The Mercy Room, built in 1909 as the private chapel of the former St Joseph’s Convent on Blenheim’s Maxwell Road, has historical value for its association with the expansion of Catholicism in Marlborough as the colonial population grew. Interesting for its domestic scale, refined elegance and stylistic links to John Sydney Swan’s significant body of work for the Catholic Archdiocese, the Mercy Room’s authentic and intact interior has architectural and aesthetic values. Its cultural, social and spiritual significance as a gathering place for Blenheim’s Catholic community to express shared beliefs, faith and devotion, is demonstrated by its retention and restoration on its original site where it continues its history of use as a cherished meeting and worship space. Marlborough is directly associated with the earliest period of Māori settlement in Aotearoa. Polynesian settlers inhabited Te Pokohiwi/Wairau Bar c.1300, and an extensive network of lagoons was later developed to make the most of the plentiful mahinga kai resources. Earlier tribes were succeeded by Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa and Rangitāne in the sixteenth century. Between 1828-1832 war parties of Waikato and Taranaki warriors attacked numerous pā, unsettling the region’s established tribal alliances. Ngāti Toa Rangatira put down roots in the Wairau and one of their warrior chiefs, Te Rauparaha, was the primary negotiator for the New Zealand Company’s 1839 purchase of the arable Wairau Valley. European settlement in the nineteenth century shifted customary ways of life for tangata whenua. Ownership and possession of the Wairau was still in dispute until 1847, when the Crown finally wrested legal title. Today Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Toa Rangatira have principal interests in the Wairau/Blenheim area. The colonial township of Blenheim developed in the 1850s in an area that was a flax swamp before earthquakes raised the ground level. By 1864 it was the principal town in the province, with a steadily growing Catholic population. Father Augustine Sauzeau SM arranged construction of the first St Mary’s Church on a large site in Blenheim’s Maxwell Road in 1865, and a complex of buildings that ultimately included two primary schools, an infant school, parish hall, presbytery, convent and high school, grew around the church, which was replaced with a larger building in 1878. The Sisters of Mercy were called to the Blenheim parish in 1885 to teach at the St Mary’s schools. They initially lived in the original presbytery cottage, but in 1900 Father Servajean SM began campaigning for a purpose-built convent. The two-storey timber Italianate building with prominent balcony was completed in 1902. The architect of this first stage is unconfirmed. However, in 1909 John Sydney Swan designed a large two-storeyed addition, containing a community room below a first-floor chapel for the Sisters’ private use. A further extension in 1930 created more bedrooms and enlarged the kitchen and utility rooms. By 1985 the number of Sisters resident in the convent had dwindled. A property swap with St Mary’s enabled the Sisters to move to a smaller residence. The convent then became Jordan House, the parish youth chaplaincy premises. However, in 1994 the building, excluding the chapel, was sold for disposal in a major redevelopment of the Maxwell Road parish complex. The chapel was physically cut from the building and remained on its original site, where it was eventually adapted to become the Mercy Room, a treasured space in the St Mary’s pastoral centre. The rest of the building was relocated in five sections to a rural property in Rapaura, where it was restored for use as a B & B. The balcony was reconstructed with modifications, and Sir Michael Fowler designed a replica of the first-floor chapel to become the master guest suite. Fowler designed a further ‘billiards room’ addition in 2008, however in 2016 this was subsumed by large additions to the south elevation. Interior spaces were also reconfigured at this time, leaving the hallway and library as the most original features. A contemporary steel and glass restaurant addition to the east in 2020 was the most recent change. In 2022 the property operates as The Marlborough boutique hotel with 10 guest suites, and Harvest restaurant.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1531
Date Entered
11th November 1982
Date of Effect
1st January 2023
City/District Council
Marlborough District
Region
Marlborough Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Lot 414-415 DEED 15 and Lot 601 DEED 15 (RT MB3A/660), Marlborough Land District, and the building known as the Mercy Room thereon. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).
Legal description
Pt Lot 414-415 DEED 15 and Lot 601 DEED 15 (RT MB3A/660), Marlborough Land District
Location Description
The Convent was formerly located at 61 Maxwell Road, Blenheim (where the Mercy Room remains), before the majority of the building was relocated to 776 Rapaura Road (State Highway 62), Rapaura, a rural locality adjacent to Blenheim. The legal description of the convent’s new location is Pt Lot 1 DP 9135 (RT MB5B/1073), Marlborough Land District.
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1531
Date Entered
11th November 1982
Date of Effect
1st January 2023
City/District Council
Marlborough District
Region
Marlborough Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Lot 414-415 DEED 15 and Lot 601 DEED 15 (RT MB3A/660), Marlborough Land District, and the building known as the Mercy Room thereon. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).
Legal description
Pt Lot 414-415 DEED 15 and Lot 601 DEED 15 (RT MB3A/660), Marlborough Land District
Location Description
The Convent was formerly located at 61 Maxwell Road, Blenheim (where the Mercy Room remains), before the majority of the building was relocated to 776 Rapaura Road (State Highway 62), Rapaura, a rural locality adjacent to Blenheim. The legal description of the convent’s new location is Pt Lot 1 DP 9135 (RT MB5B/1073), Marlborough Land District.
