St James Church
National Library reference: Niuean White Sunday at St James Presbyterian Church, Newtown. St James Presbyterian Church (Newtown Wellington) :Anniversary slide show. Ref: PA12-1515-31. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23253499
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Constructed
1900 - 1900
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Architect(s)
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Builder(s)
Wilson, Waters and Robertson
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This Italian Romanesque style building’s church tower and east elevation are a landmark. The church, once notable for its fine interior, was converted into apartments in 2016.
St James’ has been host to several church congregations: English speaking Presbyterian, the Niue speaking Presbyterian, and Assyrian.
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History
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St James’ Church was founded at a meeting of St John’s Church (Willis Street) session in January 1879. Local merchant James Smith strongly recommended Robert Hopkins, a member of the session, to establish a mission at Newtown. Hopkins was appointed and arranged the use of a hall in Adelaide Road for services and Sunday School.
By 1964 the church tower fell into disrepair and the Presbytery recommended that it be removed; instead it was repaired, repainted and a timber cross was erected at the tower cupola that could be floodlit “…as a bold proclamation to hospital patients and all of Newtown…” The new pulpit was constructed in 1966 from recycled kauri salvaged from the old pews. In 1967, a new manse was constructed adjacent to the existing manse, and the church was found to be suffering from subsidence. This was repaired in 1971 when the church was replied and the original totara piles replaced. The church was also re-roofed and there were some alterations to the sanctuary using kauri recycled from the original pews.
In the 1960s the St James’ congregation changed to include a cultural mix including Maori, Pacific Islanders (particularly people from Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Niue) as well as people from India, China and Greece. The population of Newtown also became more transient with few long term or permanent residents and this changed the way that people contributed to and engaged with the church. In 1975 a delegation of Maori women noted that the ‘Lower Hall’ was underutilised and asked for weekly services to be held there. The hall became an impromptu Marae and the Maori congregation took care of the maintenance and redecoration of the building. A separate Niuean Presbyterian congregation was formed in the 1960s as a branch of the Pacific Islander’s Church, the congregation moved to St James’ in 1977, and in 1979 the manse in Moxham Avenue, Haitaitai was purchased for the use of the Rev. Langi Sipeli and his family.
Throughout this time the church’s programme of community outreach continued, and the liberal attitude to social issues was typified by their response to the 25 December 1975 Highway ‘61 Bikies Convention held at the nearby Rugby League Park. Newtown residents were noted as being fearful of the gathering of the motorbike gang, but the church presented the convention with a home-made Christmas cake that was “most graciously received.”
In 1997 a WCC Heritage Assessment noted that the building’s interiors were worthy of protection, and that the heritage registration of St James Church should be amended to include the interior (except for the partition wall in the nave and additions to the Adelaide road entrance). This did not occur.
In recent years St James’ has been host to several church congregations including the English speaking Presbyterian congregation, the Niue speaking Presbyterian congregation, and a congregation of the Ancient and Apostolic Catholic Church of the East - Parish of St George (Assyrian) (although their home Church is located in Glamis Ave, Strathmore).
In 2011 the English speaking congregation of approx 40 people moved to Trinity Union Church, and the Niue speaking congregation moved to St Giles Presbyterian Church in Kilbirnie. This was due to concerns about the “Earthquake Prone” status of the building and that the cost of insurance that had risen from $4000 to $20,000 pa in the wake of the recent Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. A spokesman for the church noted that “It is sad because we’ve been here for a long time and most of us love the building.” St James minister Rev Alan Shaw said. “Certainly the thing that is not going to happen is that we won’t drive a bulldozer through the front and out the back.”
In 1881 a committee of the St James’s Church was formed to raise funds for the new church. The one-acre site of the present church was bought for £350. A schoolroom was opened on the site in 1882 within which Rev James Paterson conducted the opening services in the morning and Mr Grant, of the Hutt, in the evening. In 1888 William Shirer was ordained minister and began a forty-one year association with St James’.
