Queen Margaret College Tower Building
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Constructed
1876
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Architect(s)
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Builder(s)
Unknown
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The Queen Margaret College Tower Building is a good representative example of Victorian Italianate architecture and is a visible remnant of the original 1876 house that has since been adsorbed into the main block of the college. The building is particularly notable for the quality and workmanship of its construction and for the elaborate decorative scheme that replicates stonework construction-details in timber.
The building was built for Thomas Coldham Williams (1825-1907), a wealthy landowner, at a time when the ‘merchant princes’ of Wellington were starting to construct their grand houses in north Thorndon.
The building has traditional and symbolic value in its historic role as a girls’ Presbyterian college and has sentimental value to both its former and current pupils.
The prominent height of the Italianate tower gives the building townscape value.
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Downloadable(s)
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History
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Queen Margaret College comprises a complex of buildings surmounted by the College Tower. Established in 1919 the College inherited some important Wellington houses. Firstly, in 1869, Colonial Architect William Clayton built a concrete house, one of New Zealand’s first concrete buildings. It was also, reputedly, the first house with both hot and cold water in Wellington. This was partly demolished only in recent years.
Clayton died in 1877 and the property was sold to Thomas Coldham Williams (1825-1907), fourth son of Bay of Islands missionary Henry Williams, and a wealthy land owner. He owned several large Wairarapa estates. In early days the Williams family also owned land elsewhere in Hobson Street and nearby Davis Street. Williams hired architect Charles Tringham to design additions to the house, including the Italianate tower, portico, conservatory and balconies. Hobson Street was then probably Wellington’s most prestigious address, with the area becoming home to the ‘merchant princes,’ and the Williams’ house became well known for its social events. Thomas Williams, who had 13 children of his own, died in 1912 and his wife returned to England.
The lease was secured by the Presbyterian Church who opened two consecutive schools here. The first was Scots College, which began here in 1916. After three years it moved to a new building in Miramar where it remains to this day. Queen Margaret College then took over the site, commencing on 19 February 1919, with a roll of 53. There have been many additions to the buildings since then to accommodate the expanding school.
Today the building still continues to play a part in the daily lives of the staff and pupils of Queen Margaret College.
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Modifications
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1876
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Construction
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2001
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Repile of main tower block (00078: 825: 83663)
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2004
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Refurbishment of tower block (00078: 1505: 121573)
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Occupation History
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1876
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Thomas Colham Williams
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1916
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Scots College
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1919
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Queen Margaret College
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Architectural Information
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Building Classification(s)
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Not assessed
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Architecture
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The original 1876 house has been largely adsorbed and adapted to form part of the main two-storey block of buildings at Queen Margaret College, and the tower is one of the few external features that have survived. It is a fine example of Victorian Italianate design, a style that was more popular in Australia than in New Zealand for grand-scale residential design. It is three storeys high and is designed in the manner of a Florentine Palazzo of the fifteenth century. The tower is all the more interesting for reproducing in timber what are essentially masonry classical motifs.
The first-floor windows, for example, have an elaborate pediment, with brackets, cornice, and triangular centre-piece. Wooden piers at the corner of this level rise, on the next, into elongated panels inset with a central diamond motif. The windows of the second floor are paired on each facade and feature two round-arched windows united under a single arched opening.
The tower is capped by a distinctive Italianate projecting cornice, heavily bracketed, with a balustraded parapet as a further cap. Such towers (and they are comparatively rare in New Zealand) were designed for their landmark qualities and their evocation of the picturesque.
The interior is quite authentic in materials and detail. In the main entrance hall a spiral staircase leads to a gallery at first floor level which is lit by clerestory windows in a raised portion of the roof. The handrail of the staircase terminates in a full wreath fashioned from solid timber. The interior is finely finished with carefully-chosen timbers and the mottled kauri panels of the doors are trimmed with Australian blackwood.
