Francis Petre
Frank William "Francis" Petre (born August 27, 1847 in Petone , † December 10, 1918 in Dunedin ) is one of the most famous New Zealand architects of the late 19th century. Most of his structures are concentrated in the then prosperous city of Dunedin, where he spent most of his life. Before his time, New Zealand architecture was very much influenced by the "mother colony", the United Kingdom , and particularly under its neo-Gothic architectural style. Petre, one of the first self-born personalities in New Zealand, was instrumental in helping other architectural styles, primarily Palladianism , which is native to southern Europe, as well as elements of the Renaissance , which better fit the climate and lifestyle of the Pacific state, to flourish in New Zealand .
Francis Petre came into contact with numerous different styles in his long career as an architect, pioneering the use of concrete . This earned him eventually nicknamed "Lord Concrete" ( Engl. , Concrete ) a. He constructed numerous public and private buildings, most of which can still be found in and around Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island . Today his houses are among the most elegant and sought-after in the country. Petre is remembered primarily for his sacred buildings , the monumental Roman Catholic cathedrals in the New Zealand metropolises of Dunedin, Wellington and Christchurch , which today bear witness to his talent and architectural expertise.
Life
Early years
The Petre family, who had held the nobility as Barone Petres since 1603, came from Ingatestone in Essex ( England ). The closest family members of Francis Petre were among the first and best known immigrant families in New Zealand. For example, Petre Bay on Chatham Island was named after them, as was originally the city of Wanganui on the North Island . Furthermore, a suburb of the capital Wellington was named after the "Thorndon Hall property", the family seat of the Petres. This district is still known today as Thorndon . Petre was the son of the Honorable Henry William Petre, who first came to New Zealand in 1840 as director of the New Zealand Company . His father, Lord Petre, was chairman of the "Company" at the time. The New Zealand Company, which had only been founded a year earlier, endeavored to colonize the islands, which were then almost exclusively inhabited by Maori, and in the following years acquired large areas of land from the indigenous people through barter deals, sometimes in a dubious way. so that white settlers could then immigrate. Consequently, Henry Petre can be counted among the founders of the city of Wellington. He also held the post of colonial treasurer of "New Munster", as the South Island was called at the time.
Francis Petre was born on August 27, 1847, the third of sixteen children in Petone - now a suburb of Lower Hutt - one of the first white settlements in New Zealand. At the age of eight, according to British colonial tradition, he was sent to England for training. At the beginning he was a student at "Mount St Mary's College" near Sheffield , where he was taught by Jesuits . Four years later, he left school to enter the time in Portsmouth is moved Royal Naval College enter. Since he found himself unsuitable for a career in the navy, he continued his training in France, where he attended the educational institution of the French priest Benoît-Agathon Haffreingue in Boulogne-sur-Mer . When he returned to England, he finally completed his education at "Ushaw College" in Durham .
At that time, members of British aristocratic families did not usually have to earn the money to live because they would go to the military or pursue a spiritual career anyway. As the third son of a younger son of a peer , however, it was already clear at birth that he would have to take care of his own income in the future. As a result, he was apprenticed to London shipbuilder and engineer Joseph Samuda between 1864 and 1869 . There he learned various methods of dealing with concrete, a relatively new material at the time. This inspired him in his later works.
After completing his training in 1869, Petre was licensed as an architect and engineer and worked for three years with London architect Daniel Cubitt Nicholls before returning to New Zealand in 1872. Here he was also employed as an engineer at the Brogden and Sons railway company. During this time he oversaw the construction of the Blenheim - Picton and Dunedin - Balclutha railway lines , the drainage of parts of the Taieri Plains and the construction of numerous tunnels along the Otago Central Railway , some of which are still accessible today in connection with the Otago Central Rail Trail are. After this work was finished, Petre settled on Liverpool Street in Dunedin as a freelance architect and engineer.
