St John’s Church

• 1854
• The land was owned by Rev. Charles Ibbotson of Tadcaster, Yorkshire who sold the larger part of Town Acre 168 to William Spinks in 1854, and the smaller part to the Free Church of Scotland. Spinks constructed a cottage on his land.
• 1856
• The Free Church of Scotland constructed a church that was later named St John’s Presbyterian Church
• 1875
• The first church was deemed to be too small and was replaced by a second St John’s Church.
• 1884
• St John’s Church was destroyed by fire and the church acquired Spinks’ cottage and garden. Spinks’ Cottage was moved to make room for the new church.
• 1885
• Construction of third (present) St John’s church
• 1901
• The church acquired part of section 166
• c.1904
• A second entrance was built
• 1920 - 1922
• Memorial windows were built in the southern and northern ends.
• 1953
• Addition of a memorial centennial porch
• 1956
• A stained glass window was added to the vestibule in 1965.
• 1992
• Troup House Conference Centre and the Church Hall was constructed
• 1993
• The MacKay Chapel was added
• 1995
• Property Feature BUILDING HERITAGE ITEM (DISTRICT PLAN): Details migrated from RHS #580, (Restrictions and Hazards System - RHS System 1991-2006) on 28-06-2006 SR9200580
• 1995
• Property Feature BUILDING HERITAGE ITEM (DISTRICT PLAN): Details migrated from RHS #884, (Restrictions and Hazards System - RHS System 1991-2006) on 28-06-2006 SR9200884
• 2010
• StrengthInv Spinks Cottage, not EPB (St John's Church on SR169969) SR 204750
• 2011
• Bdg StrengthInv SR 169969

Not assessed

Not assessed

St John’s is, externally, a Gothic building. It is one of many timber churches that Thomas Turnbull designed and shows his command of the Gothic idiom and his expertise in its application to timber buildings.

The church has an unusual orientation, with the main axis running north-south, rather than in the traditional east-west direction. This is a consequence of the geography and proportion of its hillside site, where the greater part of the flat land runs parallel to Willis Street, and of the necessary size of the building, rather than of liturgical or ecclesiastical preference. It is positioned near the street boundaries and takes advantage of its prominent street corner to present its main face to the city and to create space on the site for the other buildings in the complex. The bench for the building is finished at the edges of the site by an old buttressed masonry retaining wall trimmed with iron railings.

The building is more or less three tall stories high, timber framed, clad on the outside with rusticated timber weatherboards and finished with timber joinery, trims and ornaments. It has a sharply-pitched corrugated iron roof which is concealed behind the parapet of the main façade and which emphasises the height and vertical composition of the building.

The principal elevation is the northern one. The main gabled form of the roof is set between a full tower on the left-hand side and an almost symmetrical but truncated, lesser tower on the right-hand side. An elaborate single-storied porch with grand pointed-arch doors is centred on the elevation between the towers. The building is dominated by the principal tower built to a square plan which, thoroughly buttressed, diminishes in area at each main rise and finishes in a beautifully detailed spire rising to the finial cross far above the street. The tower is enlivened with a large lancet window at the north face of the first rise, a pair of lancet openings (separated by a central buttress) to the bells on each face of the second rise which are infilled with scalloped timber louvres and the spire itself. The roofs on the tower are made up of differently coloured and textured shingles laid up in bands.

The other three sides of the building, although of lesser importance in the design, are carefully treated by the architect. The east and west elevations have a strongly developed rhythm of buttresses flanking tall lancet windows. The west elevation has a substantial modern window set in a gabled wing perpendicular to the nave approximately in the centre of the building. At the south, the elevation has an regular symmetrical composition consisting of a tall central gabled bay (the end of the chancel) with an interesting arrangement of windows projecting from the rear wall of the building flanked by much smaller gabled bays which project further still. Apart from the main entrance, there are entrances on the church’s front elevation, and a side chapel on the west side of the church.