Cultural Significance
Cultural Significance or Value Mercy Room The Mercy Room reflects the culture of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy, and the wider culture of the Catholic faith of the Parish of St Mary/Star of the Sea Marlborough. The Sisters of Mercy were an integral part of the parish community who contributed much through their devotion to teaching the district’s children. The provision of a private, intimate chapel with characteristic ecclesiastical features allowed them a place to retreat, rebalance and receive spiritual nourishment for their work. The chapel continues to be a place where parishioners express their cultural identity, shared beliefs and values as practising Catholics. Social Significance or Value Mercy Room Retained and restored with effort by the St Mary’s parish in the 1990s, the Mercy Room continues to be valued as a gathering place for their spiritual communion and fellowship. Spiritual Significance or Value Mercy Room The Mercy Room continues to be valued as a space for shared religious experience, enhanced by the symbolism and aesthetic of its interior chapel.
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Mercy Room and its parent building, the former St Joseph’s Convent, have historical value as artefacts of the development of Catholicism in Marlborough. The oldest parts of the convent represent three stages of building improvements (in 1902, 1909 and 1930) when the growth of St Mary’s Parish and its schools required expanded accommodation for the Sisters of Mercy who taught there. Mercy Room The private chapel for the Sisters of Mercy has historical value as a central place in these women’s lives of faith and devotion. Now, history has opened it up to public use as the Mercy Room and it continues the convent’s long association with the Maxwell Road parish centre.
Physical Significance
Aesthetic Significance or Value Mercy Room The Mercy Room chapel has aesthetic significance for its interior, which is representative of early twentieth century spaces for worship. A sense of calm and warmth is created by the rich panelling in varnished timber, lit by the softly coloured light filtering through the arched windows. The subtle patterning of the coloured window glass, and its arrangement of a border of small panes around a central light, replicated above each dividing sash, contributes to the feeling of dignified ornamentation. High roof trusses supporting a lofty ceiling add to the environment of spiritual contemplation. Convent At first glance the rest of the former convent has aesthetic value as an impressively large timber Victorian-Edwardian building with decorative balconies, set amongst manicured park-like grounds. However, closer observation reveals numerous later additions that clutter, confuse and detract from the original aesthetic effect of the building. Architectural Significance or Value Mercy Room The Mercy Room has architectural value as a representative early twentieth century chapel. It is stylistically linked with notable architect John Sydney Swan’s other work for the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington, being a domestic-scale adaptation of his contemporaneous design for St Gerard’s Church in Wellington. It retains a local link with Swan’s 1911 addition to its former neighbour, the St Mary’s Presbytery, sharing design language. Although the Mercy Room has lost integrity through its removal from its original building and loss of pews, it retains its spatial relationship with St Mary’s Church, is able to still perform its original function, and the interior remains authentic. Convent The original 1902 section of the Mercy Room’s parent building, the former St Joseph’s Convent, has some architectural value as a representative early twentieth century parochial residence, with characteristic Italianate fenestration, joinery, symmetry and ‘street’ presence. The northern elevation of the 1902 section in particular has a stylistic link with the front façade of the former St Mary’s Presbytery, although this is diminished by the loss of the spatial relationship between the two buildings. However, the representativeness of the building is harder to read due to subsequent additions and alterations that present reconstructions as original fabric. The balconies, a distinctive feature of the 1902 part of the building, are a reconstruction that is only reminiscent of the original, omitting the corner sun-shelters and some ornamental detail. The extension of the balconies around much of the upper level, and a large external staircase added at the west, provides amenity but clutters the elevations. John Sydney Swan’s hand remains visible in the ground level windows of the eastern ‘chapel’ wing, but is compromised by the inauthenticity of the second-storey chapel replica. The southern elevation has had so many additions it presents a jumble of rooflines and crowded, unbalanced projections. Interior spaces retain little authenticity, with all except the central hallway, staircase and library having been refurbished, altered and reconfigured into larger spaces with modern amenities. The formerly small ‘cells’ characteristic of a convent are no longer in evidence, and even the spacious front bedrooms of the senior Sisters have experienced the installation of ensuites. The building’s heritage values have been severely compromised by its loss of architectural authenticity and it bears little relation to its previous life as a convent.
