Benjamin Mountfort Collection

Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (1825-1898) was one of New Zealand’s foremost architects in the nineteenth century. The buildings he designed were primarily in the Gothic Revival style which became distinctive of Christchurch’s architectural character. Mountfort arrived in Canterbury aboard the Charlotte Jane, one of the first four ships sent out by the Canterbury Association to populate the new settlement. The first church he designed here was the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Lyttelton. Mountfort was unfamiliar with local materials and the church had to be demolished 1857 because of structural defects. Despite this by 1857 Mountfort had established himself along with his brother-in-law, Isaac Luck, as the architects for the province of Canterbury. Under this partnership many early designs, such as the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, were completed. This collection of Mountfort’s plans demonstrates an extraordinary attention to minute detail and exquisite drawings of some of Christchurch’s most renowned buildings. Many of these buildings were severely damaged by the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes and these plans serve as a reminder of Christchurch and Canterbury’s architectural heritage.