Beginning of the architecture career
From 1875 onwards, Petre seems to have devoted a large part of his life to architecture, especially sacred architecture. No doubt he was influenced by the trends and personalities of the time; The popular architect Benjamin Mountfort from Christchurch should be mentioned here, whose Gothic Revival style dominated his first projects. He once said about the neo-Gothic style:
- " [He saw in this type of architecture] the great richness and delicay 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. "
- “ [He saw in this architectural style] the great wealth and the connection to detail, and the integration of geometric shapes in the architecture - especially in the tracery of the windows, which show a greater variety in the construction, combined with a softer and more perfect flow of the various parts in the complete work. "
English Gothic Revival was extremely popular at the time, particularly in Anglican church buildings in both the colonies of the British Empire and in the United Kingdom itself. The rise of this architectural style went hand in hand with the rise of the Oxford Movement , an Anglo-Catholic group of English intellectuals (see also High Church ) who believed that medieval - Gothic architecture stimulated spirituality to a greater extent than pagan architecture Temples or non-Christian houses of worship based architectural styles. The Anglican Church outside the “mother country” ultimately pursued another goal in addition to the nostalgic memory of home: to impress the natives in such a way that they converted to the new faith. The Roman Catholic Church, to which Francis Petre belonged, has always wanted to differentiate itself from the Anglicans, including in architecture. Therefore, this denomination was based on the forms of Gothic and Renaissance prevailing in southern Europe. Consequently, it was the Catholic Church that gave Petre the greatest opportunity to demonstrate his architectural prowess in relation to Italian and French architectural styles.
An early specialty of Petres was the use of mass concrete , which was particularly suitable for large areas , a new building material in New Zealand at the time. If it was already used by the Romans, the recipe for making it was lost until it was reinvented in the 18th century. Three of Peter’s oldest works were all built using this building material: The property of Richter Chapman (known today as "Castlemore"), an exposed villa known as "Cargill's Castle" and St. Dominic's Priory, all three of which are in the 1870s were completed. At the request of his clients, however, Petre also worked with conventional building materials.
First major order: St Dominic's Priory
Probably the most important project that Petre was allowed to tackle in the 1870s was the establishment of a priory in his main place of work, Dunedin. The building, named after St. Dominic , was built between 1876 and 1877. In Peter’s opinion, the architecture of the priory is based on the Anglo-Saxon tradition, which he justified with the evenly sloping window openings. In reality, however, the building was largely his own and was only slightly influenced by Anglo-Saxon architecture.
The building became famous for the extensive use of poured concrete, a building material that was almost entirely unknown in New Zealand at the time, but was very versatile. In this way, it was possible without major difficulties to interrupt the facade of the building with so many window openings. Overall, the building appears huge and at the same time austere, which should emphasize its future purpose as a monastery . At the time of its construction, the priory was the largest unreinforced concrete building in the southern hemisphere ( steel was not used as a supporting element for concrete at that time). This project brought Petre characteristic today nicknamed "Lord Concrete" (of English. Concrete = concrete) a.
Change from Neo-Gothic to Renaissance: The Cathedrals
As a devout Catholic, Francis Petre had the privilege of designing and building three Roman Catholic cathedrals on New Zealand soil. The three huge sacred buildings clearly reflect Peter’s stylistic change, from the neo-Gothic St Joseph’s Cathedral in Dunedin to the almost classical -style Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Wellington to the typical Renaissance building, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch is enough.
St Joseph's Cathedral (1878)
45 ° 52 '28.3 " S , 170 ° 29' 52.9" O
Although Francis Petre designed numerous churches, schools, public buildings and private homes in his architectural career, he was never able to complete his most daunting project, the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Dunedin. The current facade and the entire nave correspond to the original condition from the late 1870s and illustrate the position of the building as one of the most important examples of French neo-Gothic. Today the building, which was built right next to St Dominic's Priory, is reminiscent of numerous masterpieces of European sacred architecture. So when looking at the facade, which is dominated by the two towers and the rose window , French cathedrals such as Chartres or Notre Dame come to mind. Peter’s original drafts, which have been preserved in a collection of drawings of almost 90 pages and are now in the diocese's archives, envisaged a cathedral building that would overshadow all other sacred buildings in Australasia at the time. The two side towers would have been surmounted by a central, approximately 60-meter-high church spire. The groundbreaking took place in 1878, but as a result of the economic crisis in the early 1880s, a diocesan representative decided to do without the huge central tower in order to limit the debt.
In 1886, the current church building was finally blessed. The substructure of the cathedral helped it to become better known: the sacred building named after Saint Joseph rests on 40 massive concrete joints, each over 1.2 meters wide and sunk 10 meters into the volcanic bedrock. The nave is 24 meters long and 16 meters high. The masonry of the building is made of black basalt , while the white Oamaru stone from nearby Oamaru was used for the friezes and ornaments . This type of limestone was preferred in the South Island architecture of the time; Another well-known building of this type is Dunedin Railway Station . Petre was to receive further orders to build cathedrals in the following decades, but St Joseph's Cathedral was to remain his largest building in the Gothic Revival style.
