Abandoned series photo 6 _ Erskine College
Apart from the chapel and associated function room (now used as a function venue), Erskine College lies in ruin, slowly returning to the elements and inhabited, illegally, by street people, nomads, drunks and druggies.
Yet it is beautiful - this series is dedicated to capturing the faded glory of this once prestigious Catholic Girls School and its famous architect and beautiful gardens, now retiurning to wilderness.
Erskine College has received national recognition by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) – given Category I status on its National Register.
Between 1906 and 1985 the Island Bay landmark was a Catholic boarding school for girls. Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, it was called The Convent of the Sacred Heart till the late 1960s when it was renamed Erskine College in honour of former Superior General of the Society Mother Janet Erskine Stuart.
Considerable refurbishment of the Chapel has resulted in it being used for a range of functions.
The NZHPT review proposes to combine the two individual registrations of the Erskine College Main Block (Category II historic place) and Chapel (Category I) into a new single registration that recognises the wider Erskine College site with all its buildings and setting.
The imposing four-storey Gothic brick and reinforced concrete main convent building was designed by noted architect John Sydney Swan and is the oldest surviving purpose-built secondary school building in Wellington. By the time it closed in 1985 nearly 3000 girls had been educated at the college.The Erskine site is a rare physical testament to the work of the Society of the Sacred Heart in New Zealand, and is a place that many people feel a very strong connection to. It also contains outstanding examples of the architecture of John Sydney Swan, and the Chapel of the Sacred Heart is widely regarded as one of the finest Gothic chapel interiors in New Zealand.
Abandoned series photo 6 _ Erskine College
Apart from the chapel and associated function room (now used as a function venue), Erskine College lies in ruin, slowly returning to the elements and inhabited, illegally, by street people, nomads, drunks and druggies.
Yet it is beautiful - this series is dedicated to capturing the faded glory of this once prestigious Catholic Girls School and its famous architect and beautiful gardens, now retiurning to wilderness.
Erskine College has received national recognition by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) – given Category I status on its National Register.
Between 1906 and 1985 the Island Bay landmark was a Catholic boarding school for girls. Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, it was called The Convent of the Sacred Heart till the late 1960s when it was renamed Erskine College in honour of former Superior General of the Society Mother Janet Erskine Stuart.
Considerable refurbishment of the Chapel has resulted in it being used for a range of functions.
The NZHPT review proposes to combine the two individual registrations of the Erskine College Main Block (Category II historic place) and Chapel (Category I) into a new single registration that recognises the wider Erskine College site with all its buildings and setting.
The imposing four-storey Gothic brick and reinforced concrete main convent building was designed by noted architect John Sydney Swan and is the oldest surviving purpose-built secondary school building in Wellington. By the time it closed in 1985 nearly 3000 girls had been educated at the college.The Erskine site is a rare physical testament to the work of the Society of the Sacred Heart in New Zealand, and is a place that many people feel a very strong connection to. It also contains outstanding examples of the architecture of John Sydney Swan, and the Chapel of the Sacred Heart is widely regarded as one of the finest Gothic chapel interiors in New Zealand.