Botanic Garden Stables, Mess Rooms and Tool Shed

Not assessed

Not assessed

Not assessed

There are three buildings in the hollow below the Treehouse Visitor Centre that are now known as the Gardener’s sheds. They are uniform in their design, being good examples of the Arts and Crafts style that was popular early in the 20th century. The mess building is on the south side of the path, and the stables (now a tool-shed) and a utility building are on the north side. Together they make a coherent group, giving a picturesque quality to the area alongside the camellia garden.

Materials are appropriate for the garden setting – walls consist of a brick plinth and unpainted roughcast stucco infill above, with Marseille tile roofs (a variety of brands including “Turtle” and “Les Milles B. du A.”). The roofs are gabled, and they have wide eaves and rafter and purlin ends exposed. The timber window and door joinery appears to be original.

The mess building is L-shaped in plan, with the main door in the north elevation, a large window that lights the mess room on the west elevation, and a fireplace and chimney on the back (south) wall. It has been heavily modified internally over the years and includes a crude modern fireplace to the old chimney.

The stable building is rectangular in plan, with a small lean-to on the back elevation. The east end has a loft door in the gable end with a lifting beam set in the wall above. One of the loose boxes retains its original clinker brick-on-edge flooring, while other floors are now concrete. It remains generally original in form and materials; new work is confined to modern internal partitioning.

The Potting Shed appears unchanged from 1924, with tiled roof on timber framing, roughcast walls above brick and timber joinery.

Although altered internally, principally by modern partitioning, the form and exterior detail of these buildings is largely original. They have technical interest as the materials and workmanship evident in the structures are of good quality for their time and in authentic condition.

Brick, cement plaster, timber frame and Marseille tile roofs

The three buildings known as the Gardener’s Sheds are located in the lower reaches of the Botanic Gardens on the Glenmore Street side. They are set well back from the formal gardens adjoining the road and past the camellia garden in a small gully below the contemporary visitor centre. The path to the visitor centres wends its way past and above the buildings, enabling them to be seen largely in the round. The immediate area is lushly and diversely planted and although many of the plantings are native to New Zealand it nevertheless has, with the many mature trees, a strong sense of a carefully managed “English” informal garden around these buildings completely appropriate to their Arts and Crafts character. The buildings make a strong contribution to, and are enhanced by, their garden setting.

The wider context includes the visitor centre itself and the potting sheds beyond (one of which is of a similar vintage to these sheds), and in the broader garden area, a wide range of old buildings of a variety of types, styles and sizes, all bound together by their common association with the development of the gardens and tranquil garden settings.

• 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?

  This group of gardener’s sheds is a very good example of Arts and Crafts style design. The buildings were constructed of high quality materials that have mellowed over the past century and fit well in their tranquil garden setting.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  The Stables, Mess Rooms and Tool Shed are part of a group of utility buildings associated with the day-to-day operations of the Botanic Gardens.

• 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 buildings have townscape value as part of the Botanic Garden’s Heritage Area and the informal grouping of the three buildings adds to their picturesque quality.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The group of buildings have a historic association with the development of the Botanic Gardens. They date from a time when the horse was a vital means of transport and motive power and the stables, in particular, are a rare surviving example of utility buildings of this type from this era.

• Archaeological

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

  Recorded pre 1900 human activity on the site – Central City NZAA R27/270.

• 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 buildings have been in continuous use by the Botanic Gardens for nearly 100 years and contribute to the sense of place and continuity of the Botanic Gardens Heritage Area. They have strong public recognition by virtue of their age, their location alongside the camellia garden, and for their intriguing appropriateness in their garden setting.

• 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 exteriors retain much of their original building fabric and remain in near–authentic condition.

• Rare

  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

  The buildings are a rare surviving group of Arts and Crafts ancillary buildings and the stables have particular rarity value.

• Representative

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

  The buildings are a good representative example of Arts and Crafts design.

Not assessed

• Jeffrey, M. ‘Stables and Mess Buildings [Botanic Gardens, Wellington].’ Unpublished heritage inventory and conservation plan. Arch 281, School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, 1998.
• Murray, Russell. “Botanic Garden Stables, Mess Rooms and Tool Shed” unpublished report for WCC DPC 53, 2006
• Shepherd, W. and W. Cook. The Botanic Gardens, Wellington: A New Zealand History, 1840-1987. Millwood Press: Wellington, 1988.
• WCC Archives File 00004:497:23/60/30/6: Botanic Garden History, Architecture and Facilities (undated), Wellington City Archives (WCA); File 00205:4:904, 15/10/1914; Building Permit 00055:38:A3589, 1924

• Inventory Report

Not available