Canterbury Club

Last updated

Canterbury Club
Canterbury Club, Christchurch, New Zealand.jpg
Canterbury Club, August 2019
Canterbury Club
General information
TypeGentlemen's Club
Location Christchurch Central City
Address129 Cambridge Terrace
Town or cityChristchurch
CountryNew Zealand
Coordinates 43°31′52″S172°37′57″E / 43.53115°S 172.63238°E / -43.53115; 172.63238
Construction started1873
Technical details
Floor countTwo
Design and construction
Architect(s) Frederick Strouts
Main contractor Daniel Reese
Reference no.1837
References
"Canterbury Club". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 6 August 2022.

The Canterbury Club is a historic gentlemen's club in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded by urban professionals in 1872 as a breakaway club from the Christchurch Club, which had been set up by large rural landholders in 1856.

Contents

History

The Christchurch Club had been founded by wealthy runholders in 1856. Their permanent premises were built adjacent to Latimer Square to a design by Benjamin Mountfort. [1] Urban businessmen and professionals found that their interests differed from the rural gentry, and in 1872 founded their own gentlemen's club, the Canterbury Club. They commissioned one of their members, William Armson, to design a building, but he fell ill and in early 1873 the commission was passed to Frederick Strouts instead. Strouts was guided by the lead that Mountfort had taken with the Christchurch Club a decade earlier and also chose Italianate architecture as the style for the building, to be erected on a site on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Worcester Street. [2] The construction contract went to tender in May 1873 [3] and Daniel Reese was chosen as the builder. [2]

The building was strengthened in 2008–09 and this work was the reason that the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes caused only moderate damage. After earthquake repairs had been done, the premises reopened on 8 June 2012. [4] A dress code has applied since the club was founded. [5]

Heritage registrations

The building was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (since renamed to Heritage New Zealand) on 25 November 1982 as a Category II historic place. [2] Outside the front door on the Cambridge Terrace frontage, two further heritage items are registered as Category II: a gas light, and a hitching post. The gas light was installed for public lighting in circa 1900, but the gas lighting system was switched off in 1918 when municipal electricity had become available. Somehow, this particular gas lamp was never removed, and it was restored for the February 1963 royal visit by Queen Elizabeth II. [6] [7] Years later, the lamp was shifted a short distance to be located outside of the club's main entrance. The lamp was still run on gas for many years after the gasworks closed in 1985, but in the 1990s, the Canterbury Club converted it to an electric light. In 1999, the Christchurch City Council and the Canterbury Club reinstated gas supply to the lamp. [6] Adjacent to the gas light is a hitching post, erected in the 1870s or 1880s by the club for members to tether their horses. Once common throughout colonial towns, there are very few remaining today. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Luck</span>

Isaac Luck was a New Zealand architect. A professional builder, he arrived in Lyttelton on the Steadfast in 1851. He was the third chairman of the Christchurch Town Council. He was the brother-in-law of and in partnership with Benjamin Mountfort, and was the less well-known architectural partner for the design of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canterbury Museum, Christchurch</span> Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Canterbury Museum is a museum located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, in the city's Cultural Precinct. The museum was established in 1867 with Julius von Haast – whose collection formed its core – as its first director. The building is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by Heritage New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Mountfort</span> English architect, emigrant to New Zealand (1825–1898)

Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's unique architectural identity and culture, and was appointed the first official Provincial Architect of the developing province of Canterbury. Heavily influenced by the Anglo-Catholic philosophy behind early Victorian architecture, he is credited with importing the Gothic revival style to New Zealand. His Gothic designs constructed in both wood and stone in the province are considered unique to New Zealand. Today, he is considered the founding architect of the province of Canterbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings</span> Government administration in Christchurch Central City, Christchurch

The Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings were the buildings of the Canterbury Provincial Council that administered the Canterbury Province from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The buildings are the only purpose-built provincial government buildings in New Zealand still in existence. The buildings were substantially damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and partially demolished by the Christchurch City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Clock Tower</span> Historic site in Victoria Street, Christchurch Central City

The Victoria Clock Tower, also known as the Diamond Jubilee Clock Tower, is a heritage-registered clock tower located in Christchurch, New Zealand. Designed by Benjamin Mountfort, it is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Avonside</span> Church in Christchurch, New Zealand

Holy Trinity Avonside was a heritage-listed Anglican church located in Linwood, Christchurch, New Zealand. It was registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. It was "damaged beyond the point of repair" in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake and was demolished the following September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our City, Christchurch</span> Former civic offices in Christchurch, New Zealand

