Bayreuth is a large urban villa in central Auckland, which combines Italianate architecture with aspects of Arts and Crafts style. Constructed in 1904, the two-storey dwelling was erected on the eastern slopes of the Symonds Street ridge, on the eastern side of Grafton Road. Prior to the mid 1860s, the ridge was at the epicentre of British colonial power in New Zealand, containing Government House, the Albert Barracks and the General Assembly building. Noted for its proximity to ongoing institutions such as the Supreme Court, the area subsequently became increasingly popular as a residential neighbourhood for the town's commercial leaders in the 1870s and 1880s, after the transfer of colonial administration to the newly designated capital at Wellington and the departure of British troops. Although many of its wealthiest inhabitants moved to outlying suburbs during the economic depression towards the end of the nineteenth century, the neighbourhood retained relatively high land values, and prestigious dwellings continued to be built.
The property occupied by Bayreuth was initially part of an endowment reserved by Governor George Grey under the Grammar School Trust Deed of 1850. In the 1860s, timber houses were erected on the site by lessees James and Henry Gilberd, respectively a builder and painter. The increasing desirability of the area for high quality residential housing led to the construction of new villas on nearby land in the 1870s and early 1880s. However, it was not until 1902 that the existing buildings on the site of Bayreuth were demolished for subdivision by the Auckland Grammar School Board. In the following year, the lease was taken by James Mennie (1842-1924) a biscuit and confectionary manufacturer. A successful entrepreneur, Mennie was also a noted philanthropist, who made numerous large public donations during his lifetime and in his will. These included a ₤4000 bequest to the Auckland University College, the income arising from which was to be used towards providing University education in commercial subjects. One of the conditions of taking the lease at 10 Grafton Road was that a new building costing not less than ₤600 should be erected.
Tenders for construction of a house closed on 23 December 1903. The design was that of a noted Auckland architect, Charles Le Neve Arnold (1855?-1955), who was involved in the development of the Arts and Crafts movement in New Zealand. The builder was Ebenezer Morris (1849?-1929), a Scotsman who had come to New Zealand in 1877. Largely Italianate in design, the new two-storey brick building at 10 Grafton Road also incorporated emerging Arts and Crafts features, such as a roof clad with Marseilles tiles. In this respect it reflected a transition between two popular styles for the grand dwellings of the wealthier citizens of Auckland. Built close to the Grafton Road pavement and immediately next to Wynyard Street, the imposing house on its corner site was a notable landmark for those travelling up Grafton Road to the city. Highly ornate cast-iron railings and similar crestings on a front balcony reinforced this visual impact. Both floors had four sizeable rooms at the front, while there may also have been accommodation for a maid. Unlike nearby buildings on Symonds Street, the house contained only a small back yard.
Evidently built by Mennie for rental purposes, the house was tenanted by August 1904. By 1906 Amsterdam-born music teacher Johannes Wielaert (1875-1948) had leased the residence - now known as Bayreuth - which was conveniently located just a few doors from one of Auckland's main musical venues, Choral Hall. Wielaert was conductor of the newly founded Auckland Orchestral Society and prepared the Festival Orchestra that accompanied Sir Henry Coward's Sheffield Musical Union on the New Zealand leg of its world tour of 1911. Prior to the advent of the National Orchestra in 1946, local orchestras were a significant influence in New Zealand's cultural development. Wielaert's wife was New Zealand soprano Kathleen Schafe. The house was subsequently converted into two apartments, probably in the early 1930s, and was being used as doctor's rooms by 1952, like many other large houses in the lower Symonds Street area. The Presbyterian Church Property Trustees took over the lease at this time, establishing its Presbyterian Overseas Mission office on the first floor. Later acquired by the University of Auckland, it was occupied by the Department of Germanic Languages until 2001, when the School of Music became its tenant. Currently a site office for the construction of an adjacent Business School, the building will be restored at the end of the project and its gardens reinstated.
