The Bishop's House or Bishop's Palace is the residence of the Catholic Bishop of Auckland, built in 1893–1894. It is part of the Pompallier Diocesan Centre.

History

The land on which the Bishop's House, also known as the Pompallier Diocesan Centre or the Bishop's Palace, was bought by Bishop

Jean-Baptiste Pompallier Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier (11 December 1801 – 21 December 1871) was the first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand and, with priests and brothers of the Marist order, he organised the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country ...

in 1853.Hugh Laracy. 'Luck, John Edmund', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2l19/luck-john-edmund (accessed 21 October 2024) Following his departure in 1868, it was briefly owned privately before being bought by Bishop Thomas Croke in 1873 to be used as the official residence for the Bishop of Auckland. In 1891–1892, Bishop John Edmund Luck, went on a European tour to raise funds for building a new residence, raising between £4,000 and £5,000. There was an original timber structure on the site, which was largely replaced by the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

two-storey brick building, apart from some timber elements that were incorporated into the rear. Since its completion in 1894, it has housed all of the bishops of Auckland. In 2013, it was official registered as a Category 1 Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand.

Description

The Bishop's House sits in the centre of the site. It is attached to the newer Pompallier Diocesan Centre by two glazed walkways that was built in 1989. The British architect,

Peter Paul Pugin Peter Paul Pugin (1851 – March 1904) was an English architect. He was the son of Augustus Pugin by his third wife, Jane Knill, and the half-brother of architect and designer Edward Welby Pugin. Life and career Peter Paul Pugin was only a ...

, was influenced by his father's work at

The Grange, Ramsgate The Grange, Ramsgate, Kent, on the coast of southern England was designed by the Victorian architect and designer Augustus Pugin for himself. Built between 1843 and 1844, in the Gothic Revival style, Pugin intended it both as a home and as a manif ...

and it is described as the finest example of Pugin architecture in New Zealand. The house itself is a two-storey Gothic Revival dark-red-brick building with an H-shaped ground plan. The ground floor contains a square lobby with imitation stained glass windows by Alexander Booker. Several of rooms have geometric

encaustic tile Encaustic or inlaid tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colours but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern ...

floors that Bishop Luck imported from France. Gas was laid throughout the building and it was thought to be the first building in Auckland to be lit entirely by electricity. One of the bathrooms still has a functioning freestanding Unitas toilets, designed in 1883 or 1884 by Thomas William Twyford which was installed during the original construction. At the north end, there is a chapel. It still holds a marble altar bought by Bishop Luck in Italy and imitation stained glass windows. The floors of the reception and chapel have

parquet Parquet (; French for "a small compartment") is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect in flooring. Parquet patterns are often entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges—but may contain curves. T ...

ry borders made from New Zealand timbers by Father Augustine Luck.

References

{{Reflist 1893 establishments in New Zealand Buildings and structures of the Catholic Church in New Zealand Religious buildings and structures in Auckland Gothic Revival architecture in New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Auckland Region