Saint Barnabas
The History of Bishop Selwyn's Private Chapel

R.H. THOMAS

Bishop Selwyn's residence, in Parnell, Bishopscourt, (now Selwyn Court) is described by Professor C.R. Knight as 'probably the most ambitious secular building In the Selwyn series'.(1) It originally contained St Barnabas, Selwyn's private chapel, which is now in the grounds of the Auckland Diocesan Girls School. In this article I want to discuss, firstly, the original placing of the Chapel; secondly, its most noteworthy attributes; and finally, the circumstances of its removal to Diocesan Girls High School.

The existing documentation of the construction of Bishopscourt is confused. Past writers have disagreed about the actual date. This is due to inadequate research rather than to any real difficulty in the matter. Sedcote and Crookes in their unpublished Early New Zealand Ecclesiastical Architecture (1930) give the date as 1863.(2) The Diocesan Girls School publication The First Fifty Years, gives 1864 as the Chapel's dedication date;(3) and Fowldes, in his 1961 report to the Historical Places Trust, 1866 to 1868. Bishop Selwyn's personal ledger settles the matter. It records that Bishopscourt was begun in September 1863 and the carpenter's account settled by Thatcher's arbitration in July 1866.(4)

Enid Evans, in her 1975 report to the Historical Places Trust, states that the builder was A.H. Hunter.(5) ln 1865 Selwyn had a dispute with him over the cost of the complex. Selwyn's estimate of the cost was £1,900, and Hunter's bill was £2,171, 14s, 11d, with another account from July to December for £306,18s,4d. Fortunately, it seems that this difference was settled under arbitration(6) and a satisfactory compromise was reached.

Mention of the arbitration of Thatcher, Selwyn's ecclesiastical architect, raises the question of Selwyn's' personal involvement in designing this complex - a question that can be asked of other Selwyn structures. Enid Evans precisely states that plans were drawn up 'in consultation with the Reverend F. Thatcher'(7); while, of the less precisely documented sources, Fowldes has the Chapel 'attached' to Bishopscourt, Parnell, where it had been erected under the supervision of Bishop Selwyn;(8) and The First Fifty Years records that 'St Barnabas Chapel was designed by the Bishop... and there is a tradition that some of the actual building was done by the Bishop'.(9) These unsubstantiated statements add a certain colour to the issue.

Some old photographs provide useful information about Bishopscourt. They show the original landscaping round the building, and the structure's appearance before the later alterations of Bishop Cowie and the removal of the Chapel. Two photographs of the exterior of Bishopscourt, dated by Auckland Public Library 1863 and 1880, are amongst the earliest.

The 1863 photograph is inaccurately dated, as the complex was not complete till 1865 at the earliest.(10) Taken by the Reverend John Kinder, the photograph shows the buildings in an established setting. To the centre of the back wall the Chapel protrudes at right angles to the main building. The end wall of the Chapel has in the centre five long rectangular windows grouped to reflect the sixty degree slope of the roof. These, with two sets of double windows on the Chapel's extended sides (and a set of three in the rear wall), are fashioned in leaded diamond panes in a manner usually associated with rector or college buildings. They are of different style and proportion from the others in the Court structure.

The 'Courtyard' photograph of Bishopscourt, dated 1880, shows the back of the Chapel, incongruous in the structure and partially hidden by a bush to the centre of the photograph. Its window sections, in a straight rectangular pattern, are below a rose window which matches the pattern of those placed in the bell tower.

In summary, there is little to outwardly distinguish the Chapel as a .special feature from the rest of the buildings. It is quietly incorporated into the whole structure of the Court, which reflects in its irregular appearance the style of Gothic revival architecture.

The ground plans of Bishopscourt in Sedcote and Crookes' manuscript show the Chapel centrally placed in the complex. Set between the Bishop's study and his office, it cuts the corridors that connect the library and domestic wings of the Court. The plans show two screens, extending the width of the Chapel, isolating its interior, and allowing the rear to function as a thoroughfare. Structurally and functionally the Chapel is wholly integrated into Bishopscourt. It is likely that the central placing of the Chapel has religious significance. Interestingly, the Court structure, based on a three-sided courtyard, has an affinity with Selwyn's first ambitious design for St John's College, Tamaki, which in turn was influenced by the 'Cambridge College pattern'.(11) In all these the Chapel is centrally placed.

St Barnabas was built as Selwyn's private chapel. Our knowledge of Selwyn's general aims in church building can be balanced against the result of St Barnabas.

Bishop Selwyn was a member of the Camden Society, based in Cambridge. This society aimed to counteract the 'decadence' of modern church architecture by building to the ideals of fourteenth century Gothic - known as 'middle pointed' or 'decorated'. They considered this style to be the most honest, functional and English style of ecclesiastical arthitecture.(12) Selwyn did his best to introduce the style into New Zealand.(13)

Since the attitudes of the Society were geared to English conditions for church building, certain compromises had to be accepted to meet New Zealand conditions. Most obvious was the need to build these Gothic structures in wood, as a suitable stone was not found in the Auckland area. This was unfortunate for Selwyn, since he had high hopes of training Maori carvers as masons and ornamental stone carvers. Today, the result of these departures from the norm enhances the distinctive charm of the Selwyn churches.

