St Mary's Church, Timaru

St Mary's Church in Timaru, New Zealand, is one of the city's defining landmarks. The present Anglican church was begun in 1880 and consecrated in 1886, with the distinct tower added in 1910.

St Mary's Church with its distinctive tower

History

The land where St Mary's Church stands was sold to the Anglican diocese by brothers William Barnard Rhodes, Robert Heaton Rhodes, and George Rhodes.[1] The grounds of the Anglican church were consecrated by bishop Henry Harper in 1861. On 9 September 1880, Henry Jacobs (Dean of Christchurch) laid the foundation stone for a replacement church, designed by William Armson in Gothic style. Jacobs stood in for Harper who was ill. Henry William Harper, Harper's son, was the Archdeacon of Timaru at the time. The contract for the construction of the first stage was undertaken by Mr McGill.[2] The contract for the second stage was let, in early 1881, to R. B. Sibly.[3] The quality of Sibly's work was found wanting by an arbitration court and he cancelled his contract.[4] Re-tendering the second stage contract was delayed by a lengthy illness of Armson.[5] Francis John Wilson was the architect for the parsonage that was tendered in July 1881.[6][7] Soon after, the second part of the church construction contract was let to P. Clayton.[8] Armson died in 1883.[9] It took more than three further years before the church was consecrated by Bishop Harper on 26 August 1886.[1] The 1880s church had cost NZ£10,000, the adjacent school NZ£1,950, and the vicarage NZ£2,200.[10] In a storm on 9 September 1889, the belfry was blown over and the bell cracked, which thus had to be recast.[11][12]

The architectural firm of Collins and Harman provided an alternate design for the square tower.[13] By 1901, chancel, vestries, tower, spire and bells were yet to be added.[10] Plans for the completion of the church were presented to the public in 1906 for fundraising purposes.[14] The church expansion required the removal of the original 1860s church.[15] The foundation stone for the church completion was laid on 14 July 1907 by Archdeacon Harper. The builder for the work was Samuel McBride. Walter Panton from Timaru acted as the supervising architect for Collins and Harman.[16]

The distinct tower makes the church a landmark in Timaru. On 2 April 1985, St Mary's was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand) as a Category I building, with registration number 328.[13]

St Mary's Church is located on the corner of Church and Sophia streets.[13]

Notable weddings
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References
  1. "St Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. XLIII (3714). 27 August 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  2. "Laying the foundation stone of St. Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. XXXIII (1863). 10 September 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. "Arbitration Court". The Timaru Herald. XXXIV (2033). 29 March 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  4. "St Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. XXXIV (2076). 19 May 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. "St Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. XXXV (2118). 7 July 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  6. "St Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. XXXV (2113). 1 July 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  7. "Mr Francis J. Wilson practically rebuilt Timaru after the big fire with the assistance of John Foley his brother-in-law". South Canterbury NZGenWeb Project. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  8. "St Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. XXXV (2139). 1 August 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  9. Mane-Wheoki, Jonathan. "Armson, William Barnett". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  10. "St Mary's, Timaru: Anniversary services". The Timaru Herald. LXIV (3625). 26 August 1901. p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. "Disastrous gale: great destruction of property". The Timaru Herald. XLIX (4640). 10 September 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  12. "Town & country". The Timaru Herald. XLIX (4666). 10 October 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  13. "St Mary's Church (Anglican)". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  14. "Completion of St. Mary's Church". The Timaru Herald. LXXXIX (13058). 20 August 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  15. "Town & country". The Timaru Herald. LXXXIX (13154). 10 December 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  16. "St Mary's church: completion of the building, laying a foundation stone". The Timaru Herald. XIC (13338). 15 July 1907. p. 6. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  17. "Wedding". Timaru Herald. XIX (919). 18 July 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  18. "Marriage". The Timaru Herald. LXII (2906). 4 January 1899. p. 2 (Supplement). Retrieved 7 January 2020.

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