Taranaki Cathedral | |
---|---|
The Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary | |
39°03′37″S174°04′23″E / 39.060271°S 174.073080°E | |
Address | 37 Vivian Street, Robe Street and Brougham Street, New Plymouth |
Country | New Zealand |
Denomination | Anglican |
Website | taranakicathedral |
History | |
Former name(s) | St Mary's Church (1842 –2010) |
Status | |
Founder(s) | George Selwyn |
Consecrated | 6 March 2010 (as a cathedral) |
Events | 2011 Christchurch earthquake |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Closed for repairs (2016) |
Architect(s) |
|
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Gothic Revival |
Years built | 1845–1846 |
Closed | 2016 |
Specifications | |
Materials | Stone |
Administration | |
Province | Anglican Church in Aotearoa |
Diocese | Waikato and Taranaki |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Philip Richardson |
Dean | Jay Ruka |
Designated | 28 June 1984 |
Reference no. | 148 |
The Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary (formerly known as St Mary's Church) is an Anglican cathedral church, located at 37 Vivian Street, New Plymouth, in New Zealand. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, in 2016 the cathedral was closed for repairs.
The cathedral is the oldest stone church in New Zealand and is listed on the Nez Zealand Heritage Register. At the same time, it is one of the newest cathedrals in the Anglican Communion. [1] The cathedral serves as the seat of the Bishop of Waikato and Taranaki, the Most Reverend Philip Richardson.
The church, with the original part built between 1845 and 1846 in the Gothic Revival style, was designed by Frederick Thatcher, a London-trained architect, one of the first settlers arriving in New Plymouth. [2]
New Plymouth was chosen as the site for New Zealand’s second European colony, with settlers arriving from 1841 onwards. The beginnings of Christianity in the area came as a result of the need to provide the familiar spiritual and cultural institutions of home to the settlers, as well as missionary services to the Maori population. As the majority of colonists were members of the Church of England, the Church Mission Society was able to seek the appointment of a Bishop for New Zealand, tasked with setting up the Anglican constitution in the new Diocese of New Zealand. Initially, the diocese included the whole country as well as islands from Polynesia.
In 1841 George Augustus Selwyn was appointed the Bishop of New Zealand. He arrived in New Zealand in 1842 and began his work. [3]
After visiting New Plymouth in October 1842, Bishop Selwyn began to organize the construction of churches in this new parish. He appointed the reverend William Bolland as Deacon for the parish of New Plymouth, allocating an existing sandstone house at Te Henui as residence for him and his family.
He also got in touch with Frederick Thatcher, a London-trained architect, associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, who arrived in New Plymouth in 1843. He was a key figure in the development of New Zealand’s Gothic Revival vernacular churches. [2]
With the funding provided by the Bishop Selwyn, reverend Bolland along with architect Frederick Thatcher began the building process of two new churches, St Mary’s Church in central New Plymouth, and the Holy Trinity Church at Henui, now in Fitzroy. [3]
The foundation stone for St Mary's was laid on 23 March 1845. The stone masons Thomas Rusden, Harry Hooker, and Phillip Moon built the church in eighteen months, using stones hauled from the beach. George Robinson, the chief builder, was the one responsible for the beautiful rimu (red pine) roof. [4]
St Mary's is one of the earliest stone churches in New Zealand, with the original part of it built between 1845 and 1846 in the Gothic Revival style. This original part, approximately 15m by 9m, designed by Thatcher according to ideas supplied by Bishop Selwyn, has plain rubble walls, exposed timber beams, a steep-sloped Rimu roof and tall, narrow windows with pointed arches at the top. [3]
Other than a place for worship, during the First and Second Taranaki Wars, St Mary’s also became a religious redoubt, with the churchyard used as a bullock yard for transport teams. The church even housed for a time a compartment for the storage of ammunition and explosives. A company occupied the west area, where church extensions were being carried out. These extensions included then new holes for muskets. A naval force was posted inside the church when it was thought that the town might be under siege, and, at several times, women and children congregated inside the church for safety. [4]
The church has been very considerably enlarged and modified, with the new various sections blending into a harmonious whole. The first extensions to St Mary's were made during the war years. In 1859 the church was lengthen and a veranda was added. Unfortunately, due to many interruptions caused by the fighting, this extension was not completed until 1862. In 1864, two years later, parallel to the existing building, it was added another aisle, designed by George Robinson, the chief builder of the original part of the church. [4]
Further enlargements were made in 1893 to the chancel, apse, sanctuary and organ chamber by Benjamin W. Mountfort, a well-known church architect. In 1915 it was added the side chapel of All Saints, designed by John Francis Messenger, a local architect. At the same time the northern transept was enlarged as a memorial to Archdeacon Govett, under construction professionals George Edmund Tole and Horace Lovell Massey. [5]
St Mary's was a parish church from 1842 to 2010 and it was consecrated as a cathedral in the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki on 6 March that year. [6] On 28 June 1984, the building was registered as a Category I heritage structure by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand), with registration number 148. [3]
The cathedral is a member of the Community of the Cross of Nails and is a centre for Peace and Reconciliation.
