Archbishop's House, Port of Spain

The Archbishop's House, at 27 Maraval Road, is the official residence of the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Church of Port of Spain. It was built from 1903 to 1904 by George Brown of the Trinidad Trading Company for Patrick Vincent Flood, the Fifth Archbishop of Port of Spain. Around the same time, most of the other “Magnificent Seven” residences on Maraval Road were also built, by wealthy French Creoles.

The original property, designed by an Irish architect in an Indian Empire architectural style, had a chapel and sacristy on the first floor. It also had a summer house and stables, which were accessed by an extended gallery on the west side of the main building.

The porch wrapping around the house is complemented by a porte-cochère with wide bay and six additional, narrower bays on the east façade. The west side has nine bays, plus another six bays on the south and north façades.

The building was remodeled extensively from 1968 to 1969, based upon the architectural design of Sonny Sellier. A chancery was added on the west side and a new apartment replaced the summer house and stables. In some cases, the performed renovations, overseen by the contractor Rev Father Kevin Devenish, deviated from the original aesthetic plan. For instance, the double wooden doors on the ground floor were replaced with sliding aluminum doors.

Immediately after the renovations were completed, Monsignor Anthony Pantin, the first Trinidadian-born Archbishop, settled in the house.