In 1863 St Mary’s church was built. In 1898 St Mary’s became part of the parochial district of Halswell, Tai Tapu and Greenpark areas, and Rev. Henry Williams Curate of Riccarton was appointed the first Vicar.
As he was married with a family, a vicarage was a necessity. The original house was built in 1898, on some 1500 sq ft (169 sq m), and at a cost of 690 pounds ($1380). “A fine building for its day.”
Consisting of only six rooms (one was the Vicar’s vestry and one the kitchen) with a wash house and stables on the southeast boundary, it was already too small when the family moved in. So when another child was born in 1911, an extension of two bedrooms was added to the rear. A bathroom with hot water was installed in 1913 for the church’s 50th Jubilee and electricity added in 1920.
The exterior weatherboards were stucco plastered over in 1960 (which was then removed during renovations in 2000). A double garage was built in 1968 and in 1974 the sun room was added.
The Old Vicarage, now with 3900 sq m of land, has had four owners since being sold into private ownership in 1992. Alterations were completed in 2004 to convert the house to a café and restaurant, which included the removal of two internal walls, an extension of the front veranda and new replica joinery installed in the sun room.
The café and restaurant was purchased in October 2007 by Campbell and Bridget Parker. In November 2009 an extension was added to the back of the building to accommodate a new bar, provide more car parking and a much needed back entrance to the building. At the same time the café and restaurant was completely refurbished. The new bar extension and refurbishment was carefully designed to reflect the style and character of the original villa.
