John Mitchell and Robert Martin Watt were a pair of New Zealand architects who designed numerous buildings, primarily educational buildings, several of which have been heritage listed. Mitchell and Watt entered into a partnership in 1892 as architects for the

Auckland Education Board Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

until at least 1905.

John Mitchell

John Mitchell (1859–1947) was born in

Ramelton Ramelton (; ), also Rathmelton, is a town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. As of 2022, its population was 1,288. History Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km south of Mi ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, he trained as an architect in Ireland before heading to New Zealand in 1888. He was an early adopter of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

and developed a baked earthenware block. In 1912 he went to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

before returning to New Zealand a decade later. Mitchell spent the later years of his life in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

, where he would die in 1947.

Robert Martin Watt

Robert Martin Watt (1860–1907) was born in

Shotts Shotts is a small town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow () and Edinburgh (). The town has a population of about 8,840. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant highwayman Bertra ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Watt studied architecture in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

under

H & D Barclay Hugh Barclay (1829–1892) and David Barclay FRIBA (1846–1917) were Scottish architects operating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries under the name of H & D Barclay. They specialised in the design of schools and colleges, but also did con ...

before immigrating to New Zealand 1878. Watt was a member of St Stephen's, Ponsonby, for which he designed an extension. In 1906 Watt was elected as president of the Auckland branch of the

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents approximately 90 per cent of registered architects in Aotearoa New Zealand and supports and promotes architecture in ...

Watt lived in a home he named ''Glencairn'' in Bayfield, Ponsonby. He died in April, 1907. Before his death he was appointed to judge designs of the

Auckland Town Hall The Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian architecture, Edwardian building on Queen Street, Auckland, Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Local authority, ...

Mitchell and Watt

The two architects formed a partnership in 1892, previously they worked independently in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Later that year they were appointed to the

. Mitchell and Watt designed multiple school buildings in the

Auckland Province The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, bo ...

area. The pair also designed numerous residential, commercial, and religious buildings. Their partnership ended either 1905 or 1907. Mitchell was responsible for new works whilst Watt was responsible for existing works and extensions. The pair designed numerous school buildings across the

area In December, 1902, the pair received notice from the Board of Education that their employment was to be terminated in three months. The pair were given a hearing to justify the dismissal, where the board charged them with incurring excessive costs and delays, but public support for the architects resulted in the board members being voted out at the election with those who supported Mitchell and Watt being elected with a strong majority. The ''

Auckland Star The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created i ...

'' described the charges as 'utterly insignificant'. The pair were likely inspired by

Edward Robert Robson Edward Robert Robson FRIBA FSA FSI (2 March 1836 – 19 January 1917) was an English architect famous for the progressive spirit of his London state-funded school buildings of the 1870s and early 1880s. Life Born in Durham, he was the elder ...

in their design of school buildings. Robson favoured the Queen Anne style as he believed

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

's association with religion was inappropriate for secular educational buildings. Education in New Zealand was secular and many of Mitchell and Watt's designs are influenced by the Queen Anne style, notable examples include

Bayfield School Bayfield may refer to: Boats * Bayfield 25, a Canadian sailboat design built in Bayfield Ontario. People * Bayfield (surname) Places *in the United States: **Bayfield, Colorado, a town ** Bayfield, Indiana, an unincorporated community ** Bayfield ...

and

Onehunga Primary School Onehunga Primary School is a historic former school located in Onehunga and registered as a category 1 building. Constructed in 1901 as a district school before becoming a district high school, it later served as a primary school until the school ...

. Schools designed by Mitchell and Watt are 'held to represent an important phase in the architectural development of school buildings in New Zealand'. Mitchell and Watt had innovative design techniques relating to ventilation, lighting, and heating. Examples include ventilation holes in the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

, a patented

stove A stove or range is a device that generates heat inside or on top of the device, for - local heating or cooking. Stoves can be powered with many fuels, such as natural gas, electricity, gasoline, wood, and coal. Due to concerns about air pollu ...

John Mitchell

Robert Martin Watt

Mitchell and Watt

List of buildings

References

Notes