Francis (Frank) William Petre (1847 - 1918) was a prominent New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. Able to work in a diversity of architectural styles ranging from Palladian to Gothic revival, he is most notable for his pioneering work in concrete construction, and his design of three cathedrals. He also designed numerous New Zealand public and private buildings, many of which are still standing in the locality of Dunedin.
Early life
The Petres were an aristocratic family from Ingatestone in Essex, England. Francis Petre's immediate family was one of the first and most prominent colonial families of New Zealand; Petre Bay, Chatham Island was named after them, as was originally the town of Wanganui on North Island. He was the son of The Honourable Henry William Petre, who first came to New Zealand in 1840 as director of the New Zealand Company of which his own father had been chairman. The New Zealand complany had been set up to promote the colonisation of New Zealand, and bought (sometimes dubiously [1]) thousands of hectares of land from the Maoris. As a consequence Henry Petre was one of the founders of Wellington. He was also colonial treasurer of New Munster.
Francis Petre was born in 1847 at Petone, today a suburb of Lower Hutt on North Island, which was one of the earliest British settlements in New Zealand. In 1855, in the then British colonial tradition, Petre was sent to England to be educated. He attended the Mount St Mary College in the north of England, where he was taught by the Jesuits. After four years he left to attend the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth. Finding himself unsuited to a naval career he pursued his education in France where he attended Monsignor Haffreingue's college at Boulogne-sur-Mer. Returning to England he completed his education at Ushaw College, Durham. He was then apprenticed from 1864 to 1869 to Joseph Samuda of London, a shipbuilder and engineer. Here he received his training in the techniques and skills of concrete manufacturing, which he was to employ with great success in his later architectural career.
Circa 1869 Petre qualified as an architect and engineer, and after a brief period in private practice in London returned to New Zealand in 1872. He was then employed as an engineer by railway contractors Brogden and Sons; during this period he oversaw the construction of both the Blenheim–Picton and Dunedin–Balclutha railway lines, as well as the draining of parts of the Taieri Plains and the construction of tunnels on the Central Otago Railway. When these tasks were completed he set up his own successful practice as an engineer and architect in Liverpool Street, Dunedin.
Architect
From 1875 Petre seems to have devoted his life to architecture, in particular ecclesiastical architecture. No doubt influenced by the fashion of the time, and in particular the acclaimed Christchurch architect Benjamin Mountfort, Petre initially designed in the Gothic revival style, which he praised:
"the great richness and delicacy of detail, and the closer application of geometrical rules to architecture–more especially in the window tracery which exhibits greater variety of design, together with an easier and more perfect flow into the various parts of the whole structure".
Petre's early speciality was his groundbreaking work in mass concrete, at the time a revolutionary form of construction. Three of his earliest projects were all constructed in this new form of building material: Judge Chapman's mansion (today known as "Castlemore"), the mansion nicknamed Cargill's Castle in 1876, and St. Dominic's Priory in 1877. He did, however, also work in more conventional building materials, according to the whims of his patrons.
The construction of the folly-like Cargill's Castle for Edward Bowes Cargill, a local politician, had a romantic connection for Petre. While designing the mansion he fell in love with Cargill's daughter Margaret. After a difficult courtship (due to Petre's staunch Catholicism and the Cargill's equally staunch Presbyterianism) the couple were eventually permitted to marry, the marriage taking place in the castle's principal salon, shortly after its completion in 1877.
Sadly, the building fell into ruin after a serious fire in the 1940s, and is today a preserved ruin.
St. Dominic's Priory, Dunedin
Petre described the style of his 1876-77 creation, St. Dominic's Priory, as Anglo-Saxon, referring to the straight-sloped window apertures. The style of the building, however, was very much of Petre's own interpretation and only lightly influenced by Anglo-Saxon architecture.
The building is notable for its use of poured concrete, a comparatively new building material in 1870s New Zealand, but one well suited to the creation of the large number of windows in the building's facade. The structure is simultaneously grand and austere, well-reflecting its use as a convent.
St. Dominic's Priory was the largest unreinforced concrete building in the southern hemisphere (steel reinforcing being then an unknown construction method), and earned Petre the lasting nickname of "Lord Concrete".