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
The Mercy Room was assessed against the Section 66(3) criteria and found to qualify under the following criteria: a, b, e, g. The assessment concludes that the Mercy Room should be listed as a Category 2 historic place. (a) The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of New Zealand history The former convent chapel represents the growth of Blenheim and the Marlborough province, and the expansion of the Catholic faith there. With the large influx of immigrants to New Zealand in the 1850s the Society of Mary’s work grew from its original pastoral mission for Māori begun in 1838 to a ministry catering for the spiritual needs of colonial Pākehā. The strength of this community in Marlborough is demonstrated by the successive building programmes and expansion of the Maxwell Road facilities centred around St Mary’s Church. (b) The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in New Zealand history The Mercy Room reflects the importance of spiritual practice and organised religion – specifically Catholicism – in New Zealand society. Accommodating the Sisters of Mercy was essential to the functioning of the St Mary’s parish schools, and appropriate housing was a mark of respect for these cherished teachers. The Mercy Room’s association with its former use as a convent chapel remains legible due to the intactness and authenticity of the interior. It remains recognisably part of the landscape of John Sydney Swan’s significant contribution to the architecture of the Catholic Church in New Zealand. (e) The community association with, or public esteem for the place St Mary’s parish has demonstrated its community esteem for the Mercy Room through their efforts to overcome the challenges of retaining and maintaining this cherished element of the Maxwell Road pastoral centre. The chapel’s historic patina and association with the Sisters of Mercy is important to them, and it remains a place to pay tribute to the Mercy Order’s contribution to their community. (g) The technical accomplishment, value, or design of the place Despite having lost its surrounding convent building, the Mercy Room retains stylistic links with the former St Mary’s Presbytery and the chapel of St Gerard’s Church in Wellington that mark it as part of John Sydney Swan’s significant oeuvre of buildings for the Catholic Church in New Zealand. Common characteristics with the former presbytery include the almost identical design and palette of the Mercy Room’s entrance doors with the presbytery’s skylight. The intimate scale of the chapel reflects its former life as part of a domestic building. The quality craftsmanship elegantly demonstrates the materials, styles and methods of the time. The roof trusses, sacristy and ornamental divider demarcating the chancel space are characteristic and intact features of ecclesiastical architecture. The authentic interior is a direct physical link to the Sisters of Mercy community who worshipped there for 76 years, and the priests who assisted them. Summary of Significance or Values The former St Mary’s Convent has historical value for its association with the expansion of Catholicism in Marlborough as the colonial population grew. It has been negatively affected by its 1994 disposal, relocation of the majority of the building to a distant site, and subsequent alterations. Both parts of the building have dramatically lost integrity due to their separation and the loss of their original context of the complex of buildings surrounding St Mary’s Church on Maxwell Road, which was once a very strong wider historical and cultural area. The ‘parent building’, relocated to Rapaura Road, has then suffered further alteration and substantial additions that have affected its authenticity to a level that cannot be balanced by its legacy as the former convent. The review concludes that the Rapaura Road portion of the building no longer meets the threshold for entry on the List due to its loss of architectural authenticity. However, the Mercy Room/chapel portion of the building on its original Maxwell Road site retains sufficient heritage values to remain entered on the List. The Mercy Room is now one of the two historic elements of the Maxwell Road pastoral centre that survived the 1993 redevelopment. Although it and St Mary’s Church (List No. 242) both suffered dramatic alteration and loss of context, their materials and locations remain the only reminders of the centre’s earlier generation of buildings. Interesting for its domestic scale, refined elegance and stylistic links to John Sydney Swan’s significant body of work for the Catholic Archdiocese, the Mercy Room’s authentic and intact interior has architectural and aesthetic values. Its cultural, social and spiritual significance as a gathering place for Blenheim’s Catholic community to express shared beliefs, faith and devotion, are demonstrated by its retention on its original site, where it continues its history of use as a cherished meeting and worship space.
Construction Professional
Biography
Swan (1874-1936) practised architecture during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He formed part of the last group of architects to follow the traditional Gothic and Classical styles. He was articled to Frederick de Jersey Clere, working with Clere on many major designs such as the Wellington Rowing Club building (then known as the Naval Artillery Boat Shed, 1894) as well as smaller provincial buildings such as the Church of the Good Shepherd, Tinui. The firm was known as Clere, Fitzgerald and Richmond and was one of the most prominent architectural practices in Wellington. From 1901 to 1906 Swan was in partnership with Clere, practising on his own account from 1907. The first major design produced by Swan in this new practice was the Karori Crematorium (1907) which served to establish his architectural identity separate from Clere. During his long and varied career Swan produced a large and wide range of work, including a number of banks for the National Bank such as the head office building in Wellington (1907), educational buildings for the Wellington Technical College with William Gray Young (1922), and a number of major buildings for the Catholic Church including St Gerard's Church, Mt Victoria (1910), Sacred Heart Convent (later Erskine College), Island Bay (1909), and Wanganui Convent (1912). He was an architect of imagination as evidenced by the design of his own house 'The Moorings', Glenbervie Terrace (1905).
Name
Swan, John Sydney
Type
Architect
Name
Barton, Tim
Type
Architect
Name
Bythell & Co.
Type
Builder
Name
Sir Michael Fowler
Type
Architect
Name
Smart Alliances Ltd
Type
Architect
Name
Field Studio of Architecture + Urbanism
Type
Architect
Biography
Nothing is known of the early life or work of Roger Bacon. In 1908 he entered partnership in Wellington with Alfred Atkins. The firm also maintained a branch in Wanganui and designed buildings at Wanganui Collegiate School including School Block, House Block, Hall and the headmaster's residence between 1909-19. It undertook several hospital designs including Cook Hospital, Gisborne (1911), Wairoa Hospital (1912) and the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for Children, Wellington (1912). Atkins and Bacon were also responsible for several branch buildings for the Bank of Australasia around New Zealand and for many residences in Wellington. Owing to failing health Bacon left the firm and moved to Blenheim about 1918. He retained an interest in architecture and completed two further works while in Blenheim - the War Memorial Clock Tower for the Blenheim Borough Council and Holy Trinity Church at Tuamarina.