The original schoolroom was enlarged in 1889 and a manse completed in 1892. By 1897 church members were planning a new building. Plans and specifications were prepared by Wellington architects, McKay and MacGregor. The tender of £1200 was awarded to Wilson, Waters and Robertson. The church was opened in October 1900.
The Presbyterian Church movement came to New Zealand with early settlers from Scotland and by 1906 nearly 25% of the population identified themselves with the denomination. The church in the nineteenth century was noted for the way that it sent ‘home missionaries’ or un-ordained ministers to serve in areas where ordained ministers were unavailable and this is the case with the establishment of the Newtown mission in 1879. The Church is part of the Christian Reformed church tradition and the nineteenth century Presbyterian church services were relatively ‘simple and severe’ as church doctrine emphasised the importance of the bible over the teachings of the church; the importance of the singing of psalms, unaccompanied by musical instruments; and the rejection of idolatry and superstition. This simplicity and severity also influenced the interior decoration of Presbyterian churches which were generally plain and devoid of religious imagery. By 1900 the restrictions on hymn singing were relaxed and many churches, including St James’, had ‘embraced hymns, led by organs.’
The building exterior has had few major alterations in the past 100 years, the most significant being the work to reconfigure the entrance porch in the 1930s when the space between the two front entrance porches was enclosed to form a large open-plan space for the congregation that still numbered in the hundreds. The most significant early alteration to the interior was the installation of a new carved kauri communion table in 1935 Margaret Davidson, daughter of Hercules Davidson.
With the growth of the suburbs and new suburban churches, a decline in membership at St James’ was inevitable. The residential areas of Newtown were also encroached upon by the growing business, commercial, and industrial parts of the city. In 1929, when William Shirer resigned, the heyday of the church was, to some extent, over.
This decline in the size of the congregation led directly to the internal alterations to the nave that were carried out under the tenure of the controversial theologian and academic, the Rev. Lloyd Geering (1918 - ) in 1955.
Geering (now Sir Lloyd George Geering, ONZ, GNZM, CBE) moved to Newtown in 1950 and his ministry was notable in its early years for the church’s involvement in the settlement of the 1950 Wellington Waterfront Strike, that had a disproportionate affect on the working class families of Newtown. In 1955, at a time when St James’s Church became the first Presbyterian Church to elect female elders, St James’ Church building also underwent radical alterations. The site was subdivided, and a quarter of the original section, including the old brick Sunday school and original church hall, were sold. The Sunday School was later converted to apartments in the 1980s, and the timber church hall, demolished.
The church interior was altered with the removal of the high pulpit, and of the rear pews that were dismantled and stored under the dais. The nave, that was by then considered too large for the congregation, was subdivided to create an intimate space for worship, and a new lounge and kitchen was installed. Lloyd Geering left Wellington in 1956 when he was appointed as Chair of Chair of Old Testament Studies at Emmanuel College, Brisbane. He was later tried to heresy in 1967, and is currently Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.
By 1964 the church tower fell into disrepair and the Presbytery recommended that it be removed; instead it was repaired, repainted and a timber cross was erected at the tower cupola that could be floodlit “…as a bold proclamation to hospital patients and all of Newtown…” The new pulpit was constructed in 1966 from recycled kauri salvaged from the old pews. In 1967, a new manse was constructed adjacent to the existing manse, and the church was found to be suffering from subsidence. This was repaired in 1971 when the church was replied and the original totara piles replaced. The church was also re-roofed and there were some alterations to the sanctuary using kauri recycled from the original pews.
In the 1960s the St James’ congregation changed to include a cultural mix including Maori, Pacific Islanders (particularly people from Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Niue) as well as people from India, China and Greece. The population of Newtown also became more transient with few long term or permanent residents and this changed the way that people contributed to and engaged with the church. In 1975 a delegation of Maori women noted that the ‘Lower Hall’ was underutilised and asked for weekly services to be held there. The hall became an impromptu Marae and the Maori congregation took care of the maintenance and redecoration of the building. A separate Niuean Presbyterian congregation was formed in the 1960s as a branch of the Pacific Islander’s Church, the congregation moved to St James’ in 1977, and in 1979 the manse in Moxham Avenue, Haitaitai was purchased for the use of the Rev. Langi Sipeli and his family.Throughout this time the church’s programme of community outreach continued, and the liberal attitude to social issues was typified by their response to the 25 December 1975 Highway ‘61 Bikies Convention held at the nearby Rugby League Park. Newtown residents were noted as being fearful of the gathering of the motorbike gang, but the church presented the convention with a home-made Christmas cake that was “most graciously received.”
