value

    46 Brougham Street is a good representative example of a late 19th century Italianate villa.

    This building has considerable historic value for the associations that it has with a number of different important groups. The house’s builder and original owner, Thomas Young, was a prominent Wellingtonian who gathered wealth from his successful liquor importing business, T & W Young. Soon after Young’s death, the house was purchased by the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union, an advocacy group with an extensive network of branches which had some influence on national politics through its support of women’s suffrage and prohibition. The house was then owned by the Presbyterian Church, doubling as a place of worship and as a community centre and has been used by hundreds of different local groups and organisations during this time.

    This building has been a part of the Mt Victoria streetscape for over a century, adding a great amount of visual interest to a busy street. It has achieved landmark status in the Mt Victoria community and contributes greatly to a sense of place and continuity.

    • Aesthetic Value close

      • Architectural

        Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

        46 Brougham Street is a good representative example of a late 19th century Italianate villa. 

      • Townscape

        Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

        This building has high townscape value as it is sited on a prominent and busy bus/travel route corner site, and has been a feature of Mt Victoria for over 100 years.  

    • Historic Value close

      • Association

        Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

        This building has considerable historic value for the associations that it has with a number of different important groups. The house’s builder and original owner, Thomas Young, was a prominent Wellingtonian who gathered wealth from his successful liquor importing business, T & W Young. Soon after Young’s death, the house was purchased by the New Zealand Women’s Christian Temperance Union, an advocacy group with an extensive network of branches which had some influence on national politics through its support of women’s suffrage and prohibition. The house was then owned by the Presbyterian church, doubling as a place of worship and as a community centre and has been used by hundreds of different local groups and organisations during this time.  

    • Scientific Value close

      • Archaeological

        Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

        This building was constructed prior to 1900 making it an archaeological site under the HPA 1993. It is included in the NZAA Central City archaeological area R 27/270. 

    • Social Value close

      • Public Esteem

        Is the item held in high public esteem?

        This building is held in high public esteem as it has had an important community function and has strong amenity values as a result. Although it is no longer a community centre, it remains a prominent building.   

      • Identity - Sense Of Place - Continuity

        Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

        This building has been a part of the Mt Victoria streetscape for over a century, adding a great amount of visual interest to a busy street. It has achieved landmark status in the Mt Victoria community and contributes greatly to a sense of place and continuity. 

      • Sentiment - Connection

        Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

        The prominent corner site, mature garden setting, and imposing façade, in addition to its previous functions as a community centre all contribute to this building having a high level of community sentiment and connection attached to it.  

    • Level of Cultural Heritage Significance close

      • Representative

        Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

        This building is a good representative of the Italianate style on a domestic building. There are few large scale timber domestic buildings in Wellington; this one is comparable to W.C. Chatsfield’s Bishopscourt on Mulgrave St in style and scale.  

      • Authentic

        Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

        This building retains a significant amount of original material making it relatively authentic despite its changing uses. Both the exterior and interior have authenticity of fabric, and even the additions in 1978 that incorporated fabric form the Kent Terrace Presbyterian Church and Sunday school have value. The building also has a high authenticity of garden setting. 

      • Local - Regional - National - International

        Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

        This building is of considerable local importance for the people who have interacted with it. It has high architectural and townscape values due to few negative alterations having been carried out and the retention of significant original materials; it also has authenticity of setting and is a good representative of a building from its time. It has a high level of historic significance, with associations to some nationally important groups and has high social value for the Mt Victoria community and Wellington in general. 

    • Local / Regional / National / International Importance close

      Not assessed

  • close Site Detail

    • District Plan Number

      12/ 409

    • Legal Description

      Lots 9, 10, and 12 DP 9809

    • Heritage New Zealand Listed

      Not listed

    • Archaeological Site

      NZAA Central City R27/270, Pre 1900 building

    • Current Uses

      unknown

    • Former Uses

      unknown

    • Has building been funded

      No

    • Funding Amount

      Not applicable

    • Earthquake Prone Status

      Not Earthquake Prone

  • close Additional Information
    • Sources close
      • Kelly, Michael and Ann McEwan. ‘Crossways Community Centre – 46 Brougham Street.’ Wellington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 58, 2007.
      • Wellington City Archive: 00056:456:B34667; 00058:724:C32853; 00058:1137:C49120; 00058:1147:C49468; 00058:1194:C51280; 00078:2533:123748
    • Technical Documentation close
    • Footnotes close

      Not available

Last updated: 12/4/2017 2:05:15 AM