Name
Bacon, Roger
Type
Architect
Construction Details
Start Year
1994
Type
Relocation
Description
Mercy Room
Start Year
1909
Type
Original Construction
Description
[Mercy Room] Chapel cut from original building
Start Year
1994
Type
Modification
Description
[Mercy Room] Chapel restored; new foyer added to western end
Start Year
1996
Type
Restoration
Description
[Convent] Two-storeyed Chapel wing added (including Mercy Room); balcony altered; kitchen and refectory extended by 6 feet
Start Year
1909
Type
Addition
Description
[Convent] To rear of building: kitchen and refectory altered; new laundry added; seven bedrooms and new corridor added to first floor; new bathroom added
Start Year
1930
Type
Addition
Description
[Convent] verandah sunrooms enclosed; bedrooms added
Period
Unknown
Type
Modification
Description
[Convent] Building cut into six parts; Chapel cut and removed from second storey
Start Year
1994
Type
Modification
Description
[Convent] Five parts (excluding the second storey chapel) moved to 776 Rapaura Road
Start Year
1994
Type
Relocation
Description
[Convent] / Five parts reassembled on Rapaura Road site; balcony
Start Year
1994
Type
Reconstruction
Description
[Convent] New single-storey lounge added to south of Eastern wing
Start Year
2008
Type
Addition
Description
[Convent] Reconfiguration of ground and first floors to create more bedrooms and add ensuites; addition to south to contain new commercial kitchen, offices and entrance canopy; addition to southwest to create new reception lounge and ensuite; external stairs added to west
Start Year
2016
Type
Addition
Description
[Convent] Restaurant wing added to east
Start Year
2020
Type
Addition
Description
Convent
Finish Year
1902
Start Year
1901
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Timber, glass, steel
The northern South Island is known as Te Tau Ihu, the prow of the waka from which the demigod Māui fished up the North Island. Marlborough is strongly associated with the earliest period of settlement in Aotearoa. Early Polynesian settlers—migrants from Hawaiki in East Polynesia—inhabited Te Pokohiwi/the Wairau Bar in the thirteenth century. Successive migrations of people were drawn to the region’s rich resources. Earlier tribes were largely displaced by Ngāti Kuia and Ngāti Mamoe in the sixteenth century, with Ngāti Mamoe dominating the Wairau. Later in the century, groups of Rangitāne moved southwards from the Hawke’s Bay via Wairarapa, while Ngāti Apa migrated across from the Rangitīkei district. Rangitāne eventually consolidated their position in the Wairau and in the 1700s created an 18-kilometre network of channels amongst the estuarine coastal lagoons. This massive engineering feat served them to harness the already plentiful mahinga kai resources, including fish, eels and birds. In the 1820s a whaling industry centred on Cook Strait was established, with Māori working, trading and intermarrying with Pākehā whalers at shore whaling stations in the Marlborough region. Between 1828-1832 the settled alliances of the region were unbalanced when a war party of Kawhia and Taranaki warriors armed with muskets attacked numerous pā. This caused great losses among the local populations, especially Rangitāne and Ngāti Apa. Ngāti Toa Rangatira put down roots in the Wairau and one of their warrior chiefs, Te Rauparaha, dominated affairs in the region; Ngāti Rārua also settled along the Wairau River. In October 1839 it was primarily with Ngāti Toa that William Wakefield negotiated to purchase large tracts of land for the New Zealand Company, who needed the rural arable pastures of the Wairau Valley to support their colony at Nelson. Ownership and possession of the Wairau was still in dispute in 1842 when the New Zealand Company persisted with surveying the valley, despite Te Tau Ihu chiefs’ denial of Ngāti Toa’s claims to the area, and Te Rauparaha’s insistence that the Wairau land was excluded from the Company’s purchase. The unrest erupted into violence on 17 June 1843, when a posse of settlers tried to arrest Te Rauparaha and his nephew Te Rangihaeata in retaliation for their disruption of the surveying. The confused fighting resulted in the deaths of around 25 people, including victims from both groups. Shockwaves from this tragedy, today referred to as the ‘Wairau Incident’, were felt locally and nationally, and attempts to secure the Wairau slowed until after Commissioner Spain’s 1845 inquiry into the land claims of the Nelson area found that the Wairau District had not been included in the 1839 sale. By various devious and underhand coercive tactics the Crown finally wrested possession of the Wairau from Ngāti Toa in 1847, and the valley was divided into allotments. The 2008 Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report, and subsequent Treaty of Waitangi settlements, acknowledged the Crown’s failure to protect iwi rights and interests in its methods of acquisition of Wairau land and failure to provide adequate reserve lands, among other breaches. Today Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Toa Rangatira have principal interests in the Wairau/Blenheim area. Blenheim emerges from the wetlands The name of the region’s major river, ‘Wairau’, derives from ‘Ngā wai-rau o Ruatere’, describing the braided waterways across the region, highly important to Māori for providing food and resources such as flax as well as a communication/transport network. The large flax swamp at the convergence of the Ōpaoa and Omaka rivers was described by the area’s Māori name, Te Waiharakeke. This swamp, the future site of Blenheim, also inspired that settlement’s first European name, ‘The Beaver’, said to have been coined by Joseph Ward (1817-1892) when he came across his surveying party ‘[sitting] like a lot of beavers in a dam’ amidst floodwaters. Blenheim developed in the 1850s. Earthquakes in 1848 and 1855 gave the future settlement a boost (literally and figuratively) as the ground level dropped enough to allow sea-going vessels to sail up the river to the site, increasing its potential as a trading nexus. Merchant James Wynen built a raupo warehouse there sometime soon after 1848. In 1852, James Sinclair and his family became the first to permanently reside there. From 1857 Sinclair was the land agent who marketed the town sections. By 1865 Blenheim was the principal town in the province, with a steadily growing population. Catholicism in Blenheim Catholicism in Aotearoa New Zealand grew from the work of missionaries who arrived in Northland in 1838. Bishop