Cathedrals
F. W. Petre designed three of New Zealand's cathedrals, each distinguished by a different architectural style:
1878 St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin
While Petre designed many churches, schools, public buildings and private houses, it is unfortunate that his largest and most grandiose design, the Roman Catholic cathedral at Dunedin was never fully completed. The entrance facade and the nave are the original design, and display the cathedral as a prime example of Gothic Revival architecture. Today St. Joseph's Cathedral, which stands next to St. Dominic's Priory, seems reminiscent of many of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, with its twin towers and central rose window–Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame spring to mind. Petre's original intention, however, was for a mighty structure, with the twin towers dwarfed by a huge spire some 60 metres (200 feet) in height, which would have resulted in one of the most magnificent cathedrals in the southern hemisphere. Sadly the project was curtailed by a prudent Roman Catholic diocese reluctant to incur unnecessary debt.
Petre's intention, which is clear from the almost 90 pages of drawings held in the diocesan archives, was to design the most impressive cathedral in Australasia. Construction began in 1878 and the building was consecrated in 1886. Its construction is notable for its foundations: 40 massive concrete piles, each over 1.2 metres (four feet) in width, sunk 10 metres (35 feet) into the ground, give the cathedral a firm foundation on the volcanic bedrock. The nave is 24 metres (80 feet) in length and 16 metres (52 feet) in height. The walls of the cathedral are in black basalt with cornices of white Oamaru stone, a style for which Dunedin and Christchurch architecture is noted (see also Dunedin Railway Station). Petre was later to have a second opportunity at cathedral design with the Cathedral of The Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch (commonly referred to as Christchurch Basilica), but St. Joseph's was to remain his greatest masterpiece in the Gothic style.
1901 Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Wellington
That Wellington's principal Roman Catholic Cathedral is today a small, but quite perfect Romano-Grecian temple is entirely the result of chance. The Sacred Heart Basilica, now a cathedral, was originally designed and conceived as a church to mark the site of the fire-gutted St. Mary's Cathedral. Petre had strong family connections to the site, as it and an adjacent plot, now the site of St. Mary's College, had been given to the Roman Catholic church by his father and grandfather. The original cathedral, a magnificent Gothic structure complete with flying buttresses, had been built in 1850 but was destroyed by fire in 1898. Within two days Petre had been asked to design a new church on the site. However a decision was taken to build the new Cathedral nearer the more densely populated areas of Wellington, Te Aro and Newtown. Petre later published plans for this Cathedral in 1903, describing his proposed structure as "Roman, bordering on to Florentine Renaissance, treated liberally". Sadly this cathedral project never came to fruition, but what was quickly constructed was the Church, or Basilica, of "The Sacred Heart" on the razed cathedral site.
Ignoring the architectural dictates of the day issued in the 19th century by such architects as Pugin, and strictly adhered to by the recently deceased prominent New Zealand architect Benjamin Mountfort, that only Gothic was suitable for Christian worship, Petre daringly designed the new church in the Palladian style, which had only a few years before been considered almost heretical for worship. The design was theatrical in the extreme. The imposing principal facade of Oamaru Stone consisted almost solely of one huge portico constructed of six ionic columns, while the facade was crowned by a high pediment more in the style of Vitruvius than Palladio, and behind the great facade stretched the single body of the church, with the remaining facades in a less severe Romanesque style. Considering that his brief was that "a serviceable church in brick should be erected on the site of the old Cathedral", it is amazing that such an almost avant-garde style should have been permitted. The completed structure would not be out of place in 17th century or 18th-century Rome or Venice.
The interior of the church continued the Palladian theme. The large nave was colonnaded, with the columns supporting a clerestory of arch-topped windows, while the chancel was approached through an enormous arch which mirrored the classic Palladian Serlian arch, providing theatre and drama at the high altar. The flat compartmentalised ceiling is a more restrained version of that of the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venice.
The cost of the new church was taken from funds intended for the construction of the new cathedral, thus delaying that project. After seventy years of delays the intention to build the new cathedral was finally abandoned. In 1984, following new enlargements and additions, Petre's church of the Sacred Heart was reconsecrated as Wellington's principal Roman Catholic Cathedral. In 1901 when the church was designed, Petre's use of the Palladian as a style for such a high profile building would have been unthinkable.
