# The Story of Christchurch, New Zealand/Chapter 14

Christchurch Cathedral, 1916.
Plate 19.
Chapter XIV.
Christchurch Cathedral.
Founded 1864. Completed 1904.
The foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid by Bishop Harper, on December 16 (Anniversary Day), 1864, and with it was deposited a Latin inscription dedicating the Cathedral to the Holy Trinity. The clergy and choir assembled at St. Michael’s Church, and in a steady down-pour of rain they marched in procession to the open Square. Then, in the heavy rain, the Bishop laid the stone, and the choir sang the “Hallelujah Chorus.”
The building of a Cathedral was the central idea of the plan of the Canterbury Association, but it is at least remarkable that is should have been undertaken within fourteen years of the foundation of the settlement, and while the population of Christchurch only numbered 6,423 souls (census December, 1864). The building as it now stands is a striking testimony to the loyalty of the early settlers ta the ideals of the founders of Canterbury.
The original plan of establishing a Cathedral and a College together in the centre of the city had been changed. It was, indeed, at one time suggested that the Government should use the Cathedral Square site for its own offices, but a majority of the Council declined to sanction so ruthless a departure from the plans of the founders, and in April, 1857, the proposal was defeated. Then followed the first Cathedral Square Ordinance, passed in December, 1858. Its main purpose was to validate the surrender by Christ's College of certain lands, comprising rather more than three acres in Cathedral ​Square; the College to receive £1,200 by way of compensation. At first sight the amount does not appear to have been excessive, even at the current value of land at the time, hut it should be remembered that the College also received a grant of ten acres of the Government Domain. The ordinance also provided that Colombo Street should be carried through the Square, at a width of ninety-nine feet, and reserved a site for the Cathedral on the western side of this roadway. But at the instance of Bishop Harper an amending ordinance was passed in November, 1859, transferring the site reserved for the Cathedral to the eastern side of Cathedral Square, in order that the western, or principal entrance, might face Colombo Street. Still another Cathedral Square Ordinance was passed in August, 1864, altering the road way and boundary of the Cathedral reserve, by curving the road in front of the site, in order to allow the Cathedral to be visible from Colombo Street at a distance.
It was in 1858 that the building of a Cathedral began to be looked upon as a work to be then undertaken instead of a dim possibility for the future. At a meeting of members of the Church of England, held on October 21 of that year, and presided over by Bishop Harper, it was moved by Mr. Justice Gresson, and seconded by Mr. C, C. Bowen, “That in order to meet the growing wants of the diocese, it is expedient that a central Church or Cathedral be erected in Cathedral Square, so soon as a sum of money, not less than £2,000, has been raised.” This was a modest estimate of the cost of a Cathedral, but was followed up by a grant passed by Provincial Council (December 1, 1858), of £10,000 for building and enlarging places of worship. The grant was apportioned among the various denominations as follows:-
| Bishop of Christchurch (Church of England) | Bishop of Christchurch (Church of England) | Bishop of Christchurch (Church of England) | Bishop of Christchurch (Church of England) | £7,800 |
| Acting Head of Wesleyan Church | Acting Head of Wesleyan Church | Acting Head of Wesleyan Church | . . . | 800 |
| Acting Head of Presbyterian Church | Acting Head of Presbyterian Church | Acting Head of Presbyterian Church | . . . | 1,000 |
| Roman Catholic Church | . | . . . | . . . | 400 |
Mr. George Gilbert Scott was asked to prepare plans in London. Mr. Scott was recognised as the greatest ecclesiastical architect of the day—he afterwards became Sir Gilbert Scott in recognition of his work in designing the Albert Memorial. It is somewhat characteristic of the pioneers of early Canterbury that, just as before undertaking the Lyttelton Tunnel, they procured advice from the greatest living engineer, so now with their Cathedral, they followed a similar course in the selection of an architect.
It was not till towards the end of 1862 that any serious attempt was made to collect funds for the building. The movement began at a meeting of parishioners of St. Michael’s to discuss the necessity of greater seating accommodation. It was then suggested that instead of enlarging St. Michael’s, a Cathedral Church should be begun. The plans were available, having arrived from London. The idea was taken up with enthusiasm, and by the end of the year the fund had grown to £10,000, subscribed or promised, and by April, 1863, to £15,000.
The superintending architect, Mr. Robert Speechly, who had been chosen by Mr. Scott, in London, arrived at Lyttelton on September 10, 1864. By that time, the site had been levelled, and all was ready for a start; good, hard shingle was met with at a depth of about twelve feet, and a contract was let for the foundations. According to the original design, a great deal of the interior work, such as the piers, triforium and clerestory, was to have been in wood, but, in accordance with a later request, Mr. Scott sent out by Mr. Speechly amended designs in stone, which were adopted.
Writing to Mr. Selfe, on September 15, 1864, just ​after the arrival of Mr. Speechly, Dean Jacobs remarked that “the delay, so hard to bear at the time, has been the means of securing two solid and permanent advantages, which would otherwise have been lost, namely, the improvement of the site by the advancement of the west front to a point a little beyond the line of the houses in Colombo Street, and by the diversion of the road and the carriage of traffic so as to leave an open space in front, and, secondly, by the substitution of stone for timber in the construction of the interior.”
But the story of the Cathedral did not end with the laying of the foundation-stone; there were many difficulties still to be surmounted before the complete Cathedral could be consecrated on All Saints’ Day, 1904. Perhaps it will be more convenient to tell the story in this chapter, rather than allow the reader to gather it piecemeal from the records of forty years.
