Bishop's House (RC), St Marys Road (Saint Marys Bay), New Zealand, by Peter Paul Pugin (1851-1904). This Category 1 listed two-storey residence was built from 1893-1894, and is described in the listing text as "the centrepiece of a significant ecclesiastical complex at Mount St Mary in Ponsonby, Auckland, that has formed a headquarters for the Catholic faith since the 1850s.... a rare nineteenth-century example of a Catholic Bishop’s residence, and a rare or unique New Zealand design by the notable British architect, Peter Paul Pugin."
As well as possible echoes of the previous bishop's residence here, the listing text notes resemblances to the architect's childhood home, The Grange. Though dark red rather than yellow brick was used, it does have similarities — a crenelated tower, chimneystacks with tall chimneypots, and, inside, a library, chapel, and so on. The chapel's windows were designed by Alexander Booker (1842-1914), who was living in London at that time ("A. Booker"). This was a typical commission for an architect whose "practice was almost exclusively confined to the church, of which he was so devoted a son" (Obituary).
Photograph by Philip Doyle, originally posted in the Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections website, Record ID 435-09-13, and kindly made available on the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Licence. Text by Jacqueline Banerjee. [Click on the image for a larger picture.]
Bibliography
"A. Booker." Sussex Parish Churches. Web. 23 October 2025. https://sussexparishchurches.org/architectsandartistsb/
"Bishop's Palace, St Marys Bay, 1977." Auckland Council Libraries. Web. 23 October 2025.
"Bishop's House (Catholic)." Heritage New Zealand | Pouhere Taonga. Web. 23 October 2025.
Hyland, G.J. "The Architectural Works of the Pugins 1875-1958." True Principles: Transactions of the Pugin Society. No. 5 (October 2025). 15 (fig. 18b), 89 n. 64.
Obituary of Peter Paul Pugin. The Builder, Vol. 86 (Jan-June 1904): 316. Internet Archive, from a copy in the Getty Research Institute. Web. 23 October 2025.
Created 23 October 2025