Jean-Baptiste Francois Pompallier’s mission was notable for its efforts to form Catholic belief around existing Māori tikanga and disseminate teachings by printing books in the Māori language. The Māori name for Catholicism, ‘Pikopō’ (from ‘episcopal’, meaning ‘of a bishop’), reflects Pompallier’s impact. The missionaries established the Society of Mary’s work in Aotearoa. In 1850 a split between Pompallier and the Society of Mary led to the creation of the Diocese of Wellington, which became the base of the Marist clergy, and included Blenheim. In 1844 the first Catholic missionary visited Marlborough. Father Antoine Garin (1810-1889) was the first Parish Priest, appointed in 1850. However, Father Augustine Sauzeau SM (1834-1898), appointed Marlborough’s Parish Priest in 1864, is considered the founder of the Parish of St Mary. Sauzeau built the first St Mary’s Church on a large site in Blenheim’s Maxwell Road, opened on 26 September 1865. The Blenheim church was part of Sauzeau’s program to establish Catholic facilities in the Marlborough region; the same year he opened the first Catholic School on the Blenheim site. By 1876 a new, larger building was needed to replace the old church. Sauzeau engaged prominent Wellington architect Thomas Turnbull, who designed a substantial timber Gothic building. The new church was opened on 29 September 1878. The first St Mary’s church building was then used as a girls’ school until 1909, then a meeting room until its demolition in 1926. Housing the Religious: the Convent The Sisters of Mercy were brought to Blenheim by the parish in 1885 and contributed much to the community through their work as teachers at the Catholic schools. The Order, founded by Catherine McAuley in 1831 in Dublin, had been brought to Aotearoa in 1850 by Bishop Pompallier in response to a request from wāhine Māori for ‘wāhine tapu to teach and care for their people’. The first Sisters in Blenheim lived in a temporary convent set up the original presbytery cottage across Maxwell Road from the church. A property adjacent to the church across Francis Street was purchased for a future convent to be purpose-built once funds were raised. The building of the convent—named St Joseph’s—was instigated by Rev. Father Louis Claude Servajean S.M., in August 1900. The architect of this original stage of the impressive residence is unconfirmed. Servajean is known to have made rough sketches for a building costed at £1000, which is in the ballpark of its final cost as built by local timber merchants Bythell & Co. If based on Servajean’s sketches, architectural assistance would still have been required. Thomas Turnbull and Sons have been attributed, possibly on the basis of their 1878 commission for St Mary’s Church; D.A. Douglas is another possible architect, as the street-facing façade of the building bears a strong resemblance to his work on the 1891 St Mary’s Presbytery. The foundation stone of the two-storey, 12-roomed timber convent was laid on 8 December 1901 by Archbishop Redwood once £850 pounds had been raised, and when it opened on 15 June 1902 it was free of debt thanks to donations from Servajean’s French relatives. A detached music room in the grounds was also under construction in 1902, and the lessons given there became a valued part of the convent’s income. A new wing, including a chapel on the top floor for the private use of the Sisters, was added to the convent in late 1909. Designed by Wellington architect John Sydney Swan, the chapel was modelled after his 1908 design for St Gerard’s Catholic Church in Wellington. Swan was, at the time, amidst a series of significant commissions for the Catholic Church in New Zealand, which ultimately also included Erskine College, Our Lady of Compassion Convent in Wellington, Sacred Heart Convent in Whanganui, and St Bede’s School in Christchurch amongst other smaller buildings and additions. Swan’s design for the Blenheim convent chapel was described as ‘Large and roomy, the decoration has been most artistically treated.’ Polished rimu stalls for the Sisters ranged round the room; the floors and ceilings were polished matai and the altar rails were polished brass topped with cedar. Light filtered through coloured cathedral-glass windows and globe-shades fitted over the electric lighting. An anteroom (sacristy) also featured cathedral-glass windows and rimu panels. An Imperial organ from Dresden was gifted to the chapel by Father Holley. The ground floor of the wing contained a community room with battens of rimu decorating the ceiling, and a couple of ‘nice and airy’ cells. The balcony of the original building was extended to meet the new wing and the refectory and kitchen were also extended by 6 feet. The detached music room was repositioned further away from the building. At the time, ten Sisters were resident in the convent. In subsequent years the number of bedrooms was increased to 19 or 22, requiring the enclosure of upstairs balconies, and in 1930, an addition to the rear of the building with new bedrooms off a new corridor, above an enlarged kitchen, refectory and laundry. Convent Schools The centennial of the St Mary’s convent schools was celebrated in Blenheim on the weekend of 14-15 October 1972. Although Sauzeau had opened the first school soon after his arrival in 1864, the first two purpose-built schools for boys and girls dated from 1872. A high school building was constructed in the convent grounds in 1903. Originally taught by lay schoolmasters, in 1896 the Sisters of Mercy took over teaching duties. The Sisters taught infants, primary and secondary students, until in 1952 the De La Salle Brothers, another Christian order focused on education, arrived to take over tuition at the boys’ primary school. On this occasion 200 former pupils gathered to pay tribute to the Sisters who had had such an impact on their lives. Over 50 former pupils of the St Mary’s schools have been inspired to enter the religious life. However, dwindling numbers of people entering the vocation of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy brought changes to the parish schools over time. The high school was closed in 1970 because of lack of funds to pay lay teachers’ salaries. By this time only girls were attending, although in the past it had been a co-ed school for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It was subsequently used by the primary schools until their new campus buildings were completed, then as a Parish Centre. Changes at the Mercy convent In 1953, when