1904 Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch
Of all Petre's many designs, the most outstanding is considered to be the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch, commonly known as Christchurch Basilica. Commenced in 1901, it replaced a smaller wooden church designed by Benjamin Mountfort. Forsaking Mountfort's 19th century Gothic, Petre designed the new church in a Renaissance, Italian basilica style, with one major exception. Ignoring Renaissance convention, Petre obtained a greater visual impact by siting the Italianate green copper-roofed dome not above the cross section of the church (as in St. Peter's in Rome) but directly above the sanctuary. This, coupled with the Byzantine altar apse, added extra grandeur and theatre to the high altar. The nave and chancel roofs were supported by colonnades of ionic columns, and the entrance facade of the cathedral was flanked by twin towers in the manner of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The Cathedral, constructed of concrete sheathed in Oamaru limestone, was completed in an amazingly short four years, and was widely acclaimed, causing the famous author George Bernard Shaw to describe Petre as a "New Zealand Brunelleschi". Fifty men were employed on the site, and in excess of 120,000 cubic ft. of stone, 4000 cubic ft. of concrete, and 90 tons of steel were used in the construction. The total cost to the Roman Catholic diocese was £52,000. Today the building, said by some to be based on the 19th-century Church of Vincent-de-Paul, in Paris, is held to be the finest renaissance style building in Australasia.
Private Houses
The styles in which F. W. Petre designed his private houses were as diverse as those of his cathedrals and churches. It seems that, unlike many notable architects, he designed according to the wishes of his clients: those who wanted a castle received a castle, and those who wished for a small mansion disguised as an English Tudor cottage were equally fortunate.
A large private residence designed by Petre can be found in Lovelock Avenue, Dunedin. It was originally built for Judge Chapman in 1875 and christened "Woodside", though it has been known throughout much of its history as "Castlamore". This imposing structure sits on the slopes of Dunedin's Botanical Gardens close to the University of Otago, and is a triumph of restraint. The castle atmosphere is there, almost a Scottish baronial castle, but the battlements are merely hinted at by stepped gables. Large bay windows, allowing light to flood in, again merely hint at the Gothic; one has to study them closely to perceive that they consist of a series of lancet type windows. The large octagonal chimneys reflect the design rather than being an ostentation.
This design could so easily have been a grim ostentatious faux castle, yet appears as a comfortable dwelling complete with loggia and conservatory. A lesser architect would not have been able to resist the addition of a small turret or pinnacle. Petre's skill was knowing how to mix large windows and more comfortable features with the medieval, and more importantly knowing the exact moment to halt the Gothic theme before it became a pastiche of the genuine original. In this way Petre was referring in a modest way to the original Gothic revival period as conceived by such architects James Wyatt, rather than the later Gothic, after it had fallen under the rule of the ecclesiastical Anglo-Catholic influences of such architects as Augustus Pugin in England, and Benjamin Mountfort in New Zealand.
One of Petre's skills was that he could vary his styles of architecture. In 1883 he built a mansion in Christchurch known as "Llanmaes" for a local merchant. The style selected came to be known in New Zealand as the "English Cottage" style. Similar in nature to the work of George Devey at a similar time in England, the style was a form of idealised Tudor with half timbered black beams set into white painted walls, beneath beamed gables and tiled roofs. This form of design eventually became very popular in New Zealand from circa 1910.
Two of Petre's "English Cottages" still exist close to each other in Cliffs Road, Dunedin, overlooking the sea in the suburb of St. Clair. Pinner House (pictured right), is a perfect example of this traditional style adapted for the brighter and warmer southern climate, with large windows and verandahs.
Ironically a third house in this style–Petre's own residence–which was located directly opposite Pinner House, no longer exists.
