Church of St Michael and All Angels

The Church of St Michael and All Angels is an Anglican church located at 84 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch, New Zealand. It stands on the site of the first church built by the Canterbury Association settlers in 1851, when Henry Jacobs preached the sermon and conducted the service at the opening in July 1851. The church served as the pro-cathedral until the completion of ChristChurch Cathedral in 1881. The current church building was designed by William Fitzjohn Crisp, with Frederick Strouts appointed as supervising architect in June 1871 after construction problems. The cornerstone was laid on 29 September 1870, the Feast of St Michael & All Angels, and the building was completed in 1872 and opened on 2 May 1872. Because of a lack of money, the chancel was not completed until 1875, and the planned bell tower and spire were never constructed. The church is constructed mostly of mataī timber on rubble stone foundations and is one of the largest timber Gothic Revival churches in the Southern Hemisphere. Its separate belfry, designed by Benjamin Mountfort and constructed in 1861, is a survival of the previous church building; the bell it houses was brought out with the First Four Ships in 1850 and was rung every hour of daylight to indicate time to the first settlers. The church building is registered as Category I by Heritage New Zealand, and its freestanding belfry is registered separately. The wooden building survived three major earthquakes in 2010/11 almost unscathed and was the only Anglican church that remained in use in the central city. The present Henry Bevington and Sons pipe organ was installed in 1873, enlarged in 1895/6 by Fincham and Hobday, damaged in the 22 February 2011 earthquake, and reinstalled with improvements by the South Island Organ Company in 2013. Associated with the church is St Michael's Church School. The church remains an active Anglican parish in Christchurch.

The Church of St Michael and All Angels stands on the site of the first church built by the Canterbury Association settlers in 1851. Henry Jacobs preached the sermon and conducted the service at the opening of the church in July 1851. St Michael & All Angels served as the pro-cathedral until the completion of ChristChurch Cathedral in 1881. The architect of the current church was William Fitzjohn Crisp, who had come out from England in 1864 as the pupil of Robert Speechly, appointed by George Gilbert Scott to supervise the building of Christ Church Cathedral. The cornerstone of the church was laid in a ceremony on the Feast of St Michael & All Angels, 29 September 1870. Problems with the construction led to Crisp returning to Britain in 1871, and Frederick Strouts was appointed as supervising architect in June of that year. The building was completed in 1872. The contractor was James Schoolbraid (or Schoolbred) (1840–1924). The church was opened on 2 May 1872. Because of a lack of money, the chancel was not completed until 1875, and the planned bell tower and spire were never constructed. The church is constructed mostly of mataī timber on rubble stone foundations and is one of the largest timber Gothic Revival churches in the Southern Hemisphere. The only alteration to the church structure has been the removal of a tie-beam and secondary arch to give a better view of the east window in 1896. The separate belfry is a survival of the previous church building; it was designed by Benjamin Mountfort and constructed in 1861. The bell it houses was brought out with the First Four Ships in 1850 and was rung every hour of daylight to indicate time to the first settlers. Alfred Averill came to New Zealand in 1894 to be vicar of St Michael and All Angels and rose to be Archbishop of New Zealand. Associated with the church is St Michael's Church School. The church was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage building on 2 April 1985 with registration number 294. It is significant as it was the first church on the Canterbury Plains and was the pro-cathedral for some years. Architecturally, it is notable as a timber Gothic building. The belfry is also recognised as a Category I structure, registered under number 295 on the same day. The wooden building survived three major earthquakes in 2010/11 almost unscathed and is the only Anglican church that remained in use in the central city. The plans had been drawn with regard to the threat of tremors; at a meeting of parishioners on 14 December 1869, the general concept for the new church was agreed on, including the building material: "Owing to the late severe shocks of earthquake the vestry came to the conclusion that it would be useless to attempt building any part of stone. Therefore it was decided that wood should be the material." The earthquake referred to was the one that hit Christchurch on 5 June 1869. St John's Church in Hereford Street, the first Anglican church in Christchurch built of permanent materials in 1864–1865, was damaged in that earthquake. In March 2011, a Lenten service at St Michael's and All Angels Church was attended by Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Christchurch, and Kevin Rudd, Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs; Rudd lit a candle in memory of those who died in the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The present Henry Bevington and Sons pipe organ was installed in 1873. It was enlarged in 1895/6 by Fincham and Hobday. The organ was damaged in the 22 February 2011 earthquake and subsequently removed for repairs. A temporary replacement was an organ built from parts of instruments damaged during World War II bombing raids on Britain. The church is fund-raising to help meet the last of the NZ$500,000 organ restoration costs. The Bevington organ was reinstalled with improvements by the South Island Organ Company in 2013. The following vicars have served at St Michael and All Angels: Octavius Mathias (1852–1860), Henry Jacobs (1863–1873), Henry J. Edwards (1873–1876), Edward Gorton Penny (1876–1881), Walter Harper (1882–1893), Alfred Averill (1894–1910), Harry Darwin Burton (1910–1915), Charles E. Perry (1916–1936), Cecil Muschamp (1937–1951), Cecil Gault (1951–1963), Tim Raphael (1963–1965), Philip Baker (1965–1986), Ivan Smith (1986–1990), Jonathan Kirkpatrick (1991–1996), Peter Williams (1997–2013), Andrew Starky (2013–2017), Christopher Orczy (2018–2022), and Jordan Greatbatch (2023–present).