The mature Selwyn style can be seen in the Chapel's construction. The Chapel measures 17 by 38 feet in length, with a height of 22 feet to the roof, which is set on a 60 degree angle - the angle the Camden Society considered essential for 'a true church'. The roof slightly overhangs the walls, which rise to a height of 10 feet.

Certain aspects of the Camden Society's demands can be disregarded because they involved external aspects of church construction which are of no significance in discussing a chapel such as this, integrated into a larger complex of buildings. The main area for critical evaluation against the Camden Society standards is in the interior of the Chapel. The passing of time, and the fact that in 1927 one side of St Barnabas Chapel was taken out to integrate the new Chapel of Our Glorified lord with the building, necessitate us looking at early photographs to see what the interior and exterior of the Chapel originally looked like.

The earliest photograph of the interior appears to be one dated 1891 in the Auckland Public Library. This indicates the original severity of the furnishings in the Chapel. The photograph is taken from the rear of the Chapel and looks towards the altar. The building, of heart kauri, has a 'skin' of planks about nine inches wide over a skeleton frame of posts. The Ecclesiologist (the Camden Society magazine) states that no true church should have 'false interior walls' since the emphasis is to be on simplicity.(14) The exposed internal beams contrast with the Chapel exterior where the vertical planking lies smooth, with thin wooden slats nailed over the joints to keep the building warm and waterproof. It creates an elegant and understated patterned effect (see the photographs already discussed). This treatment contrasts with earlier examples of Selwyn church building such as St John's College Chapel (1846), which had the beams externally exposed, creating a strong structural effect. The change in construction was probably brought about by a wish to economise on building materials and the realisation that externally placed beams presented more traps for moisture and prevented a clean run-off by rain. (15)

The Camden Society believed that the altar should face east and should be two steps above the chancel, which in turn should be one step above the nave. The chancel was to be one third of the nave in length and was important, for 'no church was worthy of the name if it did not include a chancel for the decent administering of the Sacrament'.(16) The chancel is present: but inconsistencies are obvious. The altar does not face east, and Sedcote and Crookes' plan of the ground level of Bishopscourt shows the chancel to be less than one-third the size of the nave, and the altar is seen as only one step above it, not two. The naked beams lining the interior walls emphasise simplicity of construction. The Society considered that the framing and struts (the 'ribs') of the building should be honestly shown, as' . . . stucco and paints [are] more fitting for a ballroom. . . but in God's House everything should be real.(17) A close examination of the photograph is helpful in this respect. The interior, consistent with other Selwyn churches, is stained dark brown, which effectively diffuses the light within, evoking an air of religious mysticism and a certain deliberate ambiguity of space.

The Society's values settle the character of the Chapel. The furniture is functional rather than ornate. At the front, left of the altar and under the side window, is an elaborately carved chair - the only piece of furniture in the photograph remaining in the Chapel today.(18) More elegant than the pews and chairs, it is constructed very simply and honestly with pegs, nicely reflecting the Chapel's attributes of construction.

The windows in the Chapel are noteworthy, as they differ in aspect from their outside appearance. Their exterior rectangular framing is translated inside to a mitred lancet design. It is noticeable in the 1891 photograph that the two outside altar windows have been taken out, reducing the number from five to three. In The First Fifty Years it is stated that Bishop Cowie's wife caused this to be done to make the building appear more Gothic, presumably to emphasise the Trinity.(19) However, most photographs show the light source to be overwhelmingly harsh. Mr Cameron, the present School chaplain, suggests that the windows. were probably taken out as they allowed too much light to fall on the altar, dazzling the eyes of the congregation. A precedent for such an action can be seen in the Reverend Kinder's removal of windows at St Andrews, Epsom, another Auckland Selwyn church.(20)

In contrast to this, the windows at the rear of the Chapel may not have provided enough lighting during the day. There is a wheel in the roof which hoisted an 'elaborate candelabra' to the roof to provide light.(21) Bearing in mind the sparseness of the Chapel one wonders how an 'elaborate candelabra' fitted in. The 1891 photograph of the altar shows a system of ropes at the altar end of the Chapel leading to the roof: could this have held another 'elaborate candelabra' in place of what appears in the photograph to be a gas light fitting?

The photograph shows carved panelling above the side window lancets. These would have allowed air to circulate from under the wooden eaves of the Chapel roof, keeping the wood there dry. The idea, as seen in St John's College Chapel, is a hallmark of the Selwyn style of construction. Today these are planked over.