Bayreuth is aesthetically significant as an ornate urban villa designed in a restrained Italianate style with Arts and Crafts elements. It incorporates a well-preserved interior containing numerous decorative features of note, and external elements that contribute to its aesthetic value, including elaborate cast-iron railings. The place is architecturally significant as an example of the work of noted Auckland architect Charles Le Neve Arnold, and for marking a transitional stage between the Italianate and Arts and Crafts styles. It is culturally significant for its association with musicians Johannes Wielaert and Katherine Schafe, who contributed to the development of music in New Zealand. The place is of historical value for reflecting the ongoing high-status nature of the lower Symonds Street neighbourhood into the early twentieth century, and for its associations with Auckland industrialist and philanthropist, James Mennie.
The property occupied by Bayreuth was initially part of an endowment reserved by Governor George Grey under the Grammar School Trust Deed of 1850. In the 1860s, timber houses were erected on the site by lessees James and Henry Gilberd, respectively a builder and painter. The increasing desirability of the area for high quality residential housing led to the construction of new villas on nearby land in the 1870s and early 1880s. However, it was not until 1902 that the existing buildings on the site of Bayreuth were demolished for subdivision by the Auckland Grammar School Board. In the following year, the lease was taken by James Mennie (1842-1924) a biscuit and confectionary manufacturer. A successful entrepreneur, Mennie was also a noted philanthropist, who made numerous large public donations during his lifetime and in his will. These included a ₤4000 bequest to the Auckland University College, the income arising from which was to be used towards providing University education in commercial subjects. One of the conditions of taking the lease at 10 Grafton Road was that a new building costing not less than ₤600 should be erected.
Tenders for construction of a house closed on 23 December 1903. The design was that of a noted Auckland architect, Charles Le Neve Arnold (1855?-1955), who was involved in the development of the Arts and Crafts movement in New Zealand. The builder was Ebenezer Morris (1849?-1929), a Scotsman who had come to New Zealand in 1877. Largely Italianate in design, the new two-storey brick building at 10 Grafton Road also incorporated emerging Arts and Crafts features, such as a roof clad with Marseilles tiles. In this respect it reflected a transition between two popular styles for the grand dwellings of the wealthier citizens of Auckland. Built close to the Grafton Road pavement and immediately next to Wynyard Street, the imposing house on its corner site was a notable landmark for those travelling up Grafton Road to the city. Highly ornate cast-iron railings and similar crestings on a front balcony reinforced this visual impact. Both floors had four sizeable rooms at the front, while there may also have been accommodation for a maid. Unlike nearby buildings on Symonds Street, the house contained only a small back yard.
Evidently built by Mennie for rental purposes, the house was tenanted by August 1904. By 1906 Amsterdam-born music teacher Johannes Wielaert (1875-1948) had leased the residence - now known as Bayreuth - which was conveniently located just a few doors from one of Auckland's main musical venues, Choral Hall. Wielaert was conductor of the newly founded Auckland Orchestral Society and prepared the Festival Orchestra that accompanied Sir Henry Coward's Sheffield Musical Union on the New Zealand leg of its world tour of 1911. Prior to the advent of the National Orchestra in 1946, local orchestras were a significant influence in New Zealand's cultural development. Wielaert's wife was New Zealand soprano Kathleen Schafe. The house was subsequently converted into two apartments, probably in the early 1930s, and was being used as doctor's rooms by 1952, like many other large houses in the lower Symonds Street area. The Presbyterian Church Property Trustees took over the lease at this time, establishing its Presbyterian Overseas Mission office on the first floor. Later acquired by the University of Auckland, it was occupied by the Department of Germanic Languages until 2001, when the School of Music became its tenant. Currently a site office for the construction of an adjacent Business School, the building will be restored at the end of the project and its gardens reinstated.
Bayreuth is aesthetically significant as an ornate urban villa designed in a restrained Italianate style with Arts and Crafts elements. It incorporates a well-preserved interior containing numerous decorative features of note, and external elements that contribute to its aesthetic value, including elaborate cast-iron railings. The place is architecturally significant as an example of the work of noted Auckland architect Charles Le Neve Arnold, and for marking a transitional stage between the Italianate and Arts and Crafts styles. It is culturally significant for its association with musicians Johannes Wielaert and Katherine Schafe, who contributed to the development of music in New Zealand. The place is of historical value for reflecting the ongoing high-status nature of the lower Symonds Street neighbourhood into the early twentieth century, and for its associations with Auckland industrialist and philanthropist, James Mennie.
