Katherine Mansfield House & Garden

05/06/2026

Happy 160th anniversary Old St Paul's!

It could be argued that without Old St Paul's, Katherine Mansfield would never have been born. Why? Read our latest blog post to find out: https://www.katherinemansfield.com/article/katherine-mansfield-and-old-st-pauls

These images show the interior of St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral (as it was known then) in 1896, painted by Charlotte Beatrice Youmans, and the Beauchamp children around 1898 (Katherine is top left), dressed in their best outfits like they would have worn to services at St Paul’s on a Sunday. Both images are from the collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga National Library of New Zealand

04/06/2026

Our latest exhibition 'A Memory of a Summer Dream' opened last week!

Local artist Catherine Warren explores the classic New Zealand summer's day through paintings and poetry. From dawn until dusk, humble horizons, reaching branches, serene sunsets and familiar words transport you to another season - just what we need as winter arrives!

In Catherine's paintings it’s easy to spot the same landscapes that inspired the imagery in Katherine Mansfield’s story 'At the Bay': “The water was quite warm. It was that marvellous transparent blue, flecked with silver, but the sand at the bottom looked gold; when you kicked with your toes there rose a little puff of gold-dust.”

It was a pleasure to host Catherine and her friends and family for an opening event to celebrate her first solo exhibition. You can read more about the exhibition in the current edition of Regional News - Connecting Wellington.

27/05/2026

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Illustrated Non-Fiction winner Elizabeth Cox reveals to The Spinoff that she read lots of Katherine Mansfield while researching for her book!

"I’m obviously a non-fiction writer, but mostly I read fiction for fun. I find that I can’t read fiction while I am in the midst of writing, though, as my brain is too full of all the stuff I’ve had to read for research. An exception was with 'Mr Ward’s Map' – I got to read lots of Katherine Mansfield, as she was stalking around the city as a young woman just at the time Ward was drawing the map, and she later described the city of her memory in deliciously accurate detail. She was so accurate I could follow her around the city on the map."

'A bad rhyming scheme will bug you every time... '

25/05/2026

Have you heard of Bloomsday? This year you can join the worldwide celebrations at Katherine Mansfield House & Garden!

June 16 is the day on which James Joyce’s groundbreaking Modernist novel, 'Ulysses', is set. In Dublin there is a whole festival dedicated to Bloomsday and it is marked all around the world with events just like this one.

Cherie Jacobson, Director of Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, will share her experience of Bloomsday in Dublin last year, and Jane Connolly, Ambassador of Ireland, will share a reading from 'Ulysses'. Food and music are important in 'Ulysses', so we’ll also be offering a taste of both.

Participants in Bloomsday often dress up, from a simple straw boater like James Joyce wore or the bowler hat sported by his character Leopold Bloom, to full Edwardian garb. So don’t be shy about dressing for the occasion!

Katherine Mansfield and James Joyce met for a cup of tea in Paris; now you can meet in the birthplace of one Modernist icon, to celebrate the work of another.

This event is free but registration is required via our website due to limited space in the house.

18/05/2026

Katherine Mansfield House & Garden is closed Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 May for maintenance work.

We apologise for any inconvenience, but look forward to welcoming you from Thursday when upstairs will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer thanks to the work being carried out!

17/05/2026

Last week Claire Bibby visited St Michael’s Church in the village of Duntisbourne Rouse, near Cirencester, that is home to an organ gifted by Katherine Mansfield’s sisters in Katherine’s memory. Claire took a copy of ‘The Collected Poems of Katherine Mansfield’ (published by Otago University Press) to gift to the church and sent us this account of her visit, along with these lovely photos. Thank you Claire!

‘We visited St Michael’s Church, Duntisbourne Rouse on a May afternoon. It had been raining most of the day, however, when we arrived the sun shone through the clouds. The church is on a steep hillside and approached by a very tiny lane, with parking for one vehicle between high hedges. We walked down the pathway to the church, unlatching two little gates, a wooden one and a wrought iron one at each end of the way. It’s a very rural church in a paddock, surrounded by burial sites in long grass and wildflowers, with a walking trail passing through. Somewhere behind the hedges and trees we could hear cattle mooing. It is a peaceful romantic place. The church has a very small bell tower with two bells, approached by the tiniest stone spiral stairway dating back to 1587. The church windows date back to 12th century and there is a painting and crypt dating from 1200. I left the gift of Katherine Mansfield poems on the organ donated by her sisters with a card. What a delightful church and how lovely to think her three sisters felt that music was a fitting memorial to Katherine.’