The interior of the church is surprisingly eclectic in its stylistic sources. Along with the Gothic detailing, Turnbull introduced numerous Classical elements to further enliven the interior, among them the pediments over the doors and the Corinthian capitals. The nave is an unconventional Gothic space, with the emphasis placed on a preacher’s auditorium, with the areas usually reserved for clerestory windows given over to balconies. For all that, the interior is rich and ornate, with both exposed kauri and painted timber employed. The organ and organist are directly behind the altar. The main vestibule is entered through the main doors or MacKay chapel. The stairs that lead to the balconies from the vestibule feature leather treads and brass tacks. Few, if any, other examples of this traditional and once common form of ‘practical’ decoration remain in Wellington.

Weatherboard on timber framing

St John’s Church is set within the St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area which consists of a parcel of land owned by the one organisation – St John’s Presbyterian Church – and all the buildings are owned by the church, although not all are used for church purposes. The Heritage Area is unusual in that, apart from the church buildings there is an absence of a number of other closely associated heritage, character or landmark features that might easily be linked to the church precinct to create a meaningful, larger area.

The church land is a roughly square piece on one title – Lot 1, DP 72762. It is bounded on three sides by Willis and Dixon Streets and MacDonald Crescent, and bounded on the fourth, or south side, by a right of way and one commercial building.

A number of buildings have been built on this land since the early 1850s and today four buildings occupy the site. Two of those buildings, St John’s Presbyterian Church and Spinks Cottage are very significant heritage places. The other two buildings on the site are the recent Convention Centre (Church Hall), Troup House and crèche play area.

The area has a number of features that make a considerable contribution to the heritage significance of the area. They are:

Rendered retaining wall (Willis and Dixon Streets)

The perimeter wrought iron fence

Main entrance gate posts (Dixon Street)

Pohutukawa (various)

The area has a number of features that contribute to, or do not detract from, the character of the area. They are:

Concrete walls, other than the main retaining wall 
Paving around the church
Garden retaining wall of railway sleepers (in front of Spinks Cottage)

There is relatively little open space within the heritage area as so much room is taken up by buildings. The most significant open places are the street-side margins of the church, the rear of the church and the courtyard. Otherwise the only other open space is the open-air part of the crèche on the corner of Dixon Street and MacDonald Crescent.

Of those spaces identified, the areas next to the street are enclosed by the buttressed masonry retaining walls finished with plaster render and topped by the wrought iron perimeter fence. The ages of these features, almost certainly built together, are not known, but they were in place soon after the completion of the present church.[1] Between the fence and the church are, on the Willis Street side, grass, paving brick and pohutukawa, which are increasingly obscuring views of the church from Willis Street. There are also small fir trees on the Dixon Street side of the church. Behind the church the area is paved with modular concrete pavers.

The courtyard between the church, hall and Spinks Cottage is paved with modular concrete pavers. It is dotted with trees in planter boxes. The small garden in front of Spinks Cottage is retained by rail sleepers and contains a large tree and decorative ground-cover plantings. 

The immediate setting of the area is a varied one and, in architectural and historic terms, not greatly authentic. To the east – the other side of Willis Street – and south are largely new buildings, some even taller than the church’s spire. To the north are more buildings of a recent vintage, along with Dixon Street flats (1940), which is an early and very significant Government-built apartment building in the Modern style. To the west, on the hill above the precinct, is mostly Victorian and Edwardian housing, the church’s longest-surviving companions. In the middle of this housing is Dixon Street steps, a long-standing landscape feature.

The broader setting consists of the central business district to the north, Te Aro to the east and south (along with the motorway and bypass) and Victoria University and more housing to the west on the hills above.

Note:                            Section 2 of this report is a re-formatted version of Michael Kelly and Russell Murray, St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area: Willis Street, Dixon Street and MacDonald Crescent report for DPC 48 prepared in 2006 for the WCC

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  St John’s Church is a glory of timber Gothic architecture, made all the more interesting for the quirky but successful use of a range of architectural styles inside. The main space is magnificent, with a combination of exposed and painted native timbers and a beautiful collection of carved pews. This space has been virtually untouched; in fact the entire building, with the exception of the MacKay Chapel, some windows, and a few other minor alterations, is little altered from the original. It is architecturally significant as one of the city’s finest remaining 19th century churches.

  
  

  Despite the many changes that have taken place, the grounds and landscaping remain important aspects of the area’s heritage significance. In general the trees, courtyard arrangement and paving are sympathetic to the church and the more recent structures.