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (1901)
41 ° 16 ′ 36.4 " S , 174 ° 46 ′ 32.2" E
The fact that a church that looks like a Greco - Roman temple is now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington was not planned at the time of its construction. The previous building, the first cathedral dedicated to the Mother of God , erected in 1850 as a representative neo-Gothic basilica with pinnacles and buttresses , was destroyed by fire in 1898. The Sacred Heart Basilica was built in its place as a parish church. The new episcopal church was to be built closer to the now grown districts of Te Aro and Newtown .
Petre had a personal relationship with the place as the Catholic community had received the land through his father and grandfather. Petre was entrusted with this task just two days after the decision was made to create a kind of “memorial church”. Later - in 1903 - he also published plans for the new cathedral, which in his opinion should have been built in the form of "Roman architecture on the border with the Italian Renaissance". However, this project was never realized.
In the opinion of numerous respected architects of the 19th century, such as the Englishman Augustus Pugin , only the (neo) Gothic architectural style was suitable for building Christian houses of worship. This view persisted until the end of the 19th century. New Zealander Benjamin Mountfort, who died in 1898, was one of its representatives. Petre broke with this tradition by designing the new building in the style of Palladianism rooted in Veneto . In the meantime the Gothic style was considered old-fashioned and also too expensive.
The building is strongly designed for external impact. The impressive main facade, made of white Oamaru stone, dominates a columned hall resting on six enormous Ionic pillars . Its gable side is dominated by a large triangular gable reminiscent of Vitruvius than Andrea Palladio . Behind the impressive front facade extends the elongated nave, which follows the Roman style less strictly.
The Palladian style continues in the interior. The main nave is flanked on the left and right by colonnades, the pillars of which serve as the foundation for an upper facade with arched windows . The chancel is separated from the nave by a triumphal arch . This architectural element is often referred to as the “Palladian window”. The flat ceiling, each divided into equal sections, is a more modest replica of ceiling sections of the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venice. The two bell towers had to be removed as a result of the 1942 earthquake .
The costs for the new church were covered from the funds actually intended for the construction of the new cathedral in the city center, which resulted in a delay in the actual cathedral project. After more than 70 years, plans to build a new Catholic cathedral in Wellington were finally abandoned. On March 18, 1984, the Sacred Heart Basilica was officially elevated to a Metropolitan Cathedral by Cardinal Thomas Williams .
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (1904)
Of all the structures that Petre designed and built, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch is generally considered to be his most significant.
Petre as an architect of private buildings
Francis Petre presented himself as extremely varied not only in the sacred buildings, but also in the area of private houses. Obviously - unlike many other architects - he always designed buildings exactly according to the wishes of his customers - they wanted a castle-like structure, he planned a castle, if they wanted a stately home in the Tudor style , Petre also met their wishes.
A large private residence designed by Petre is in the Lovelockavenue in his main place of work, Dunedin. It was originally built in 1875 for a judge named Chapman and christened "Woodside", although the property became known almost exclusively under the name "Castlamore" soon after its completion. This stately building is located on the slopes of the Botanical Garden near the University of Otago is a masterpiece of restraint and of the building is a medieval atmosphere -. Similar to a Scottish Cottages - of that - usual in such a building - battlements are but only indicated with the help of the stepped gable. The two-story bay windows that flood the house with light allude again to the theme of the Middle Ages. Only after looking at the ensemble for a long time does it become apparent that they are made up of a series of pointed arched windows . The large, octagonal chimneys emphasize the structure of the building as described so far, instead of appearing boastful.
According to the medieval theme, the property could have been designed as a bleak, gloomy castle without any problems, but in reality it functions as a comfortable residential building including a loggia and winter garden . A less talented architect would not have been able to avoid adding a tourelle or a pinnacle , which would have destroyed the whole subtlety of the structure. Peter’s sophistication was also due to the fact that he knew exactly how to combine large windows and other advantages of modernity with the medieval theme so that the building in question had a neo-Gothic influence, but not a mockery of the original architecture. Consequently, Petre was among the representatives of the original Gothic Revival architecture, as it was devised by architects such as James Wyatt , and turned against the newer Neo-Gothic after it came under Anglo-Catholic influence; He was also opposed to architects such as the Englishman Augustus Pugin or the New Zealander Benjamin Mountfort.