Rev. Father Leonard Brice SM brought the De La Salle Brothers to the parish to teach at the Boys’ School he acquired a property for them to live in at 73 Maxwell Road, named Delargey House after Cardinal Reginald Delargey (1914-1979). In 1972 the La Sallian Brothers withdrew from Blenheim due to declining numbers. By this time the numbers of Sisters living in the convent had also diminished greatly, and spare bedrooms lay empty. Shortly after the Blenheim Sisters of Mercy celebrated their centenary in 1985 with a gathering of past residents, a deal was struck with the Parish to exchange ownership of the convent with that of Delargey House, and the remaining Sisters moved out and into the smaller home. The former convent building was then renamed ‘Jordan House’ and used as home and base for the St Mary’s Youth Chaplain and his group of youth workers, who worked to foster the Christian faith among teenagers. The Sisters of Mercy’s 140-year presence in Blenheim came to an end in 2019 with the departure of the final two women, Sister Susanna Krause and Sister Elizabeth Mary. A service was held at St Mary’s to pay tribute to the Mercy Order’s long contribution to the community. Property review 1988-1998: dispersal of the Presbytery and Convent In the late 1980s the Parish Pastoral Council and Parish Priest Father Michael O’Hagan commissioned a wide-ranging review of Parish property assets. The goal was to reorganise and concentrate resources on revitalising key assets for the future ‘Beyond 2000’; a result was the rationalising of some of the ageing buildings to raise capital. A scheme for a reordered Parish centre on Maxwell Road was devised by architects Calder, Fowler, Styles and Turner, involving major alterations and additions to the church, and construction of a new administration block, hall and presbytery. Despite having been heritage-listed since 1982, the convent and presbytery to the south of St Mary’s Church, along with the convent high school building and music room, were earmarked for disposal; other properties were sold and some school buildings demolished and rebuilt. New lives for the old building In April 1994 the convent building was bought by Dr Wilf Holtrop and relocated in five sections to his rural property at 776 Rapaura Road, where it was reassembled for use as a bed and breakfast. The chapel was excluded from the sale and was retained by the church for future use as a cultural centre – it was physically cut from the building, including the floor which supported it. Sir Michael Fowler designed a new addition to take its place on the Rapaura Road building, and construction began immediately. The chapel’s original form was replicated on the new site, including the small gable projecting from the eastern end of the roof, and stained glass windows – likely sourced from the redevelopment at St Mary’s Church – were installed. The balcony was demolished for the relocation and built anew, replicating the original except for the iron fretwork brackets, and the enclosed corner sunrooms were not reconstructed. The balcony was extended around to the east wing to provide a second storey balcony for the new bedroom where the chapel was previously located, and a small new extension to the south elevation replaced part of the 1930s bedroom/kitchen additions. It is likely that some larger bedrooms were created by merging smaller cells at this time. In 2000 the small timber church of St Michael’s was relocated to the property to enhance the venue’s wedding facilities. As the accommodation business grew, a new lounge was added to the south of the east wing in 2008. Sir Michael Fowler’s ‘billards room’ design echoed the apsidal shape of the adjoining former chapel wing, and featured a panelled ceiling reminiscent of the original building before its renovations. The building’s most substantial alterations, including large additions to the south, were carried out in 2016 during rebranding of the business as The Marlborough luxury boutique accommodation. The entrance area at the south was extended with a new office and commercial kitchen addition adjoining the southwest of the 2008 lounge addition, and a reception lounge was added to the west of the entrance. The previous ‘driver’s bedroom’ and bathrooms were altered into new toilets. The old kitchen and rectory became a new guest room with ensuite, and ensuites were added or refurbished for all of the guest rooms, which now numbered ten with some new rooms created. 2020 again saw additions to the building, with a modern restaurant extension added to the east of the 2008 lounge addition. Creation of the Mercy Room The former convent chapel was left standing in the Maxwell Road grounds for some years, propped on timber blocks, while work was undertaken on the church. The chapel’s openings were boarded up but one of the coloured glass windows was lost to vandalism. As time passed the chapel deteriorated and eventually the parish decided that ‘the cost of restoration was beyond the end value of the building.’ A conservation report outlining options for its repair and reuse was prepared by conservation architect Alexandra Teague, who considered the building to be in generally good condition, especially the interior which was virtually unchanged since construction. Because of the NZHPT classification it received a Lotteries Grant for $24,500 for its reinstatement, including new foundations and a new entrance foyer to enclose the previously internal access point, designed by architect Tim Barton. Originally planned for reuse as a Cultural Centre in the reorganised St Mary’s complex, it was instead renamed the Mercy Room and was used by the Hibernian Society. In recent years it has been used for meetings and for daily Mass, as its smaller size makes it easier to heat than the church. Sir Michael Fowler’s vision for the Maxwell Road Catholic station was fully enacted and St Mary’s Church continues to be its centre, albeit now surrounded by mostly modern buildings, including its attached foyer and additions, and adjacent Community Centre, new presbytery and administration building. The St Mary’s school buildings have also been modernised to replace the older buildings. The 1878 nucleus of the church, and the former convent chapel/Mercy Room, are now the oldest buildings on the site. The parish, now known as the Star of the Sea Marlborough (Te Whetu o Te Moana), is grappling with updated seismic strengthening requirements for the St Mary’s Church building and is undertaking another property review.
