St Marys In Holy Trinity Cathedral- Auckland - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

A church dedicated to St Mary has served the parish since 1860. A Selwyn-Thatcher church, now known as "Old" St Mary's, was consecrated on land which is opposite the Cathedral, beside Cathedral Close.

Christchurch architect, Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort, was asked to design a new church of brick and stone to seat 800 people with plans from 1883 to replace the original church. Fund raising began, and on Feb 6 1886, the foundation stone was laid by the Primate, Bishop Harper of Christchurch, and attended by all the Bishops of the Province, who were in Auckland at the time to attend General Synod. In 1887 Bishop Cowie of Auckland wrote to the Vestry proposing that the new St Mary’s would probably have to serve as the Cathedral, for he could not envisage a building of a Cathedral as well for many years. So on the 15 November 1887 St Mary’s became the Cathedral Church, this being the third building declared to be the official seat of the Bishop.

Tenders were received for the building of St Mary’s, but the estimates were so high for just the choir and transepts, (£5,200) it was realised that the new structure could not be built of stone or brick. Mr. Mountfort promptly redesigned the whole building, this time proposing that the choir and first three bays of the nave be built of timber. A tender was accepted (£2,252) and within two years the first part of the building was opened for worship of June 7 1888, by Archdeacon Dudley. Completion of the remaining four bays and Baptistry and Clergy and Choir vestries was achieved by 1898. The service of consecration was held on 25 August 1898, when Bishop Cowie, accompanied by his chaplain the Reverend EM Cowie and Bishop Wallis of Wellington, knocked on the doors saying “Open Ye the Gates”.

If a list of important wooden churches of the world were made, St Mary’s would find worthy mention. The nave, including the choir and the sanctuary is 158 feet (48.6m) long, 57 feet (17.5m) wide, including side aisles, and 46 feet (14.1m) high. It is roofed in a single length, the side aisles are roofed with a series of out looking gables instead of continuing the main roof down. The sense of space is enhanced by the absence of trusses in the roof, which serve as a precautionary measure to counteract any tendency to roof movement. The Church is covered with vertical boards and battens in the Selwyn style.

St Mary’s was relocated as part of the Cathedral complex on Saturday 6 March 1982. It was moved in one piece, on one day, by a system of rollers across the road to its present position where it now forms part of the Cathedral cloister with Holy Trinity and including the Bishop Monteith Visitors’ Centre and the ancillary buildings.

The craftsmanship inside the kauri church is remarkable, down to the hand-finished columns. One of the carpenters left his trademark, an owl, sitting in the beams to the right of the pulpit. If you stand in the pulpit and clasp the lectern, you'll feel something lumpy under your left hand—a mouse, the trademark of another of the craftsmen who made the lectern, the so-called Mouse Man of Kilburn. The story of the church's relocation is also remarkable. St. Mary's originally stood on the other side of Parnell Road, and in 1982 the entire structure was moved across the street to be next to the new church, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.
Open: Daily 8-6


Info taken from the church website.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1886 Age of Church building determined by?: Cornerstone or plaque If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: From: 8:00 AM To: 6:00 PM Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 12:00 AM Street address of Church: St Marys Parnell, Auckland New Zealand none Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Not listed If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Not listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

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