One of Peter’s greatest talents was his extreme versatility. In 1883, for example, he had a stately home built in Christchurch for a local merchant. The building is attributed to the "English Cottage" style, which was particularly popular in New Zealand at the time. This building, known as “Llanmaes”, was in stark contrast to his previous projects: Instead of expressing impressive size and charisma, this property is limited to exuding rustic charm. Due to their size, however, Petres " cottages " were more like Marie Antoinette's Hameau in the park of Versailles than modest English properties. Comparable to the English architect George Devey , Petre tried to realize these buildings in a slightly stylized Tudor style. Its most important characteristic is the prominent half-timbered style with the dark wooden beams between the very light masonry, which extend into the gable below the tiled roof. This architectural direction became very famous in New Zealand from the 1910s .
In the Dunedin district of St. Clair there are two cottages by Petre in close proximity to each other on Cliffs Road: On the one hand, the “Pinner House”, in which Petre tried to incorporate the Mediterranean climate of New Zealand in the English country house style with the help of large window fronts and expansive verandas . It was built in the 1880s for Aufrere Fenwick, then one of the city's foremost stockbrokers. Across from it, Petre built a similarly constructed house, in which he settled himself.
Private life
One of Peter’s first major building contracts was the “ Cargill's Castle ”, a graceful, magnificent building, the functionality of which was clearly less important than the external effect. The building, which was commissioned by the then politician and later mayor of Dunedin, Edward Bowes Cargill , and named after him, resembled a mansion rather than a real castle, but it was located next to Robert Lawson's “ Larnach Castle ” the only castle in New Zealand. Because the "castle" was built on a 60 meters high cliff, she got by descendants of the client the name "the cliffs" ( engl. , the cliffs ). In this context, Petre was most likely also the site manager in the construction of a tunnel leading to a secluded beach at the foot of the castle , now known as Tunnel Beach. While planning this property, he fell in love with Margaret Cargill, his client's daughter. Initially, however, the two families had different denominations : while the Petres had always been arch-Catholic, while the Cargill family represented the views of the Presbyterian Church to the same extent . In the end, however, both were allowed to marry and the wedding ceremony took place in 1877 - shortly after the building was completed - in the main salon. Unfortunately, much of the building fell victim to a fire in the 1940s and is now a listed ruin.
The Petres themselves had thirteen children during their married life. In 1903, after the death of his father-in-law, Francis Petre was appointed Consul of the State of Italy in Dunedin. He was also a founding member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects , a professional association that now includes 85% of all architects in the country. From 1907 to 1908 he even presided over it. Even at the height of his career, Petre was mostly described as accommodating and popular. Petre died on December 10, 1918 at the age of 71 in his home in Dunedin after a career of over 40 years as an architect and is now in Anderson's Bay Cemetery in his longtime hometown in Otago.
Buildings by Francis Petre
The following is a chronological listing of the buildings designed and built by Francis Petre:
- Woodside mansion (popularly mostly "Castlamore") in neo-Gothic style, Dunedin (1875).
- Cargill's Castle in the Italian / Neo-Gothic castle style, Dunedin (1876).
- St. Dominic's Priory in neo-Gothic style, Dunedin (1877).
- St. Joseph's Cathedral in neo-Gothic style, Dunedin (1878–1886).
- Palladian Style Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance Building, Dunedin (1881–1882).
- English cottage style Llanmaes mansion, Christchurch (1883).
- Phoenix House (today: "Airport House"), Dunedin (approx. 1885).
- English cottage style pinner house, Dunedin, (circa 1885).
- Sacred Heart Church, Dunedin (1891).
- St. Patrick's Church, Lawrence (1892).
- St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Milton (1892).
- St. Patrick's Basilica in Palladian Renaissance style, Oamaru (1893–1903).
- Sacred Heart Basilica (today: "Cathedral of the Sacred Heart") in the Palladian style, Wellington (1901).
- Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in the Italian Renaissance style, Christchurch (1904–1905).
- St. Mary's Roman Catholic Basilica, Invercargill (1905).
- St Patrick's Church in a combined Roman-Italian style, Waimate (1908).
- Church of the Sacred Heart (also: "Timaru Basilica"), Timaru (1910).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anthony G. Flude : Early country Sharks & speculators. . ihug.co.nz , archived from the original on March 29, 2005 ; accessed on September 6, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ The Cathedral Architect 1847-1918 . ihug.co.nz , archived from the original on June 5, 2007 ; accessed on January 6, 2015 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ a b Cathedral History . Archived from the original on March 31, 2012 ; accessed on January 6, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
- ^ Francis William Petre, 1847-1918. In: arch INFORM ; Retrieved December 16, 2003.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Petre, Francis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Petre, Frank William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | New Zealand architect |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 27, 1847 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Petone , New Zealand |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 10, 1918 |
| Place of death | Dunedin |