Current Description Mercy Room The Mercy Room chapel is located in an urban setting amongst the Star of the Sea/St Mary’s Church complex on Blenheim’s busy Maxwell Road. The small chapel building is nestled between the newer Community Centre and Parish Office and Presbytery, all built in 1993. The chapel, which backs on to the Francis Street carpark at its eastern end, is within sight of St Mary’s Church roof rising above its 1993 additions. St Mary’s School is located across Francis Street to the southeast. The small, narrow chapel building is oriented roughly east-west. From afar, the building is distinguished from its newer neighbours by its rusticated weatherboard cladding, and its roof form – a steeply-pitched single gable rising above hips at the western end and faceted at the eastern end over a polygonal apse. A small gable, with decorative trefoil-inset gable end, projects above the eastern end, and a plain gable end sits above the western porch. A delicate cross finial ornaments the ridgeline, and decorative eaves-brackets support the shallow roof overhang. Thirteen pointed-arch shaped sash windows spaced evenly around the building’s north, east and south facades are an immediately recognisable ecclesiastical architectural feature. The five windows around the eastern end are all slightly shorter than the six windows along either side of the nave, and their higher sill line is integrated into the decorative scheme by a rail running horizontally between all windows and zig-zagging down to the lower sill heights. The sash windows all have Gothic trefoil-arches above a rectangular central pane surrounded by a border of smaller panes. Window glass is a selection of patterned plate glass in a colour scheme of clear, gold and green. The original pattern was ‘Imperial (No.27)’ featuring floral emblems of the United Kingdom (thistle, oak, rose, shamrock), also seen in John Sydney Swan’s 1911 addition to the neighbouring St Mary’s Presbytery. This has been replaced in some places by other patterns of plate glass as repairs were needed. A new (1996) entrance porch at the western end replaced what was formerly an interior passage to the chapel’s narthex when in its original first-floor location. Double doors lead to a narthex that is richly panelled in varnished timber below a dado, balanced by varnished timber panelling on the ceiling and lit by two of the windows. Dado panelling is in the shape of an arcade of tall, narrow arches. A needlework banner commemorating the Sisters of Mercy’s presence in Blenheim hangs on the wall. A small toilet room sits in the south corner of the narthex, and a tea-making facility in the north corner. Double doors, inset with a striking geometric design of diamond and triangular-shaped clear and green ‘Imperial No.27’ glass above varnished timber panels, open into the nave. The door design was a direct precedent for Swan’s 1911 design for the skylight in his addition to St Mary’s Presbytery (List No. 1532). The aesthetic impression of the nave is dominated by the warmth and sheen of the varnished rimu timber, the subtle colouring of the window glass, and the high ceiling trusses supporting the dark-stained tongue-and-groove lined ceiling. The roof trusses have curved knees that rest on projecting corbels, above thin posts affixed to the walls and integrated into the same arcaded panelling as in the narthex. A soft glow emits from original brass and frosted-glass wall lamps fixed next to each corbel. The chancel zone is demarcated by slightly projecting screens inset with quatrefoil fretwork; these were created from remains of the original Altar rails and support a pointed arch infilled with tongue-and-groove. The dado height of the wall panelling also steps up in increments between the windows to form an enhanced backdrop for the altar (and echoing the decorative rail treatment on the exterior). The altar platform was removed in the refurbishment, and the apse is now lined with built-in bench seating. Pews have been removed from the nave and the room is now furnished with chairs and tables to function as both worship and meeting space. Doors placed symmetrically on either side of the chancel end provide access up two steps to a small storage cupboard in the southeast corner of the building, and a timber-lined sacristy in the northeast corner. The sacristy contains original built-in joinery – cupboards and drawers for vestments and ceremonial items – that is unaltered since its construction. St Joseph’s Convent – The Marlborough The remainder of the former convent building now resides on the rural outskirts of Blenheim, amongst extensive park-like grounds accessed from the main driveway via Rapaura Road, or a service entrance from Giffords Creek Lane that passes through The Marlborough Lodge’s own vineyard. The surrounding estate is 16 acres of developed greenery. The sweeping driveway from Rapaura Road first presents the visitor with the most characteristically ‘historic’ parts of what is now a large complex of buildings dating from six major periods of construction. The north wing of the two-storey Italianate villa of the original 1902 St Joseph’s Convent, and its adjoining 1909 ‘chapel wing’ to the east, are dominant with their pale colour scheme and decorative timber balconies picked out in white, below corrugated steel hipped roofs supported by eaves brackets. The original 1902 building is an imposing height, its north elevation displaying a symmetrical arrangement of pairs of large double-hung sash windows flanking central doors on both storeys. Fenestration appears to have been influenced by that of the 1891 St Mary’s Presbytery which once formed the convent’s counterpart on the other side of St Mary’s Church on Maxwell Road. Upper-level windows have flat-arch rounded tops, and lower windows have rectilinear surrounds. Square verandah posts support a reconstructed balcony that runs around three sides of the building, ornamented with carved brackets that sit below the verandah awning and also below a simple frieze of pairs of diagonal crosses flanking bracketed openings, that runs below the balcony floor-level. A small pediment fixed to the front of the upper-level verandah signifies this as the former main entrance, and the ground-floor door below this is appropriately grand with its rounded arch, top lights and sidelights surrounding the panelled door. An external egress staircase was added to the western elevation of this part of the building in 2016. The east ‘chapel wing’ sports a reconstructed second storey that replaced the original chapel when the rest of the building was moved to this site in 1994. The roof form replicates that of the original, and similar arch window surrounds are reminiscent of (although not identical to) the original arrangement, although