The Holy Trinity Church Bell Tower is a Gothic-styled freestanding wooden tower built in the late 1890s beside the first Anglican Church in Lawrence. Moves to establish the first Episcopalian Church in Lawrence were made in December 1866, but it was not until February 1868 that the first vicar Rev. H.W. Martin from Victoria, Australia, was appointed. The first Holy Trinity Church (1871) was constructed of timber, plainly-detailed, with Gothic elements. It had a small belfry at the gable end. The Bell Tower is thought to have been constructed in the 1890s and was erected at the front of the section adjacent to Whitehaven Street, the main street through Lawrence from Waitahuna. The Bell Tower was retained when the first church was demolished to make way for the current brick church, which was built to a design by Invercargill Architect E.R. Wilson c.1924-1925. According to local historian Daphne Lemon the bell from the original church hangs in the belfry. The Bell Tower was described in church records at the time it was built as "a neat and substantial bell tower" with a "nice toned bell." The £65 9s 4d cost was raised by the Ladies Guild. The Bell Tower was restored and rededicated by Bishop Peter Mann in June 1980. A tree was planted and a plaque erected to commemorate the occasion. Money from the Lions Club, the NZHPT, church members and the public helped fund the restoration. The Bell Tower remains an important feature of the historic landscape in Lawrence and a distinctive element in the buildings associated with the Anglican Church in Lawrence.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
2245
Date Entered
6th June 2005
Date of Effect
6th June 2005
City/District Council
Clutha District
Region
Otago Region
Legal description
Sec 3 Blk VI Town of Lawrence (RT OT222/173), Otago Land District
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