In 1997 a WCC Heritage Assessment noted that the building’s interiors were worthy of protection, and that the heritage registration of St James Church should be amended to include the interior (except for the partition wall in the nave and additions to the Adelaide road entrance). This did not occur.In recent years St James’ has been host to several church congregations including the English speaking Presbyterian congregation, the Niue speaking Presbyterian congregation, and a congregation of the Ancient and Apostolic Catholic Church of the East - Parish of St George (Assyrian) (although their home Church is located in Glamis Ave, Strathmore).
In 2011 the English speaking congregation of approx 40 people moved to Trinity Union Church, and the Niue speaking congregation moved to St Giles Presbyterian Church in Kilbirnie. This was due to concerns about the “Earthquake Prone” status of the building and that the cost of insurance that had risen from $4000 to $20,000 pa in the wake of the recent Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. A spokesman for the church noted that “It is sad because we’ve been here for a long time and most of us love the building.” St James minister Rev Alan Shaw said. “Certainly the thing that is not going to happen is that we won’t drive a bulldozer through the front and out the back.”
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Modifications
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1879
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Newtown mission established
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1881
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Site purchased
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1882
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First church constructed
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1889
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Schoolroom enlarged
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1892
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manse constructed
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1900
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St James’ Church opened
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1907
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A ‘Young Men’s Bible Class Hall opened
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1908
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A new school room was constructed
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1921
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A new pipe organ was installed
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1928
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The congregation was at its peak number of 489 communicants
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1929
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Rev. Shirer retired
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1930
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The building entrance was altered
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1935
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A new carved kauri communion table was carved by Margaret Davidson,
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1950
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Rev. Lloyd Geering moved to St James’ Church
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1955
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The site was subdivided and the brick Sunday School building and the original church hall were sold. The original high pulpit was removed and the church nave altered.
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1967
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New manse constructed
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1971
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The church was re-piled, re-roofed and there were alterations to the sanctuary and the seating
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1975
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‘Lower Hall’ became a Marae space
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1980
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The adjacent brick Sunday School Hall and ancillary buildings that had been sold to NZ Players in 1955 was resold to the ‘Cretan Society of New Zealand’ and the original Sabbath School and wooden buildings were demolished.
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1982
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St James’ Church published an 87 page book by Helen Wilson the story of St James Presbyterian Church, Newtown”, St James Presbyterian Church, Wellington, to celebrate the church centenary.
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1982
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The year of the St James’ Church Centenary and ‘St James’ Park’ was dedicated to the people of Newtown
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1989
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The church hall converted into a church crèche
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2011
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The church became vacant when the Nuie and English speaking congregations relocated.
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Occupation History
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Not assessed
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Architectural Information
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Building Classification(s)
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Not assessed
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Architecture
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St James’ Church is detailed almost exactly like a stone building of the Renaissance. It has been pointed out that, in fact, the style is Italian Romanesque. The tower, with its domed roof and latticed openings to the bell chamber, is particularly Italian at first glance, yet the columns beside the openings have neither capitals nor bases. The window at the rear, rather like a rose window, is derived from Gothic archetypes, as are the clustered piers around the rear doors.
Everything else about the building, from the pitch of the roof to the round arched windows and doors, suggest the classical approach, but the mixture of the two styles in timber shows a colonial attitude more concerned with effect than pedantic correctness. The interior features a finely-carved kauri altar, an excellent pipe organ, and carved panelling at the rear.
St James’ is a good representative example of a classical design constructed in timber. The strongly-modelled façade reads well as a distinctive element in the Newtown townscape, which is still quite colonial in character.