Our City, more formally Our City O-Tautahi, also known as the Old Municipal Chambers, is a Queen Anne style building on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace in the Christchurch Central City. It is a Category I heritage building registered with Heritage New Zealand. From 1887 to 1924 it was used by Christchurch City Council as their civic offices, providing room for meetings of the council and for housing staff, before they moved to the Civic. It was then used for many decades by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce and served as the main tourist information. It was last used as an exhibition and events centre before being damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otahuna</span>

Otahuna is the former homestead of the lawyer, runholder, stock breeder, politician, horticulturist, philatelist and philanthropist Sir Heaton Rhodes (1861–1956). The grand country house is located near Tai Tapu on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Michael and All Angels, Christchurch</span> Church in Christchurch Central City, New Zealand

The Church of St Michael and All Angels is an Anglican church in Christchurch, New Zealand. The church building at 84 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch, is registered as Category I by Heritage New Zealand. Its freestanding belfry is registered separately.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Wood (architect)</span> New Zealand architect (1878–1947)

Cecil Walter Wood was a New Zealand architect. He was the dominant architect in Canterbury during the interwar period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Saviour's Chapel</span> Church in Lyttelton, New Zealand

St Saviour’s at Holy Trinity is an Anglican church in Lyttelton, Christchurch, New Zealand. St Saviour's Chapel was relocated from West Lyttelton to Christchurch's Cathedral Grammar School in the 1970s. Following the earthquakes and the demolition of Holy Trinity Church, Lyttelton, St Saviour's was returned to Lyttelton to the site of Holy Trinity in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Luke's Church, Christchurch</span> Church in Christchurch, New Zealand

St Luke's Church in Christchurch was registered as a Category II historic place with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Built on one of the five sites set aside in the central city in the original survey of Christchurch for the Anglican church, it was demolished in July 2011 following damage sustained in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Octagon, Christchurch</span> Restaurant in Christchurch, New Zealand

The Octagon, Christchurch, the former Trinity Church or Trinity Congregational Church designed by Benjamin Mountfort, later called the State Trinity Centre, is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand. Damaged in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and red-stickered after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the building was threatened with demolition like most other central city heritage buildings. In June 2012, it was announced that the building will be saved, repaired and earthquake strengthened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Farr (architect)</span>

Samuel Charles Farr was a 19th-century builder and architect in Christchurch, New Zealand. He intended to emigrate from England to Auckland, but significant shipping problems saw him end up in Akaroa in 1850 instead. From 1862, he lived in Christchurch. Farr has a number of firsts against his name: the first marriage in Canterbury, he designed Akaroa's first church, designed New Zealand's first iron verandahs, and he started Sunday schools in Canterbury. As a leading member of the Acclimatisation Society, he stocked almost every lake and river in Canterbury with fish and was instrumental in introducing the bumblebee to New Zealand. His most notable building was Cranmer Court, the former Normal School, in the Christchurch Central City; this building was demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranmer Court</span> Education building in Christchurch, New Zealand

Cranmer Court, the former Christchurch Normal School, was one of the most significant heritage buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its demolition, due to some damage in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, was controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christchurch Club</span>

The Christchurch Club is a historic gentlemen's club in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The older of the two Christchurch clubs, it was founded by rural landholders in 1856; the rival organisation, the Canterbury Club, was a breakaway that was founded by urban professionals in 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community of the Sacred Name</span>

The Community of the Sacred Name is a convent and chapel in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester Street, Christchurch</span> Street in Christchurch, New Zealand

Worcester Street is a road in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs from the intersection of Rolleston Avenue in the west, and terminates in the east at the intersection of Woodham Road in Linwood. Between Rolleston Avenue and Cambridge Terrace, it is known as Worcester Boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloucester Street</span>

Gloucester Street is a major urban street in central Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for approximately 4.9 kilometres (3.0 mi) from a junction with Rolleston Avenue, directly opposite Christ's College at its western end to the suburbs of Linwood and Avonside in the east. For the majority of its length it runs due west-east, with the section from the central city's eastern edge to Linwood veering to the northeast.

References

  1. "Christchurch Club". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Canterbury Club". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. "To Builders". The Press . Vol. XXI, no. 2418. 6 May 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  4. "Canterbury Club's history revealed". The Press . 2 May 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  5. "Bars try to lift dress standards". The Press . 14 September 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Canterbury Club Gas Light". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  7. "Royal tours". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  8. "Canterbury Club Hitching Post". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 9 April 2016.

Official website [ permanent dead link ] Rules of the club from 1874

Coordinates: 43°31′52.02″S172°37′57.44″E / 43.5311167°S 172.6326222°E / -43.5311167; 172.6326222