Claire is the President of the Glenside Progressive Association and a driving force behind the restoration and care of the c1880 Glenside - The Halfway and its beautiful garden.

14/05/2026

We are delighted to welcome Emily Perkins as the new Patron of Katherine Mansfield House & Garden!

Emily is an award-winning writer, experienced teacher of creative writing, and popular chair of literary events. She is also a fan of Katherine Mansfield! Emily wrote the introduction to the Text Publishing edition of 'Katherine Mansfield: Selected Stories'.

Emily says, "It’s a real honour to be involved with Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, a brilliantly curated literary landmark that not only is a Wellington jewel, but attracts visitors from all over the world.

I love Mansfield’s game-changing short stories, as well as her letters and journals - her searching, often humorous, intensely felt approach to life and art continues to connect with new generations. KMHG is a vital element of that connection, a place to feel a great writer’s origins and influences and get a fascinating overview of her too-short life."

Emily was a wonderful guest for our 2024 Talking Books fundraising event and we look forward to working with her to champion Mansfield’s work and contemporary creativity.

We are very grateful to Dame Fran Wilde for her work in the role since 2022, and to vice-Patrons Dame Kate Harcourt, Dame Jane Campion and Witi Ihimaera DCNZM QSM for their ongoing support.

07/05/2026

We’ve had two excellent speakers at the house over the past few days!

On Sunday afternoon archaeologist Mary O’Keeffe dug into the meaning of home and shared stories about sites she’s worked on that have revealed clues about the people who lived there. NZ Archaeology Week continues until 10 May so check out the New Zealand Archaeological Association’s web page to see what’s on near you.

Then last night award-winning French writer Katia Astafieff joined Noémie Clarke from the French Embassy in New Zealand - Ambassade de France en Nouvelle-Zélande to talk about her many books that combine her love of travel and botany - and her sense of humour! Katia told the story of Marianne North, an Englishwoman who travelled to Australia and New Zealand (at the suggestion of Charles Darwin no less!) in 1880 and painted indigenous flora. If you’re ever visiting Kew Gardens, make sure to check out the gallery Marianne North had built to showcase her 800+ works!

Marianne North has been a focus of Katia’s research during her time as the Randell Cottage Writers Trust Writer in Residence.

Thank you to everyone who came along to these talks - and joined us on Zoom!

30/04/2026

We are thrilled to announce that applications for our seventh Verb Wellington Writer's Residency at Katherine Mansfield House & Garden are now open!

We love offering this annual three-week residency, as we know that there is a need more than ever, to have paid time to write, and what better place to do that, than at the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden! We thank our anonymous patron who has provided the support for us to continue this residency, without them it would not be possible.

Past successful residents include Himali McInnes, Iona Winter, Jack Remiel Cottrell, Kiran Dass, Joy Holley and J. Wiremu Kane.

Key Info:
🖊 Applications open today (1 May, close 15 May)
🖊 More information about the residency is on our website: verbwellington.nz (or, at the link in our bio)
🖊 If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch at [email protected]

24/04/2026

Today at Katherine Mansfield House & Garden we remember Leslie Heron Beauchamp, Katherine Mansfield’s younger brother who died in the First World War aged 21.

Below is an excerpt from Beatrice Campbell’s memoir ‘Today We Shall Only Gossip’ (published in 1964, by which time she was Lady Glenavy) about Katherine’s reaction to news of her brother’s death.

“One morning…I went round to Acacia Road to visit Katherine, and found her alone in the little top room where she used to write. There was a photograph of her brother ‘Chummy’ in uniform on her desk, who I knew had lately been in London on leave. She had always spoken happily about him and of their love for each other, for he seemed to be the one member of her family with whom she was absolutely in tune.

I took up the photograph to look at it and asked if she had heard from him since his leave. I noticed that she was looking at me in a q***r, wild, hard way; then she said, ‘Blown to bits!’

I was stunned. I asked when she had heard the news. She mentioned a date a few days previously. I remembered that she and Murry and Kot had come round to us that evening, and that Kot and Murry had been very silent but Katherine had seemed exceptionally talkative and gay. She had been wearing her embroidered shawl, which gave her a party air. Evidently she had told Kot and Murry not to mention her brother's death to us. It was as if the knowledge of his death was too terrible and unbelievable a fact to share with other people, until she had had time to face up to it alone and in some way accept it.”