Reviving Nelson’s 1861 Schoolhouse
When Jason and Jennifer Monopoli were looking for a place to expand their automotive printing business, Orange Dog, they fell in love with the Hardy Street School House. Constructed in 1861 as a school for girls, an inspector’s report stated, “The infant school, established in the beginning of the year, at the outset relieved the existing schools from their greatest embarrassment and hindrance, a number of children too young to be taught much, yet requiring constant attention and watchfulness, and a peculiar mode of treatment.”
By the late 1860s, the school had become overcrowded, and in the 1880s, various classrooms were added.
In 1897, the education board took it over, followed in 1928 by the Public Works Department. In the late 1980s, the building was used as offices for a variety of organisations, until 2018 when the Monopolis saw it had been put up for sale.
“When we went to see it, the owner showed us parts of the original vaulted ceiling which had been covered up over the years,” says Jason. “It was beautiful and we knew immediately we had to do something to bring the building back to its former glory.”
The couple quickly decided that its location in the heart of Nelson would be better suited for accommodation. They engaged architect Alisdair Daines, who already had extensive knowledge of the building to draw up plans to create two high-quality apartments. Determined to restore as many of the school’s heritage features as possible, they were grateful for input also from Ian Bowman, a historian, architect and architectural conservator. “Both understood our passion for wanting to preserve it for another 160 years,” adds Jason.
The façade has a Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Category 1 listing, which was retained along with most of the windows, while the interior was completely stripped back.
This task was given to MOORE, a building firm who, aside from building new homes, are highly experienced in renovating historic buildings. Owners Craig and Connie Moore were delighted to be given the opportunity to undertake such a special project and contribute, as they have many times before, to the restoration of another of Nelson’s heritage buildings.
“Until the internal offices and false ceilings were ripped out, it wasn’t possible to truly appreciate the cathedral ceiling,” explains Craig. “Sections of it were damaged, so we had to recreate parts of it. Jason and Jennifer wanted to retain the original linings, so a major task was undertaken to remove the roof and install insulation from above, before installing a new roof.”
Some repiling was required, although fortunately, the building was sitting remarkably soundly in most places upon hewn rocks that are a feature of a number of Nelson building foundations. Some of these rocks originated on the Boulder Bank, while others from the ballast of ships.
Nathan McMahon, who has worked for MOORE for the better part of a decade, was foremen on the job. “So much was hidden behind poor quality additions added throughout the years, but as we progressed, we discovered the schoolhouse had sound bones and revealed many historical features,” he says.
These included inscriptions from the original school girls on the walls, an ancient breaker box, and even a bayonet. Most of these finds are celebrated in the transformation, such as a window in the floor through to the ground below, displaying a range of old bottles found as they were in the soil beneath the building. “The whole place had to be rewired, and we got the electricians to get the breaker box working so it can turn the lights on and off.”
“The Ministry of Works had put the toilet block in, and that was leaking like a sieve,” says Nathan. “We had to get professional asbestos removers in to get rid of that, and then a digger in to demolish the brick structure which was very labour intensive.” The result is a lovely internal courtyard.
Jason and Jennifer were so determined to see the integrity of the original building maintained that they even sourced nail brads to secure the flooring from England, they are identical to the ones produced 200 years ago. “One of the builders was in the UK, so he picked up a couple of kilos for us and brought them home in his luggage,” says Jason.
Fortunately, much of the original flooring was able to be saved. There was so much attention to detail in the restoration that even the colour of the ceiling is exactly as it was found, complete with the scallops painted a contrasting colour. Ian Bowman created the colours for Resene that matched those of 1860, leaving no stone unturned to honour the building’s heritage.
A ducted heating system throughout the apartments has replaced the radiators, which had no historical or architectural merit.
The School House is now for sale. “Orange Dog has become so busy we just don’t have time to manage the accommodation business anymore,” says Jason.
“We are very proud of what we’ve achieved with the schoolhouse and now want to pass it on to someone else who will love it as much as we do.”
“It was wonderful to work with clients who understood the value in doing everything properly and were prepared to put the financial resources in to create the best outcome,” says Craig.
“This job has been my favourite build so far,” adds Nathan. “It was an adventure from start to finish.”
Words: Adrienne Matthews | Photos: Exposure Media