St Paul's Church, Christchurch Explained

St Paul's Church
Fullname:St Paul's Trinity Pacific Presbyterian Church
Coordinates:-43.5334°N 172.6429°W
Country:New Zealand
Previous Denomination:Presbyterian
Events:2011 Christchurch earthquake
Address:Corner Cashel and Madras Streets, Christchurch
Status:Church (former)
Founded Date:1864
Functional Status:Abandoned and demolished
Architect:Samuel Farr
Architectural Type:Church (former)
Completed Date:1877
Closed Date:February 2011
Demolished Date:2011
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation1:NZ Category I
Designation1 Offname:St Paul's Church, Christchurch
Designation1 Type:Category I
Designation1 Date:2 April 1985
Delisted1 Date:September 2011
Designation1 Number:305
Designation1 Free1name:Type
Designation1 Free1value:Heritage building
Designation1 Free2name:Theme
Designation1 Free3name:Builders

St Paul's Church was a heritage-listed former Presbyterian church in Cashel Street, Christchurch. Built in 1877, the church was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage building. Following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the building was removed from the heritage list and demolished.

History

St Paul's was built in 1877 as a Presbyterian church on the corner of Cashel and Madras Streets in the Christchurch Central City. It replaced an earlier church on the corner of Lichfield and Madras Streets built by a breakaway congregation from St Andrew's Church. Both church buildings were designed by Samuel Farr;[1] the later one commissioned by the reverend John Elmslie. In 1969, St Paul's merged with the Trinity-Pacific Congregational Church taking on a new name – St Paul's Trinity Pacific Presbyterian Church. Rev. Leonard Jones and Kenape Faletoese lead the new multicultural church under its new format. The Palangi membership of the church declined over the next three decades and by the time of its destruction in the February 2011 earthquake, the church membership was mostly of Samoan heritage.

On 5 August 2009, the church was the victim of an arson attack that caused considerable damage.[2] The building was restored, but suffered damage in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, and partially collapsed in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. By June 2011, the church had been demolished.[3]

Heritage listing

St Paul's was listed as a Category I heritage building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 2 April 1985 with registration number 305. The building was removed from the register during 2011.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Architectural Heritage of Christchurch: 1. The Normal School . Christchurch City Council Town Planning Division. 14 June 2012 . Christchurch . 5 . PDF . October 1986.
  2. News: Church fire deliberately lit. 5 August 2011. The Press. 8 September 2009.
  3. News: Heather. Ben. Life ebbing for heritage buildings. 5 August 2011. The Press. 8 June 2011.
  4. Web site: Lost heritage . New Zealand Historic Places Trust . 2011 . 7 September 2011.