The foundations were completed in 1865, and absorbed all the funds then available. It so happened that about that period a wave of commercial depression swept over Canterbury, and any attempt to collect further funds had to be abandoned, and for eight years Cathedral Square presented a melancholy spectacle, a target for the scoffers. It was during that period that various proposals to sell the site were put forward and seriously entertained. The City Council wished to acquire it, and on November 4, 1869, Mr. J. S. Williams (afterwards Sir Joshua Williams) moved, in the Synod, that the Cathedral site should be sold, and that the proceeds should be used to build a Cathedral on the site of the Church of St. Michael and All Angels. The discussion was long, and continued at an adjourned meeting on November 8, and the motion was only rejected by a small majority. The same question cropped up in 1871, when on July 21, the Synod, again by resolution, declined to part with the Cathedral site. The following year, the Provincial Council was desirous of purchasing the property, and ​by resolution (December 10, 1572) decided to offer the Synod a sum not exceeding £10,000 for it; an offer which the Synod declined in February, 1873. At last, on September 2, 1873, the Synod found itself in a position to continue the building, and invited tenders for the construction of the nave with a temporary chancel.
My. Speechly had left Christchurch, and Mr. B. W. Mountfort had been appointed superintending architect. Thanks to the generosity of the Rhodes family, it was also possible to proceed with the Tower and Spire. The Tower was the gift of the late Mr. R. H. Rhodes, in memory of his brother, Mr. George Rhodes, and the Spire was presented by the children of Mr. George Rhodes.
The late Mr. Mountfort has been sometimes criticised for “improving on Scott” in the design of the Tower, and it is only fair to state the circumstances. The original design for the Tower and Spire, as drawn by Sir Gilbert Scott, was of severe simplicity, almost devoid of ornamentation, and it was at the request of the Cathedral commission, and of the donors of the Tower, that Mr. Mountfort prepared amended designs, the chief alteration being the balconies, which, besides being considered ornamental, afforded a fine view from the base of the Spire. The plans were sent home to Mr. J. C. Scott, who had succeeded his father, Sir Gilbert Scott, on the death of the latter. In his covering letter, Mr. Mountfort inquired if Mr. Scott had any “objection to offer to my proposals, as I should not wish to put anything into the work, from respect to your father, to which he might have objected.”
From 1873 onwards the construction went on continuously, partly by contract and partly by day labour, and the building was consecrated on November 1, 1881.
Next month, December 5, 1881, occurred the first of the three earthquakes which damaged the Spire. No great damage was done on that occasion, but a stone was dislodged about fourteen feet below the cross, and fell ​on the pavement of Cathedral Square. A more serious earthquake took place on September 1, 1888, when the cross fell, and remained suspended by its iron ties, bringing down with it about thirty feet of masonry. According to expert opinion, the damage was occasioned by the form of construction. The heavy cross was attached to an iron rod, which for thirteen feet was embedded in solid masonry, and then connected with a strong iron plate. Four other iron rods were attached to this plate, and anchored some distance lower down the Spire. The result was too great rigidity to stand a severe shock of earthquake. The solid iron cross was replaced by a lighter one made of hollow copper, gilded and set like the pendulum of a grandfather’s clock, with a weight and chain attached, which, it was hoped, would swing undamaged in any shock of earthquake. Fire brick was the material selected for the construction of the upper portion of the Spire, as being more elastic than stone, and the new Spire built on these principles, was completed August 6, 1891, when Bishop Julius laid the topmost stone, making an adventurous ascent in a basket for the purpose.
Ten years later, another earthquake occurred, November 16, 1901, this was the shock which centred at Cheviot. The Spire was again rendered unsafe. It was the brick work this time that proved too brittle and broke away, and for the second time, the Spire had to be taken down, and a new form of construction devised. The material then adopted for the upper portion was Australian hardwood, sheathed with copper, which has, so far, stood all tests. All the expenses of these operations were borne by the Rhodes family.
Returning once mere to the main story of the Cathedral, the western porch was built in 1894, after which matters remained at a standstill till the Jubilee year of Canterbury, when a determined effort was made to collect funds for the completion of the Cathedral.
Interior of Christchurch Cathedral.
Plate 20.
A few particulars may be of interest. The approximate cost of the fabric was as follows:—
| Foundation, etc. | . . . | . . . | 7,526 |
| Building over foundation | Building over foundation | . . . | 50,525 |
| Tower and Spire, original cost | Tower and Spire, original cost | Tower and Spire, original cost | 6,531 |
| Western Porch | . . . | . . . | 1,000 |
| | Total | . . . | ₤65,582 |
These figures were supplied by the courtesy of Mr. C. J. Mountfort.
The grey stone, of which the outer walls are constructed, came from the Cashmere and Hoon Hay Quarries on the Port Hills. It is said to be of similar quality to the stone used in Cologne Cathedral.
There is a peal of ten bells; eight of them were given by the late R. H. Rhodes, and two by the late E. W. P. Miles. There is a quaint story about these bells. They were being rung for the first time, and Dean Jacobs, who was walking with a friend, was roused to enthusiasm at the sound, and tried to express his delight. After three unsuccessful attempts, his friend shouted in his ear, “No, Mr. Dean, it is no use, these confounded bells are making such a din that I can’t hear a word you say.”
Selwyn Memorial Pulpit.
Plate 21.