In February 2016, after a structural assessment following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the Cathedral was closed. Sunday services continued in the Peace Hall across the road. [7]
The adjoining cemetery surrounding the church contains the graves of Reverend William Bolland, who opened the church, the Reverend Henry Govett, the second vicar, Captain Henry King, Resident Magistrate and other notable historic figures, as well as a number of significant trees. [3]
The Dean is the head of the chapter of canons and is one of the senior priests of the diocese.
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria.
The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand, is a province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992 the church has consisted of three tikanga or cultural streams: Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia. The church's constitution says that, among other things, it is required to "maintain the right of every person to choose any particular cultural expression of the faith". As a result, the church's General Synod has agreed upon the development of the three-person primacy based on this three tikanga system. It has three primates (leaders), each representing a tikanga, who share authority.
Parnell is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's most affluent suburbs, consistently ranked within the top three wealthiest, and is often billed as Auckland's "oldest suburb" since it dates from the earliest days of the European settlement of Auckland in 1841. It is characterised by its mix of tree-lined streets with large estates; redeveloped industrial zones with Edwardian town houses and 1920s bay villas; and its hilly topography that allows for views of the port, the Waitematā Harbour, Rangitoto Island and the Auckland Domain. To its west lies the Auckland Domain, to the south Newmarket, and to the north the Ports of Auckland.
The Diocese of Auckland is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area stretching from North Cape down to the Waikato River, across the Hauraki Plains and including the Coromandel Peninsula.
Holy Trinity Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral church situated in Parnell, a residential suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is the 'mother church' of the Anglican Diocese of Auckland and the seat of the Bishop of Auckland. The current main church building was consecrated in 1973.
The Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the area from the Waikato to the area surrounding Mount Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand.
Old St Paul's is a historic site, a city landmark and a wedding and event venue in the heart of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. The building served a dual role as the parish church of Thorndon and the pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Wellington of the Anglican Church between 1866 and 1964. It exemplifies 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture adapted to colonial conditions and materials, and stands at 34 Mulgrave Street, Pipitea, close to Parliament Buildings.
St Matthew's, or St Matthew-in-the-City, is a historic Anglican church located in the Central Business District of Auckland, renowned for its neo-Gothic style since its completion in 1905.
The Reverend Frederick Thatcher was an English and New Zealand architect and clergyman.
Sir David John Moxon is a New Zealand Anglican bishop. He was until June 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He was previously the Bishop of Waikato in the Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki, the archbishop of the New Zealand dioceses and one of the three primates of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In the 2014 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Anglican Church.
Timothy James Allen is a British Anglican priest, who from 2009 to 2016 was Dean of Taranaki Cathedral, New Zealand.
St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral church in Hamilton, located in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a small hill, known as Cathedral Hill, in the southern central part of the city off Victoria Street.
St Mary's Cathedral Church, also known as St Mary's Church, is an Anglican church located in Parnell Road, Parnell, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The building served as the cathedral church and principal Anglican church of the Diocese of Auckland until 1973 when the chancel of Holy Trinity Cathedral, for which the foundation stone was laid in 1957, came into use.
Helen-Ann Macleod Hartley is a British Anglican bishop, Lord Spiritual, and academic. Since 2023, she has served as Bishop of Newcastle in the Church of England. She previously served as Bishop of Waikato in New Zealand from 2014 to 2017, and area Bishop of Ripon in the Diocese of Leeds from 2018 to 2023. She was the first woman to have trained as a priest in the Church of England to join the episcopate, and the third woman to become a bishop of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
Monica Romaine Brewster was a New Zealand arts patron and women's rights advocate. She is best known as the founding benefactor of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.
Holy Trinity Church is a heritage-listed Anglican building at 12 Henui Street, Fitzroy, New Plymouth, New Zealand.
The Gables in New Plymouth's Brooklands Park was a colonial hospital originally built in Mangorei Road, on the northern bank of the Henui Stream. It was one of the four hospitals Governor Sir George Grey commissioned in the late 1840s for European New Zealanders (Pakeha) and Maori patients in New Zealand’s North Island. Now an arts centre, the building is historically important as it reminds of the first attempt to provide quality medical care to all New Zealanders and of Governor Sir George Grey's policy of assimilation by establishing mixed hospitals. The building also has rarity value as it is the last remaining of the four original hospitals. It is architecturally important as well, being one of the earliest surviving buildings designed by an architect in New Zealand.
Te Henui Vicarage from New Plymouth, New Zealand, is one of the heritage buildings of the city, registered by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 Historic Place, situated in the suburb of Strandon. It features the symbol of the undivided diocese of New Zealand (1841–1856) affixed to the front elevation.
Media related to St Mary's Church, New Plymouth at Wikimedia Commons