The positive attributes of this style of architecture were appropriately summarised by Miss Pulling, first Headmistress of Diocesan High School:
The building, to my mind, is the more suitable for a school chapel, that it is to the last degree simple and plain; when, as always in good work, its plainness is not a lack of generosity, but is composed by choice of the very best materials, by thoroughness of workmanship and thoughtful care in the proportion of every line of such ornamented features as there are.(22)

Why was the Chapel extracted from an existing building and reconstructed at Diocesan High School? Related to this question is an inconsistency as to the date of removal. The pamphlet A Tour of Churches (compiled for the 1967 Auckland Festival) gives the date of 1908 for the removal, whereas Fowldes gives 1928.(23) The Anglican Church Gazette of September 1910 settles the issue, proclaiming that the Diocesan Synod was to remove the Chapel to Diocesan High School at a cost of £270.(24)

Documentation indicates that after 1900 the Anglican Synod was made increasingly aware of the decay of Bishopscourt because of a serious problem with dampness.(25) In 1900 £165 was spent on its renovation; in 1901, £ 225; and in 1908 Bishop Neglin stated to the Synod: 'My further occupancy of Bishopscourt - as things are - is impossible'.(26) Plans were made for the complex to be rented out on lease while a new brick 'Bishopscourt' was to be built on an area consisting of some of the former gardens of the old structure (hereafter called Selwyn Court). Diocesan High School needed a chapel. The 1910 Synod proclamation announced the Chapel's removal to the School, to that it 'might be used for such purposes as were in conformity with the past use of the Building'. To fill the gap left in Selwyn Court by this surprising act, new rooms were built level with the existing old walls, and the corridor entrance in the back wing was moved to the extreme left of the courtyard wall.

It has been suggested that the new Bishopscourt encroached on the area occupied by the old Chapel, so that it had to be removed regardless of its function. Satisfactory as this explanation seems, the Chapel extended sixteen feet from the Court while the new Bishopscourt is about thirty feet away. The problem, if it is one, is unlikely to be solved.

This article settles the factual material in publication, and enables one to recreate, with the help of photographs, the original appearance of St Barnabas when it was a part of the old Bishopscourt. The wooden construction and asymmetrical appearance of the complex allowed the Court to be altered and extended in size - an ideal situation for colonial architecture. The removal of St Barnabas is, however, detrimental to the appearance of Selwyn Court. The Chapel, incorporated in the Court, was important in both a functional and an aesthetic sense, and its removal renders both less satisfying as pieces of architecture.

1. p. 49, The Selwyn Churches of Auckland.
2. Sedcote and Crookes. Sheet No.1.
3. p. 37. No documented proof of any date can be found concerning the Chapel's dedication as St Barnabas. The magazine goes on to state that the Chapel was named as St Barnabas 'out of the Bishop's affection for Eton where the boys regarded St Barnabas as patron saint'. This must remain a matter of conjecture due to lack of documented proof.
4. Mrs Selwyn's 'Reminiscences' further records that the complex was first occupied in 1865.
5. Enid A. Evans's report is an extremely valuable and interesting work containing documentation on both Bishopscourt and the Cathedral Library attached to it. This, being a report to The Historical Places Trust, has not been published. A copy may be found in the Auckland Anglican Archives.
6. Enid A. Evans, p. 24, makes reference to this.
7. Enid A. Evans, p. 2. The fact that Thatcher was on hand to act as arbitrator is interesting in the light of Allington's statement in her pamphlet Frederick Thatcher and St Paul's (p. 24) that in 1861 Thatcher was appointed to a new parish in Wellington.
8. Fowldes, p. 4.
9. The First Fifty Years, p. 57. The magazine goes on to state 'some of the first to use the Chapel were the families of clergy living in the Waikato who had been sent back to Auckland at the beginning of the war and had been given hospitality at Bishopscourt'.
10. This point can be settled by documentation.
11. Knight, p. 13.
12. See Allington, p. 13.
13. Some of the earliest works - St John's College Chapel (1846) and All Saints, Howick (1847)can be seen as purer examples.
14. Allington, p. 23.
15. Knight, p. 41.
16. Allington, p. 13.
17. Allington, p. 28.
18. There is also a small handcrafted 'bible-rest' in the Chapel today which Mr Cameron, the present chaplain, states to have been Bishop Selwyn's, brought with him from England and now appropriately left in his Chapel.
19. The First Fifty Years, p. 38.
20. Knight. p.39.
21. The First Fifty Years, p. 38.
22. The First Fifty Years. p. 39.
23. Fowldes it seems, is consistently out. He also stated (p.2): 'Churches were built by designers from England, with high pitched roofs to deflect heavy falls of snow, the narrow windows' diamond shaped panes imposed by the high cost of bringing glass 12,000 miles by sea in sailing ships'.
24. The Diocesan High School magazine settles the time at May 1910.
25. Enid A. Evans.
26. Enid A. Evans, p. 5.