Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland

Holy Trinity Cathedral is situated in Parnell, a wealthy residential suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.

The first Anglican place of worship in Auckland was "Old" St Paul's, at the bottom of Princes Street, but Parnell residents tired of walking about 3km (2 miles) over paddocks to reach their church. The first church serving the district was dedicated to St Barnabas. Completed in 1849 it was situated near the bottom of Parnell on land which was later demolished and used for reclamation work. This small church of St Barnabas slowly fell into disuse following completion of "Old" St Mary's church in 1860, and was eventually shifted to Mount Eden, where it still forms part of the Parish Church. With the building of the original St Mary's Church, Bishop Selwyn established the Parish of St Mary.

"Old" St Mary's stood near the site of the present cathedral, but proved to be too small, badly ventilated and uncomfortable. The establishment of New Zealand's dioceses, and Auckland's fast growing population, meant that a larger church was required. "Old" St Mary's Church was demolished and in 1886 work started on land opposite to build a new Cathedral Church of St Mary. This wooden Gothic Revival church was designed by the prominent New Zealand architect Benjamin Mountfort and completed in 1897. The building served as the Cathedral Church and principal Anglican church of Auckland until 1973 when the Chancel of Holy Trinity Cathedral, for which the foundation stone was laid in 1957, came into use. In 1982 St Mary's Church was moved across Parnell Road to its present site beside the Cathedral.

Diocese and Cathedral

Today the Diocese of Auckland is one of seven dioceses of the Tikanga Pakeha (pakeha culture) stream of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area stretching from North Cape south to the Waikato River, across the Hauraki Plains and including the Coromandel Peninsula.

The Anglican church in New Zealand, today known as the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, was pioneered by George Augustus Selwyn who arrived as Bishop of New Zealand in 1841.

In those early days the then colony was regarded as one huge diocese which, including large areas of the South Pacific, covered almost $1/6$th of the Earth's surface. Selwyn did much to establish the church and many small chapels, churches, schools and a theological college were built during this period. In 1856 Selwyn created New Zealand's first diocese, Christchurch.

Following the adoption of the Constitution of the Church of the Province of New Zealand, which was signed in St Stephen's Chapel, Judges Bay, Auckland, on 13 June 1857, other dioceses were soon established: Nelson and Waiapu in 1858, and Wellington in 1859. Following the creation of the dioceses Selwyn became "ipso facto" the Bishop of Auckland (though never formally styled as such), while retaining the Primacy and continuing as the Metropolitan. In diaries kept by his contemporary, Attorney-General William Swainson, Auckland was at that time expected to be the permanent seat of the Metropolitan of New Zealand. In 1843 Selwyn purchased land in Parnell for the Cathedral, as well as for St Stephen's Chapel, Bishopscourt, and associated buildings. He wrote in his diary on 3rd June 1843 ". . I reached the Judge's House [Judge Martin; First Attorney-General] by a path, avoiding the town, and passed over land which I have bought for the site of the Cathedral . . . ". He is reputed to have included the intended name for the Cathedral in a sermon at Lichfield Cathedral in 1841 after his consecration.

Selwyn returned to England in 1868 having selected William Garden Cowie as his successor. Cowie was the first Bishop to be known as Bishop of Auckland, and it may be considered that this was the year of the formation of the Diocese of Auckland, though it is generally said to be 1841. The Diocese of Dunedin, formerly part of the Christchurch Diocese, was created in 1869.

During Bishop Cowie's 33 year tenure, the last nine as Primate, the Diocesan administration was set up in the traditional Anglican understanding of the term. When the dioceses were firmly established, each with its bishop, the building of New Zealand's cathedrals began.

Christchurch Cathedral was one of the first: begun in 1864, it was finally consecrated in 1881. It had been intended to build a cathedral seating 1000 people in Auckland but by 1883 the plan was abandoned because of cost. Instead, a decision was made to replace the existing small church of St. Mary's in Parnell with a larger church and in 1884 work began. The new church was designated a cathedral in 1887 while uncompleted, and a Cathedral Chapter of clerical canons and lay members was formed in 1893 while the new cathedral was in use but still awaiting completion.

By 1926 the Auckland diocese was very large and becoming densely populated, so The Most Revd A. W. Averill, Bishop of Auckland and Archbishop of New Zealand, divided off the southern regions of Waikato, King Country and Taranaki to form the Diocese of Waikato.

Cathedrals

t Mary's Church

Old St Mary's - as it came to be known - was replaced by a large wooden church, for which the Foundation Stone was laid in 1886. At more than 50 metres long, it is believed to be the largest wooden Gothic church in the world. Its English born architect Benjamin Mountfort had become one of New Zealand's most eminent architects, responsible for many of the Gothic Revival buildings in Christchurch.

