Office Chair

In 1850, the architect Benjamin Mountfort (1825-1898) arrived in Christchurch, bringing with him the inspiration of Gothic Revival architectural design. With its impressive stone structures and wooden interior furnishings appearing both decorative and sophisticated, Gothic Revival was a contemporary choice for the soon to be Canterbury College. In 1877 the Clock Tower block designed by Mountfort on Worcester Street was completed, marking the establishment of a new campus for students and staff. While the architecture of the College was unapologetically Gothic, the furniture that occupied the spaces embodied characteristics that only loosely resembled Gothic design.

This now weathered office chair (believed to have been owned by Professor John Macmillan Brown) is formed from heavy, dark coloured timber, which would have given it the illusion of age when it was first made, despite being a newly crafted chair at the time. Although little is known on the provenance of this object, Mountfort’s work on the Canterbury Provincial Chambers (1858-1865), as well as other furniture he commissioned for Canterbury College, indicates that Mountfort adhered to the Gothic tradition of continuity of design in architectural structures and the interior furnishings of them. In doing so, Mountfort helped to create a learning environment that echoed the prestigious atmosphere of the Oxbridge universities (Oxford and Cambridge) in the United Kingdom, thus elevating the perceived status of studying at Canterbury College.