The clock tower itself was made from iron by Skidmore and Sons in Coventry, England and sent out to New Zealand in 1860 in 142 packages. Mountfort's original design was somewhat modified due to the cost. The design becomes increasingly delicate as it ascends and originally the wrought iron railing and scroll work were covered in gold leaf.
In 1897 a competition held for the design of the stone base, on which the tower was eventually erected, was won by Strouts and Ballantyne. (Frederick Strouts is remembered particularly for his design of Ivey Hall, Lincoln and Otahuna at Tai Tapu. His partner, Robert Ballantyne initially trained under him).
The clock tower is an important landscape feature in Christchurch and significant as part of Mountfort's original design for the Provincial Council Chambers. The clock tower is also 'a remarkable example of High Victorian ironwork' and its association with Queen Victoria's Jubilee makes explicit the link between colonial New Zealand and Victorian Britain.
List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
3670
Date Entered
2nd April 1985
Date of Effect
2nd April 1985
City/District Council
Christchurch City
Region
Canterbury Region
Legal description
Reserve (Lawns Ornamental Gardens and Ornamental Buildings), Canterbury Land District
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
3670
Date Entered
2nd April 1985
Date of Effect
2nd April 1985
City/District Council
Christchurch City
Region
Canterbury Region
Legal description
Reserve (Lawns Ornamental Gardens and Ornamental Buildings), Canterbury Land District
Construction Professional
Name
Mountfort, Benjamin Woolfield
Type
Architect
Biography
Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (1825-98) trained as an architect in England, in the office of Richard Cromwell Carpenter, a member of the Cambridge Camden Society (later the Ecclesiological Society). He arrived in Canterbury in 1850. Mountfort was New Zealand's pre-eminent Gothic Revival architect and, according to architectural historian Ian Lochhead, 'did most to shape the architectural character of nineteenth-century Christchurch.' The buildings he designed were almost exclusively in the Gothic Revival style. During his career he designed many churches and additions to churches; those still standing include the Trinity Congregational Church in Christchurch (1874), St Mary's Church in Parnell, Auckland and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, Christchurch (1884). In 1857 he became the first architect to the province of Canterbury. He designed the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings in three stages from 1858 to 1865. The stone chamber of this building can be considered the greatest accomplishment of his career. He was involved in many important commissions from the 1870s, including the Canterbury Museum (1869-82) and the Clock-tower Block on the Canterbury College campus (1876-77). He was also involved in the construction of Christchurch's Cathedral and made several major modifications to the original design. Mountfort introduced a number of High Victorian elements to New Zealand architecture, such as the use of constructional polychromy, probably first used in New Zealand in the stone tower of the Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings (1859). Overall, his oeuvre reveals a consistent and virtually unerring application of Puginian principles including a commitment to the Gothic style, honest use of materials and picturesque utility. The result was the construction of inventive and impressive buildings of outstanding quality. He died in Christchurch in 1898. A belfry at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, the church he attended for the last ten years of his life, was erected in his honour.
Construction Details
Start Year
1858
startYearCirca
Type
Designed
Start Year
1860
Type
Original Construction
Start Year
1897
Type
Modification
Description
Erected on stone base
Start Year
1930
Type
Other
Description
Moved from the corner of Manchester, High and Lichfield Streets to Victoria Street. New clock installed
Construction Professional
Name
Mountfort, Benjamin Woolfield
Type
Architect
Biography
Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (1825-98) trained as an architect in England, in the office of Richard Cromwell Carpenter, a member of the Cambridge Camden Society (later the Ecclesiological Society). He arrived in Canterbury in 1850. Mountfort was New Zealand's pre-eminent Gothic Revival architect and, according to architectural historian Ian Lochhead, 'did most to shape the architectural character of nineteenth-century Christchurch.' The buildings he designed were almost exclusively in the Gothic Revival style. During his career he designed many churches and additions to churches; those still standing include the Trinity Congregational Church in Christchurch (1874), St Mary's Church in Parnell, Auckland and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, Christchurch (1884). In 1857 he became the first architect to the province of Canterbury. He designed the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings in three stages from 1858 to 1865. The stone chamber of this building can be considered the greatest accomplishment of his career. He was involved in many important commissions from the 1870s, including the Canterbury Museum (1869-82) and the Clock-tower Block on the Canterbury College campus (1876-77). He was also involved in the construction of Christchurch's Cathedral and made several major modifications to the original design. Mountfort introduced a number of High Victorian elements to New Zealand architecture, such as the use of constructional polychromy, probably first used in New Zealand in the stone tower of the Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings (1859). Overall, his oeuvre reveals a consistent and virtually unerring application of Puginian principles including a commitment to the Gothic style, honest use of materials and picturesque utility. The result was the construction of inventive and impressive buildings of outstanding quality. He died in Christchurch in 1898. A belfry at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, the church he attended for the last ten years of his life, was erected in his honour.
Construction Details
Start Year
1858
startYearCirca
Type
Designed
Start Year
1860
Type
Original Construction
Start Year
1897
Type
Modification
Description
Erected on stone base
Start Year
1930
Type
Other
Description
Moved from the corner of Manchester, High and Lichfield Streets to Victoria Street. New clock installed
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
15th August 2001
Report Written By
Melanie Lovell-Smith
Information Sources
Lamb, 1967
R.C. Lamb, Street Corner: A Study to Mark the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Caxton Press, Christchurch, 1967
Lochhead, 1999
Ian Lochhead, A Dream of Spires: Benjamin Mountfort and the Gothic Revival, Christchurch, 1999
Other Information
This place was identified as significant under previous legislation with different information requirements. It remains significant under the current legislation. There is opportunity under our legislation and policies to add to this information. Further information about this place may be available from the Southern Regional Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero 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.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
15th August 2001
Report Written By
Melanie Lovell-Smith
Information Sources
Lamb, 1967
R.C. Lamb, Street Corner: A Study to Mark the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Caxton Press, Christchurch, 1967
Lochhead, 1999
Ian Lochhead, A Dream of Spires: Benjamin Mountfort and the Gothic Revival, Christchurch, 1999
Other Information
This place was identified as significant under previous legislation with different information requirements. It remains significant under the current legislation. There is opportunity under our legislation and policies to add to this information. Further information about this place may be available from the Southern Regional Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero 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.
Current Usages
Uses: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Clocktower/ clock
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - Particular person or group
Former Usages
General Usage: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Clocktower/ clock
General Usage: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - Particular person or group
Current Usages
Uses: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Clocktower/ clock
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - Particular person or group
Former Usages
General Usage: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Clocktower/ clock
General Usage: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - Particular person or group
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