The St Barnabas Church (Anglican) building opened in 1899, and was designed by Joshua Charlesworth in a simple neo-gothic style. Initially it was part of the parish of St Mark’s (Dufferin Street) and services had first been held at the school next door in 1898. St Barnabas parochial district was formed in 1915 with the appointment of the first vicar, and it became a full parish in 1946. The third incumbent, Reverend E. McLevie, arrived in 1935 and introduced ‘high church’ practices (or an Anglo-Catholic style of worship) which have continued to this day.

The original building was designed by Joshua Charlesworth, architect of the Wellington Town Hall (1902-4, Register no. 3275, Category 1) and Brancepeth Station homestead (1905, Register no. 7649, Category 1) among other buildings. However it was extensively damaged by fire in 1924; signs of which can be seen in the polished but still blackened floorboards near the altar rails. The repairs were designed by Frederick de Jersey Clere and included concrete buttresses on the east side, new windows in the east end, and the interior was relined in rimu. The belfry which was designed by Clere and added in 1907 appears not to have been damaged in the fire.

In 1938 a new hall was built, and in 1944 a choir vestry, porch, an extension to the sanctuary and an alcove for a new organ were completed. Author Susan Maclean notes further renovations were carried out in 1964 and to the belfry in 1986. In 2007 a full scale restoration project was begun to plans by Ian Bowman, with funding assistance from the local and wider Wellington community and past and present parishioners.

St Barnabas Church (Anglican) is a single-gabled building clad in rusticated weatherboards with a corrugated steel roof. The main gable is repeated in a smaller front gable which has two arched windows. The entry porch was renovated in 2007 with a matching gable.

The interior is panelled timber with an exposed roof-truss system of double Queen posts. Above the choir on a cross beam are sculptures of Christ, Virgin Mary and Saint John – these were originally located on a rood screen, which was removed in 1964 and there is a statue of St Barnabas above the organ. The stained glass windows above the altar were gifted in 1967 and three more windows were gifted in 1974, all made by Miller Studios of Dunedin.

St Barnabas Church’s plain Gothic style, belfry tower, and corner site make it a prominent local landmark. The interior with its timber panelling, exposed beams and sculptures further contributes to its aesthetic and architectural significance. The church also has social and spiritual significance to the many parishioners who have used it over the last 113 years.