Curious and Curiouser: A window leading nowhere

How many times have you walked past this elaborate, little window on Ivey Hall’s east side and not noticed it? Or has it piqued your curiosity as to wonder why such a strange window is there at all?

The square window sits in a rather tight corner underneath an archway, so it’s not exactly in a prime position for sunlight. The window is unusually ornately decorated compared to the rest of the building. It has its own gable and until recent years, had a carved decoration at its peak of a head of sorghum, a wholegrain grass.

Well, a photo of Ivey Hall taken sometime between 1880 and 1895 reveals the answer. On the far left of the image below shows steps leading to a door that looks exactly like this window and is in the same position.

a-ha! Mystery solved. Prior to the addition of the second floor and loggia (archway) in 1918, a door stood in the frame of this window.  It was originally the servants’ entrance that led to their quarters, storerooms, and a kitchen and therefore much more inconspicuous than the Director’s grand entrance to its right!

Exterior image of Lincoln Agricultural College's Ivey Hall facing northeast. Image published in The New Zealand Graphic and Ladies Journal, 18 May 1895, p.457. View on Papers Past: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/new-zealand-graphic/1895/05/18/1