Personal life
In 1903, Petre was appointed Consular Agent for Italy in Dunedin following the death of Edward Cargill. He was a founder member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, was elected a Fellow in 1905, and was president of the Institute in 1907–08. Petre and his wife Margaret had thirteen children; Petre himself had been the third child of sixteen. Unusually for a man at the peak of his profession, Petre was known as congenial and popular. He died at Dunedin, in December 1918, following 42 years of architectural practice, and was buried at the Anderson's Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
Evaluation
For an architect Dunedin was an exiting place to be in the late 19th century, this was entirely due to its great prosperity and subsequent expansion just before and after the turn of the 20th century. Petre certainly did not obtain his many important commissions because of a void of alternative architects. The architect R A Lawson who was equally versatile in his designs was responsible for several important buildings in the city including the neoclassical ANZ Bank and the Gothic revival Presbyterian Church, W B Armson designed the Italian renaissance Bank of New Zealand building in 1879. Nor did Petre obtain work, with the possible exception of The Sacred Heart Basilica at Wellington, because of his family connections, in fact his Catholicism, at the height of the British Empire possibly lost him more ecclesiastical commissions than those for which he was ever engaged. What stood out was engineering skills at overcoming practical, almost impossible dilemmas, St. Joseph's Cathedral, was actually built not only on the side of a hill, but also in a gully. His pioneering work with concrete and steel were of enormous value in a country where earthquake was a constant risk.
Petre's buildings, in whatever style, all have one common denominator: an attention to the smallest detail. It was said that his drawings of stones, window traceries, arches and ornamentation were so precise that stonemasons could execute his intentions from one single drawing. It is this attention to detail which is outstanding, whether the simple carving on the capital of an Ionic column or the heavy ornate work on the monumental corbel of a Gothic design. While this intricate detail enabled him to work so successfully in the wide range of styles that he did, it in no way inhibited his sense of developing design, in his own words an architectural style could be "treated liberally" and this is the key to the individuality of his designs. Dunedin's Royal Exchange building is a Palladian town Palace, yet has an almost Rastrellian joyousnes of design; while Cargill's Castle would not look out of place in the Cimini Hills, it also has an almost amusing hacienda spirit. His work in the Gothic style was lighter and more delicate than that of Alfred Waterhouse, and equal in detail to Augustus Pugin's. It has been said of his work [2] that he never fully developed his vision or overcame the limitations of his training, but his experience as an engineer equipped him to find sound innovative solutions to constructional problems. His placing the dome at The Blessed Sacrament over the altar has also been criticised, as many feel it does not cohere to the design, others feel it was a stroke of genius, enhancing the interior.
Francis Petre's work cannot be judged against that of the great classical architects of the northern hemisphere, who so clearly influenced him. He did not create a style or have a revival period named after him. His achievement was adapting and developing so many established styles successfully; whether through the new techniques of steel or concrete, or through more traditional building methods. He was given amazing opportunities to prove himself worthy as an accomplished and inspired architect; the many monumental buildings with which he provided New Zealand speak for themselves as to his talent.
Works by Petre
- Woodside mansion (Castlamore), Dunedin, for Judge Chapman, 1875. Style: Gothic revival
- Cargill's Castle, Dunedin, for E. B. Cargill, 1876. Style: mixed Italianate\Castelated\Gothic [3]
- St. Dominic's Priory, Dunedin, 1877. Style: Gothic revival [4] - all three of these in poured concrete.
- St. Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin, 1878-1886. Style: Gothic Revival [5]
- Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Building, Dunedin, 1881-1882. Style: Palladian.
- St. Patrick's Basilica, Oamaru, 1894-1903. Style: mixed Palladian & Renaissance [6]
- Phoenix House, Dunedin (now Airport House), c.1885.
- Sacred Heart Basilica (now Cathedral of the Sacred Heart), Wellington, 1901. Style: Palladian [7]
- Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch, 1904-05. Style: Italian Renaissance [8]
- St.Patrick's Church, Waimate, 1908. Style:Romanesque with Italianate cupola and campanile. [9]
![[9]](http://www.waimate.com/waimate2001/pictures/MVC-282S.JPG){kind=link}
References
- Stacpoole, J., (1976). Colonial architecture in New Zealand. A H & A W Reed.
- Wynn-Williams, D. B., (1982). The basilicas of F. W. Petre. MA thesis, University of Canterbury.
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume Two (1870-1900) (1993).
- Knight, H., and Wales, N., (1988). Buildings of Dunedin. Dunedin: John McIndoe Ltd. ([ISBN 0868681067])
Further reading
- Herd, J., and Griffiths, G.J., (1980). Discovering Dunedin. Dunedin: John McIndoe Ltd. ([ISBN 0868680303])