Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort 1825 - 1898 was an English emigrant to New Zealand. He became one that country's most eminent 19th century architects, he was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch, and is credited with importing the Gothic style to New Zealand.

Mountfort was born in Birmingham, England. Moving to London he studied architecture under the tractarian architect Richard Cromwell Carpenter. Carpenters medieval Gothic style of design was to have a life long influence on Mountfort. Following his 1849 marriage to Emily Elizabeth Newman, the couple emigrated to New Zealand in 1850, aged 25, where his new wife had relatives already established.
New Zealand
The new emigres architectural life in New Zealand had a disastrous beginning when the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Lyttelton, one of Mountfort's first projects collapsed in high winds, the cause was attributed unseasoned wood. Whatever the cause the result was a crushing blow to his reputation. A local newspaper reported:-
...a half-educated architect whose buildings … have
given anything but satisfaction, he being evidently deficient
in all knowledge of the principles of construction, though a
clever draughtsman and a man of some taste.
As a consequence he left architecture and ran a book shop while giving drawing lessons until 1857. It was during this period in the architectural wilderness that he developed a life long interest in photography.
Return to architecture
In 1857 he returned to architecture and entered into business with his wife's brother Isaac Luck. Christchurch the administrative capital of the province of Canterbury was being heavily developed at this time, the former town had been given the status of a city in July 1856 and consequently the large development the new city was undergoing created a large scope for Mountfort and his new partner. In 1858 they received the commission to design the new Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, this stone building is today referred as one of Mountfort's most important works. This high profile commission is surprising bearing in mind Mountfort's history of design in New Zealand, however the smaller buildings he and Luck had built the previous year had doubtless impressed the city administrators.
Provincial Architect
As the Province's Chief Architect, known ambiguously as the "Provincial Architect" a position to which Mountfort was appointed in 1864 Mountfort designed a wooden church, for the Roman Catholic community of the city, this wooden erection was subsequently enlarged several times until it was renamed as a cathedral. It was eventually replaced in 1901 by Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, this was a more permanent stone building by the architect Frank Petre. Mountfort often worked in wood, he saw the material in no way as an impediment to the gothic style. It is in this way that many of his buildings gave New Zealand its unique Gothic style. Between 1869 and 1882 he designed the Canterbury Museum and subsequently Canterbury College and its clock tower in 1877. It is through these buildings, and Mountfort's other works that Canterbury is unique in New Zealand for its many civic and public buildings in the Gothic style.
George Gilbert Scott the architect of Christchurch Cathedral and an empathiser of Mountfort's teacher and mentor Carpenter, wished Mountfort to be the clerk of works and supervising architect of the new cathedral project, however, this proposal was vetoed by the Cathedral Commission. However, following delays in the building work attributed to financial problems the position of supervising architect was finally given to Mountfort in 1873. Mountfort was responsible for several alterations to the main absentee architects design, most obviously the tower, and the west porch. He also designed the font, the Harper Memorial, and the north porch. The cathedral however was not finally completed until 1904, six years after Mountfort's death. In 1872 Mountfort became a founding member of the Canterbury Association of Architects, this body was responsible for all subsequent development of the new city. Mountfort was now at the pinnacle of his career.
Success
By the 1880s Mountfort was hailed as the New Zealand's premier ecclesiastical architect, with over forty churches to his credit. In 1888 he designed St John's Cathedral in Napier, this brick construction was demolished in the disastrous 1931 earthquake which destroyed much of Napier. Between 1886 and 1897 Mountfort worked on one of his largest churches, the wooden, St Mary's, the cathedral church of Auckland. Covering 9000 square feet it is the largest wooden gothic church in the world. The custodians of this white painted many gabled church, today claim it to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the New Zealand. In 1982 the entire church, complete with its stained glass windows, was transported to a new site, across the road from its former position where a new cathedral was to be built. St Mary's church was consecrated in 1898, one of Mountfort's final grand works.
Personal life
Mountfort and his wife Emily had seven children, outside of his career, Mountfort was keenly interested in the arts, and a talented artist, although his artistic work appears to be confined to art pertaining to architecture, his first love. He was a devout Christian, and a member of many church councils and diocesan committees. Mountfort was also a free mason, an early member of the Lodge of Uniminity [1], personally designing the first lodge in South Island, New Zealand. One of Mountfort's seven children, Cyril continued to work in his father's gothic style well into the 20th century. Benjamin Mountfort was buried in the cemetery of Holy Trinity , Avonside, the church which he had extended in 1876.
Evaluation of Mountfort's work
Evaluating Mountfort's works today, one has not to judge them against a background of similar designs in Europe. In the 1860 New Zealand was a newly developing country, material and resources freely available in Europe where conspicuous by their absence; when available they were often of inferior quality, as Mountfort discovered with the unseasoned wood with his first disastrous project. His first buildings in his new homeland were often too tall, or steeply pitched failing to take account of the non-European climate and landscape, however, he soon adapted, and developed his genius for working with crude and unrefined materials. His hallmark wooden gothic churches today epitomise 19th century New Zealand and appear today a natural part of the landscape. Christchurch and its surrounding areas are unique in New Zealand for their particular style of Gothic architecture, this can be directly attributed to Benjamin Mountfort.
External Links
References
- Mclintock, AH (editor) 'MOUNTFORT, Benjamin Woolfield'.An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. 1966. (This work erroniously claims Mountfort was a pupil of Gilbert Scott)
- Taylor, C. R. H. 'History of the Canterbury Provincial Buildings' 1929
- Lochhead, Ian. Early works of Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort, 1975