The building retains significant fabric from the time of its construction, although some alterations have been made. In 1930 the portion between the flanking porches of the church was roofed over to make a larger, more communal porch.
A screen was placed at the rear of the church, and some pews removed, to divide the main space and accommodate a lounge. In 1971 the church was re-piled and alterations were made to the sanctuary and seating arrangements.
The building interior includes painted match-lined wall cladding, kauri dado and decorative pilasters, kauri sarking and truss to the ceiling in the nave, timber panelling (mainly) kauri, patterned cast iron ventilators, and a large pipe organ. The large timber doors (and original hardware) to the east end of church are particularly fine. Notable furniture includes the curved timber pews, carved communion table, and the pulpit built from recycled kauri.
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Materials
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Original specification
Totara: piles (replaced in 1971 with concrete and timber)
‘Red Pine’ (Rimu?): timber framed structure and timber weatherboard cladding.
Heart Matai: Rusticated boarding (weatherboards), floor boards, interior linings, skirtings, windows (frames and sashes), doors, gallery front, staircase, (query? This all requires a site visit as interior finishing timber is more likely to be rimu or possibly kauri).
Corrugated iron / mild steel: roof including cupola above tower
Interiors
• Painted timber T&G wall cladding
• Kauri dado & columns (perhaps decorative pilasters?)
• Kauri sarking and truss to ceiling in nave
• Timber panelling (mainly) kauri
• Leather floor covering to stair treads
• Patterned cast iron ventilators
• Pipe organ
• Pulpit (built from recycled pews) -
Setting
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The church set within a group of interesting ecclesiastical buildings that have accumulated on the original one acre site over the past 130 years. The church originally occupied a one acre site, that was subdivided in 1955 when the adjoining brick Sunday School and the original Church Hall were sold. The Sunday School was converted to residential use in the 1980s or 90s and the hall demolished.
The church site covers approximately three quarters of an acre, the church occupies the street frontage to Adelaide Road and there are four or five other smaller buildings behind. These may include both the 1897 and the 1967 manse along with the 1882 schoolroom. There is a narrow lane named ‘Church Avenue’ that runs from the eastern boundary of the church yard to Riddiford Street and pedestrian access from Church Avenue to Adelaide Road. There appear to be no burial grounds. The church yard was dedicated to the people of Newtown as St James’ Park and opened for public use in 1992 (see the dedication stone set in St James’ Park/on site).
View to St James Church from the Wellington Hospital Accident and Emergency access road. Image: Google Maps
St James’ is taller and built on a grander scale than the surrounding villas and bungalows on Adelaide Road. The church is built on a rise, and the site to the east of the church is relatively undeveloped, and this means that the church is visible from both Adelaide Road and Riddiford Street in Newtown, and the tall tower and east elevation are notable local landmarks.
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Building Classification(s)
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Cultural Value
The building is an example of the adaptation of traditional masonry detailing and ornamentation for use on a timber building.
The church tower and east elevation form a landmark that is visible from many vantage points, including Riddiford Street (the main thoroughfare to Newtown)
The church has historic value for its association with the Presbyterian Church, and its English and Niue speaking congregations, and for its association with local merchant, James Smith, and church minister the Rev. William Shirer
The building is held in high public esteem as both a local landmark & for the church communities which it served
The church is (mostly) unmodified and has few modern or intrusive interventions. The church is notable for its fine interior.
The church has carved interior panelling that features Christian symbolism, and this is unusual for Presbyterian churches of the era
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Aesthetic Value
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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?
The building is an interesting example of the adaptation of traditional masonry detailing and ornamentation for use on a timber building, and this type of stylised re-interpretation of ‘old-world’ architecture using local construction methods and materials is typical of the emerging New Zealand ‘colonial’ architectural style of the time.
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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?
The churchyard and the neighbouring property at 247 Adelaide Road contain a group of interesting ecclesiastic buildings.
The church forms part of a fine group of Presbyterian churches in Wellington
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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 tower and east elevation form a landmark that is visible from Riddiford Street (the main thoroughfare to Newtown)
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Historic Value
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Association
Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase or activity?