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Materials
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Timber
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Setting
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The building is situated on the grounds of Queen Margaret College on Hobson Street, Thorndon. Hobson Street still retains many houses from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The building is built away from the road and is reached by a private drive. Adjoining the building to the west is another building which is a later development. The development of adjoining and surrounding buildings has not detracted from the building’s distinctive tower. Because the building is located on the grounds of a private school it is best viewed from Hobson Street.
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Building Classification(s)
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Cultural Value
The Queen Margaret College Tower Building is a good representative example of Victorian Italianate architecture and is a visible remnant of the original 1876 house that has since been adsorbed into the main block of the college. The building is particularly notable for the quality and workmanship of its construction and for the elaborate decorative scheme that replicates stonework construction-details in timber.
The building was built for Thomas Coldham Williams (1825-1907), a wealthy landowner, at a time when the ‘merchant princes’ of Wellington were starting to construct their grand houses in north Thorndon.
The building has traditional and symbolic value in its historic role as a girls’ Presbyterian college and has sentimental value to both its former and current pupils.
The prominent height of the Italianate tower gives the building townscape value.
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Aesthetic Value
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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?
The Queen Margaret College Tower Building is a good representative example of Victorian Italianate architecture and is a visible remnant of the original 1876 house that has since been adsorbed into the main block of the college. The building is particularly notable for the quality and workmanship of its construction and for the elaborate decorative scheme that replicates stonework construction-details in timber.
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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?
The three-storey tower was a prominent landmark in early photographs and continues to make a major contribution to the low-rise streetscape of Hobson Street.
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Historic Value
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Association
Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?
The building has historic value for its association with its original owner, Thomas Coldham Williams, a prominent member of Wellington’s society. The building has an association with two of Wellington’s Presbyterian schools, Scots College (now in Strathmore) and the current Queen Margaret College.
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Association
Association: Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?
The building is associated with the historic development of the grand houses of the ‘merchant princes’ on Hobson Street and northern Tinakori Road that took place at the end of the nineteenth century.
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Scientific Value
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Archaeological
Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?
There has been pre-1900 historic human activity on this site. The grounds of Queen Margaret College lie between the site of the former Pipitea Pa and Raurimu kainga. The building is also located in the Central City archaeological site reference NZAA R27/270.
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Social Value
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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?
The building has had few intrusive modern alterations or additions in the past 130 years and contributes to the sense of place and identity of Queen Margaret College.
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Sentiment Connection
Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?
The building has sentimental value to former pupils and teachers of Queen Margaret College.
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Symbolic Commemorative Traditional Spiritual
Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it?
The building has symbolic, commemorative and traditional value to pupils, both current and former, of Queen Margaret College.
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Level of Cultural Heritage Significance
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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?
The building has retained a significant amount of its original fabric, therefore it has authenticity.
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Local Regional National International
Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?
Because of its historic role in both the development of Thorndon and as an education provider in Wellington the building is important on a local level.
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Local / Regional / National / International Importance
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Not assessed
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Aesthetic Value
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Site Detail
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District Plan Number
18/ 147
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Legal Description
Pt Secs 601 602 603 Town of Wellington
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Heritage New Zealand Listed
2/ 1419
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Archaeological Site
Central City NZAA R27/270
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Current Uses
unknown
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Former Uses
unknown
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Has building been funded
No
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Funding Amount
Not applicable
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Earthquake Prone Status
To be assessed
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Additional Information
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Sources
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- Irvine-Smith, F. The Streets of My City. Wellington: A.H. and A.W. Reed, 1948.
- New Zealand Historic Places Trust Professional Biographies. ‘Charles Tringham.’ Accessed 14 September 2012.
- Wellington City Council, ‘53 Hobson Street.’ Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 2001: Non-Residential Buildings. Wellington City Council, 2001. HOBS2.
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Technical Documentation
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Not available
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Footnotes
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Not available
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Sources
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Last updated: 10/6/2017 1:56:00 AM