• 2013

  The Bevington organ was reinstalled with improvements by the South Island Organ Company.

• 2011

  The wooden building survived three major earthquakes in 2010/11 almost unscathed and was the only Anglican church that remained in use in the central city; the organ was damaged in the 22 February earthquake.

• 1985

  The church was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I heritage building on 2 April (registration number 294); the belfry was registered separately as number 295 on the same day.

• 1896

  A tie-beam and secondary arch were removed to give a better view of the east window.

• 1895

  The organ was enlarged by Fincham and Hobday in 1895/6.

• 1881

  St Michael & All Angels ceased to serve as the pro-cathedral upon the completion of ChristChurch Cathedral.

• 1875

  The chancel was completed after a lack of money delayed it.

• 1873

  The present Henry Bevington and Sons pipe organ was installed.

• 1872

  The building was completed and opened on 2 May.

• 1871

  Frederick Strouts was appointed as supervising architect in June after William Fitzjohn Crisp returned to Britain.

• 1870

  The cornerstone of the church was laid in a ceremony on the Feast of St Michael & All Angels, 29 September.

• 1869

  At a meeting of parishioners on 14 December, the general concept for the new church was agreed on, including the decision to use wood as the building material due to earthquake risk.

• 1861

  The separate belfry, designed by Benjamin Mountfort, was constructed.

• 1851

  The first church built by the Canterbury Association settlers opened in July; Henry Jacobs preached the sermon and conducted the service.

• 1850

  The bell now housed in the belfry was brought out with the First Four Ships and was rung every hour of daylight to indicate time to the first settlers.

A historic Anglican parish church and Category I heritage building in central Christchurch, notable for its timber Gothic Revival architecture and earthquake resilience.

• Timber Gothic Revival church building

  Constructed mostly of mataī timber on rubble stone foundations; one of the largest timber Gothic Revival churches in the Southern Hemisphere.

• Freestanding belfry

  Designed by Benjamin Mountfort and constructed in 1861; houses a bell brought out with the First Four Ships in 1850.

• Henry Bevington and Sons pipe organ

  Installed in 1873, enlarged in 1895/6 by Fincham and Hobday, damaged in 2011, and reinstalled in 2013 by the South Island Organ Company.

• St Michael's Church School

  A school associated with the church.

1. 1Church of St Michael and All Angels, Christchurch - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Church of St Michael and All Angels - Wikidatawikidata.org