  
  

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  St John’s Church is notable as one of a group of three major timber Gothic churches designed by an important 19th century Wellington architect, Thomas Turnbull, that still stand in central Wellington, all within a short distance of each other (the others are Wesley Church (1880) and St Peter’s (1879)), and it has considerable group value with these other buildings.

  
  

  St John’s Church is also part of the St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area that includes Spink’s Cottage (circa 1860), a significant early Wellington house. Other significant features of the heritage area include the rendered retaining wall (Willis and Dixon Streets); the perimeter wrought iron fence; main entrance gate posts (Dixon Street); and the various pohutukawa trees that grow within the church grounds. The heritage area also includes a number of sympathetically designed modern buildings that are compatible with the older buildings and make good use of the restricted site. 

  
  

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  The church is sited on a prominent elevated site on the corner of Dixon and Willis Streets and the vigour and interest of its external form and the richness of its Gothic detailing also contribute to its landmark status. The magnificent church spire remains a significant landmark, despite the proliferation of large buildings nearby.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  St John’s is the most historically significant of Wellington’s Presbyterian churches. It has been used for worship by generations of Presbyterians, among them some of Wellington’s most famous citizens, including former prime ministers, mayors and other notables. 

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The present St John’s is the third church to occupy the site since 1856, so it continues a long tradition of over 150 years of Presbyterian worship.

• Archaeological

  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

  The building may be deemed to be part of an archaeological site under the Historic Places Act (1993) due to the presence of pre 1900 buildings.

• Technological

  Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials?

  The Technical value of this building resides in the structure and finishes which are relatively unaltered from their original form.

• Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  St John’s Church is an enduring landmark on Willis Street and makes a strong contribution to the sense of place and continuity of an ever-changing cultural, spiritual and physical landscape.

• Sentiment Connection

  Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

  The building has been a place of worship since 1885 and continues to be associated with the key events in the life of members of the congregation including the births, marriages, deaths of individuals, their friends and their family.

• Symbolic Commemorative Traditional Spiritual

  Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it?

  St John’s Church has spiritual significance for a large number of people, not just the Presbyterian community, and it continues in active and full use today.

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  Although the church has had many alterations and additions, these have been sympathetically designed and the main elements have survived in authentic form.

• Rare

  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

  The church is one of the finest of Wellington’s large-scale timber Gothic style churches, and the design and detailing of the main spire is outstanding.

Not assessed

• Primary
• Deposited Plans 8440 and 72762, Land Information New Zealand, Wellington
• Agreement between the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 6 April 1982.
• Newspapers
• NZ Daily Mail 11/12/1885
• Secondary – published
• Boffa Miskell and Chris Cochran 2001, Wellington Heritage Building Inventory, Wellington City Council
• Fearnley C. 1977, Wellington’s Historic Churches, Millwood Press, Wellington
• Fill B. 2005, ‘Is there such a thing as a historic setting in the 21st century metropolis? - St John’s Heritage Area, a case study’ in Proceedings of the ICOMOS 15th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, Xian, China 2005
• Monuments and sites in their setting - conserving cultural heritage in changing townscapes and landscapes"
• St John’s Wellington, Willis St Wellington, Diamond Jubilee Souvenir 1853-1913, St John’s Wellington, 1913
• St John’s Through 100 Years 1853-1953, St John’s Presbyterian Church, Wellington, 1953
• Secondary – unpublished
• Evans M.E. 1975, “St John’s Church, Willis St, Wellington” for Records and Classification Committee, NZHPT
• Evans M.E., “Spinks Cottage” in Four Cottages, New Zealand Historic Places Trust Wellington Regional Committee Newsletter, Volume 2 Number 3, pp. 9-13
• Harris J. 2000, “Brief history of Spinks Cottage”, unpublished
• Hunt J. 1993, “History of the former MacDonald Crescent Sunday School Building 1902-1992” unpublished
• Michael Kelly and Russell Murray, St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area: Willis Street, Dixon Street and MacDonald Crescent report for DPC 48 prepared in 2006 for the WCC
• NZHPT professional biographies
• Cochran C. 1991, Turnbull House Conservation Plan, Department of Conservation, Wellington

Not available

Not available