now enclose leadlight sashes presumably repurposed from the contemporaneous alterations at St Mary’s Church or a related ecclesiastical building of similar age. A balcony was extended around its upper level in 1994 and a pair of French doors installed to provide balcony access from this now-bedroom. Ground-level windows of Swan’s original addition have rectangular surrounds with decorative castellation applied above most, apart from a bay window that projects from the northern elevation. The visitor then drives past a 2020 addition that houses ‘Harvest’ restaurant and wine-tasting room, before reaching the main entrance at the south. The single-storey, low-profile restaurant pavilion, recognisably contemporary, is relatively unobtrusive and recedes somewhat into the backdrop of its scenery due to its flat roof and construction from dark steel and glass against a rear block wall. The southern elevation is an incongruous collection of rooflines and infill additions, presenting the least cohesive elevation from the perspective of someone reading the building. The main entrance ramp (constructed 2016), covered by a canopy supported by brackets and posts echoing the main balcony treatment, extends at the west of the 2016 infill single-storey addition that contains the commercial kitchen. Sir Michael Fowler’s 2008 single-storey apsidal ‘billiards room’ lounge extension projects at its east, and this is now also flanked by a small single-gable addition that provides access to the 2020 restaurant addition, the block wall of which is painted to tie in with the rest or the buildings. The second storey of the ‘chapel wing’ is partly visible above these rooflines, with its fenestration having been altered to accommodate the additions. The western elevation is reminiscent of that in historic images, although closer observation reveals a significant history of alteration including an extension to the north (possibly dating from the 1930s creation of more bedrooms) and one to the south, dating from the 1994 restoration. Window and door arrangements along this façade have changed subtly over the years, and the balcony was extended from the north when the external staircase was added in 2016; it now runs around the entire length of this elevation and also around the southwestern bedroom corner. More recently, the southernmost end of this elevation was extended to create a new single-storey reception lounge with pergola, and ensuite for the neighbouring guest room. The main entrance opens into a hallway and reception lounge dating from the 2016 additions. The office and commercial kitchen created during these works are to the east of the hall. Past these, an electronic sliding door controls access to the dining rooms of the hotel. A corridor leading east into John Sydney Swan’s 1909 ‘chapel wing’ features original varnished timber panelling along one wall; the other wall was altered in 2016 when the driver’s bedroom and other small spaces along here were reconfigured. The corridor opens into what was formerly the community room below the chapel, now a breakfast/informal dining room. Three large windows are set into the faceted end wall, looking out onto the 2020 restaurant addition. The ceiling has been relined with plain plastering and inset with recessed lights. Sir Michael Fowler’s 2008 ‘billiards room’ is accessed through the south of this room, the floorboards matched in tone but running perpendicular to those of the dining room. High-gloss paint emphasises the ceiling panelling. Double doors lead east from this room into the single-gable annexe that in 2020 joined it to the new restaurant and wine-tasting room. A leadlight window has been installed in the north wall of the annexe. Back in the central hallway, guest rooms line the western side of the corridor. Part of the former rectory, divided into guest rooms and ensuites in 2016, is discernable by a bracketed timber ceiling arch with cross details. All of the guest rooms feature generous modern ensuites with refurbished fixtures, and ground-floor rooms have window shutters for privacy. To the east of the central hallway is the library, perhaps one of the most original interior spaces remaining. A panelled ceiling and ornate ceiling vent are complemented by built-in timber and glass cabinetry that flanks a varnished timber fire surround with ornamental corbels and rosettes. The central hallway and staircase is the other interior space readable as part of the original convent. The walls are panelled below a low dado; this panelling has been painted and runs up the staircase. The dignified staircase is impressive unpainted carved timber with turned balusters and newel posts ornamented with carved rosettes and floral designs. Stairs branch east and north from a small landing at the first floor. The eastern stairs lead to what was formerly the chapel - now the 1994 reconstruction - containing bedrooms with ensuites. Leadlight windows featuring ‘In Memoriam’ legends, on the north of the corridor, match those at St Mary’s Church, and French doors open to the balcony. The main bedroom ceiling is suspended, unlike the ornamental trusses of the original chapel. The north branch of the staircase leads to a bedroom wing, with the two largest rooms (the ‘Mother Superior’s room’ and ‘Sister Ancilla’s room’) occupying the far northern end, each lit by double-windows. A smaller corridor dating from the 1930s addition branches to the west leading to more refurbished guest suites, the southernmost rooms having been reconfigured in the 2016 works.
Completion Date
10th October 2022
Report Written By
Blyss Wagstaff
Information Sources
Cahill, 1964
P. Cahill, Centennial of St Mary's Parish, Blenheim, 1964
Furness, 1978
J. Furness, A Century of Worship 1878-1978, Blenheim, 1978
Marlborough Express
Marlborough Express
Vavasour, 2014
Belinda Vavasour (ed.), Communities of Worship: St Mary’s Parish, Blenheim, 1864-2014, St Mary’s Parish, Blenheim, 2014
Report Written By
A fully referenced copy of the review report is available from the Central Regional Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Disclaimer Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions. Archaeological sites are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, regardless of whether they are entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating to the history of New Zealand’. This List entry report should not be read as a statement on whether or not the archaeological provisions of the Act apply to the property (s) concerned. Please contact your local Heritage New Zealand office for archaeological advice.
Current Usages
Uses: Accommodation
Specific Usage: Hotel
Former Usages
General Usage:: Religion
Specific Usage: Convent/Nunnery
Web Links
description: Currently used as boutique acccomodation