the suburb was named after st john's college, a religious training college established in what became the suburb in 1844 by bishop selwyn. the college of st john the evangelist is the theological college of the anglican church in aotearoa, new zealand and polynesia. the complex of buildings occupies the crest of the hill and once commanded expansive views of the harbour to the north. the earliest buildings from the 1840s are the work of frederick thatcher, bishop selwyn's primary architect. thatcher is largely responsible for what is now referred to as the "selwyn style"; wooden gothic buildings based on saxon examples, primarily greensted church, in the small village of greensted in essex. these structures tend to have pronounced exposed wooden beams on the exterior, gabled 60-degree-pitch roofs and lancet windows.