The original intention had been to build the church in stone, but the plan had been rejected as too expensive. Mountfort seems to have ignored the perishable and limited qualities of wood, and built a vast church worthy of the finest stone. St Mary's covers an area of 9000 square feet (800 m²) and has architectural features normally associated only with the great medieval cathedrals of Europe.

Bishop William Garden Cowie instigated the decision to make St Mary's the Cathedral Church during 1887, and the first part of the church, consisting of the Chancel and three bays of the Nave was consecrated and used from 1888.

The church was completed to its present state by the addition of the four final bays and consecrated in 1898. It was Mountfort's final large scale work.

Externally the most noticeable architectural features of the long rectangular building are the numerous gables of the mostly single story structure. The gables, often placed above lancet shaped windows, serve to accentuate the Gothic motifs. This is particularly evident on the exterior of the altar tribune where three tall narrow windows rise up into the gables themselves, the tribune itself is three sided, the wooden construction making the traditional Romanesque curve in stone impossible.

The opposing end of the church containing the principal entrance, displays the full height of the building with one large gable, containing not only ground floor windows but two levels of clerestory windows above. The gable here slopes at two angles. The architect's reasoning for this was to increase the height of the gable at the facade's centre, rather than allow it to rise uniformly according to the width of the building. This central steeper roof pitch increased the ceiling height to the central aisle, as would be found over the central aisle of a true Gothic cathedral. However, the resultant effect has been to create a gable which to European eyes appears as though designed to bear the weight of heavy snow falls. In an area where snow does not occur this gives the facade, with its protruding decorated architrave above the first clerestory, an almost whimsical Swiss chalet atmosphere, which adds greatly to the building's individuality. Almost a hundred years later this feature was subtly suggested in the corresponding roofline of the new Cathedral Nave.

In 1982 St Mary's Church was moved into the precinct of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, a major feat of engineering when the church was transported across the road and turned through 90^o onto its present site.

Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

The Nave of the new Cathedral dedicated to "The Holy Trinity" was designed by N.Z. Architect Professor Richard (Dick) Toy. Building commenced in 1991 and was completed in 1995.

Professor Toy designed a modern Nave while retaining the ambience and architectural values of the older Chancel. He combined two very different architectural styles, incorporating the existing brick & reinforced concrete neo-Gothic Chancel, with the new Nave, a contemporary design which has large areas of glass and a timber ceiling. The line of the Nave roof reflects that of St Mary's Church which stands beside it.

The Nave is square in plan enabling the space to be used not only as a place of worship but also as a site for local community functions. Glass doors the length of two sides light the vast space, and accentuate the seemingly unsupported roof with its absence of visible structural support. This surreal effect is made possible by a ridge and furrow roof system, a refinement of that first invented by the architect Joseph Paxton for his Crystal Palace in 1852. The vast uncluttered space and fine acoustics realised by this ingenious construction allow multipurpose use of the nave, including concerts and other performances.

A third area of worship - the Marsden Chapel, separated from the body of the Cathedral by glass doors and panels - provides an intimate space for private devotions. The inspiration for this small chapel was the small medieval churches of Europe. The decoration in this part of the Cathedral is very simple in direct contrast to the rest of the building. A set of five stained glass windows designed by prominent English artist John Baker fit perfectly into the chapel.

The Cathedral is renowned for its modern stained glass, including the unique window featuring a Polynesian Christ with vividly coloured Pacific motifs. A set of eighteen windows along the sides of the Nave, designed by Robert Ellis and Shane Cotton and dedicated in 2004, tell the Christian story using a combination of traditional and Polynesian designs.

The overall design of the cathedral has been described Ref|PG as the world's only example of the "Pacific Gothic" style.

The Supervising Architect for the building of the nave was John Sinclair, former president of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, who also designed the Monteith Visitors' Centre which is attached to the north-east corner of the Cathedral and forms an eastern boundary to the Cathedral Forecourt.

The Cathedral can accommodate 1250 people, the nave having a maximum seating capacity of 1100. The church is maintained by the Diocese of Auckland and parishioners. They are assisted by the "Friends of Holy Trinity Cathedral Parnell", an organisation particularly involved in the maintenance and beautification of the cathedral's fabric. The organization was established in 1986. The current Dean is the Very Reverend Ross Graham Bay. Bay was installed as the 8th Dean of Auckland and 14th Vicar of Parnellon Monday 19th November 2007. He is also the Vicar-General of the Diocese of Auckland.

Notes

# [http://198.170.234.248/Attractions.html Pacific Gothic claim]

See also

*Benjamin Mountfort

External links and references

* [http://www.holy-trinity.org.nz/ Holy Trinity Cathedral website]
* [http://www.auckanglican.org.nz/ Diocese of Auckland]
* [http://www.auckanglican.org.nz/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=351 The Cathedral Statute 1996]
* [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1S5 Bishop Selwyn NZ Biographical Dictionary]
*Parnell, New Zealand