The building has historic significance as a suburban church, and for the congregations that it served, particularly the English and Niue speaking Presbyterian congregations.
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Association
Is the item associated with an important person, group or organisation?
The church is associated with Robert Hopkins and William Shirer (late nineteenth century Presbyterian clerical identities)
The church is associated with Sir Lloyd George Geering, ONZ, GNZM, CBE, a controversial academic and theologian.
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Scientific Value
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Archaeological
Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?
Pre- 1900 human activity on the site
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Technological
Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials?
The Church retains (most) of the original built fabric, and the original plans and specification survive. It is a good representative example of building technology of the late nineteenth / early twentieth century.
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Social Value
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IdentitySenseOfPlaceContinuity
Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?
The church was the focus the Niue speaking Presbyterian congregation/community
The church was the focus of the English speaking Presbyterian congregation/community
The church was used by the Ancient and Apostolic Catholic Church of the East - Parish of St George (Assyrian).
The building has remained (relatively) unchanged on the site for over 100 years and contributes to the sense of place and continuity of the changing townscape of Adelaide Road and Riddiford Street in Newtown. -
PublicEsteem
Is the item held in high public esteem?
The building is held in high public esteem as both a local landmark & for the church communities which it served
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SentimentConnection
Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?
The building has been a place of worship from 1900- 2011 and has been 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. The church was also the focus of community and social events for the congregation.
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SymbolicCommemorativeTraditionalSpiritual
Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it?
The building has significant spiritual cultural value for the church communities that used the building until 2011. Use of the building has ceased due to concerns as to the earthquake prone status of the church.
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Level of Cultural Heritage Significance
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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?
The building retains substantial areas of authentic building fabric
The east (Riddiford Street) elevation is substantially unaltered
The west (Adelaide Road) elevation has had few modern/intrusive alterations
The church interior is substantially unaltered
The building retains significant or interesting internal features including curved pews, pipe organ, and ornate carved panelling and furniture -
Rare
Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?
The item is one of three surviving large scale Presbyterian Churches in Wellington and as such is relatively rare
The church has a surviving early or original interior that is relatively rare
The church has carved interior panelling that features Christian symbolism, and this is unusual for Presbyterian churches of the era -
Representative
Is the item a good example of the class it represents?
The Church is a representative example of a New Zealand timber colonial architecture
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Local / Regional / National / International Importance
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Not assessed
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Aesthetic Value
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Site Detail
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District Plan Number
6/ 8
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Legal Description
Lot 2 DP 63212
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Heritage New Zealand Listed
2/Historic Place 1423
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Archaeological Site
Site occupied pre - 1900
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Current Uses
unknown
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Former Uses
unknown
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Has building been funded
Yes
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Funding Amount
$47,750.00
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Funding Details
March 2015 - Grant of $47,750 awarded in contribution to the redevelopment of the church.
Funding Type: Seismic Strengthening/Preservation/Other.
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Earthquake Prone Status
Not Earthquake Prone
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Additional Information
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Sources
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- Ayre, Jack. Unpublished Conservation Plan prepared for VUW Arch 273. 2000.
- Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 81, 3 October 1900, Page 2 “OPENING OF ST. JAMES'S CHURCH."
- Fearnley, Charles. Early Wellington Churches. Millwood Press: Wellington, 1977
- Fill, Barbara. Unpublished NZHPT Research. 1998
- NZHPT Field Record Form 1423 (undated)
- Schrader, Ben. 'Presbyterian Church', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 29-Sep-11 URL:
- Smillie, Sandra. Heritage Building Interiors Project. 1997.
- St James Church webpage accessed 14 May 2012.
- The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Wellington Provincial District) (1897)
- Walrond, Carl. 'Niueans', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 20-Sep-11 URL:
- Wellington Presbytery Website accessed 16 May 2013.
- WCC Heritage Building Inventory 2001 Adel 2.
- WCC Archives
- Technical Documentation close
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Footnotes
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Not available
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Sources
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Last updated: 10/17/2017 3:19:38 AM