Built in 1857, the Sexton’s Cottage (Former) survived the construction of the Wellington urban motorway and is one of central Wellington’s earliest intact houses and a rare example of a sexton’s residence. Sexton’s Cottage is directly associated with the colonial settlement of Wellington, being linked to the cemetery included in the original 1840 New Zealand Company survey plan, which now contains the graves of some of the city’s founders, such as the Wakefield family. The Church of England cemetery’s first sexton (caretaker), Harry Buxton, and his replacement James Futter, both lived in private dwellings. During Futter’s tenure, in 1857 the church trustees decided to build a residence for the sexton, who also looked after a nearby church.
The Sexton’s Cottage (Former) is a small dwelling, built in a style that was popular in the 1850s and 1860s, although there are now few examples from the 1850s remaining in the Wellington region. The style was a carpenter-designed response to a limited budget, using readily available materials and familiar styles. The cottage is timber-framed with pit-sawn shiplap weatherboards. Originally it had two symmetrical front rooms, a central entrance and a lean-to at the back; another bedroom was added in 1885. The roof form is a salt-box gable, where the pitch of the front elevation is greater than the back. The entry porch is a later addition; both porch and front gable are steeply pitched and Gothic in style. While the interior has been modified for modern living, it largely retains its original layout and the lounge still features the original timber match lining.
Various Anglican sextons occupied the cottage for about 30 years, until the Wellington City Council took control of the cemetery in 1892. In 1920 the Church of England sold it into private ownership. In 1968, it was taken for purposes of constructing the Wellington urban motorway, which controversially cut through the middle of the historic cemetery. Many headstones were moved and 3,700 burials were reinterred in a mass grave near Sexton’s Cottage. However, the cottage was spared demolition due to the advocacy of the Friends of the Bolton Street Memorial Park, who recognised its heritage value, and it was restored by the Ministry of Works and Development. Reopened in 1978 and gifted to the Wellington City Council, the cottage was later incorporated into the gazetted Bolton St Memorial Park reserve. Today the building is partly used as a residence for international artists, and is tenanted at other times.
Sexton’s Cottage (Former) is of special significance for its aesthetic, architectural, historical and social value. It is an early and now rare building in Wellington, and a rare example in New Zealand of an early sexton’s cottage. Set in the park-like surroundings of the historic Bolton Street Memorial Park, it provides a tranquil place and a remnant of colonial history in one of the busiest parts of the capital.
The Sexton’s Cottage (Former) is a small dwelling, built in a style that was popular in the 1850s and 1860s, although there are now few examples from the 1850s remaining in the Wellington region. The style was a carpenter-designed response to a limited budget, using readily available materials and familiar styles. The cottage is timber-framed with pit-sawn shiplap weatherboards. Originally it had two symmetrical front rooms, a central entrance and a lean-to at the back; another bedroom was added in 1885. The roof form is a salt-box gable, where the pitch of the front elevation is greater than the back. The entry porch is a later addition; both porch and front gable are steeply pitched and Gothic in style. While the interior has been modified for modern living, it largely retains its original layout and the lounge still features the original timber match lining.
Various Anglican sextons occupied the cottage for about 30 years, until the Wellington City Council took control of the cemetery in 1892. In 1920 the Church of England sold it into private ownership. In 1968, it was taken for purposes of constructing the Wellington urban motorway, which controversially cut through the middle of the historic cemetery. Many headstones were moved and 3,700 burials were reinterred in a mass grave near Sexton’s Cottage. However, the cottage was spared demolition due to the advocacy of the Friends of the Bolton Street Memorial Park, who recognised its heritage value, and it was restored by the Ministry of Works and Development. Reopened in 1978 and gifted to the Wellington City Council, the cottage was later incorporated into the gazetted Bolton St Memorial Park reserve. Today the building is partly used as a residence for international artists, and is tenanted at other times.
Sexton’s Cottage (Former) is of special significance for its aesthetic, architectural, historical and social value. It is an early and now rare building in Wellington, and a rare example in New Zealand of an early sexton’s cottage. Set in the park-like surroundings of the historic Bolton Street Memorial Park, it provides a tranquil place and a remnant of colonial history in one of the busiest parts of the capital.
