List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
295
Date Entered
2nd April 1985
Date of Effect
2nd April 1985
City/District Council
Christchurch City
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Res 7 (RT CB47C/1021), Canterbury Land District and the structure known as St Michael and All Angels Church Belfry (Anglican), thereon.
Legal description
Res 7 (RT CB373/217), Canterbury Land District
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
295
Date Entered
2nd April 1985
Date of Effect
2nd April 1985
City/District Council
Christchurch City
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Res 7 (RT CB47C/1021), Canterbury Land District and the structure known as St Michael and All Angels Church Belfry (Anglican), thereon.
Legal description
Res 7 (RT CB373/217), Canterbury Land District
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Belfry has important historic values as it was built in 1861 alongside the first Church of St. Michael and All Angels, the first church to be built in Christchurch. At that time it provided a notable landmark within the flat environs of the evolving city and it remains a prominent streetscape feature. The bell the structure houses was brought to the province in 1850 with the first group of the Canterbury Association's settlers and represents the Association's plans for the province to develop as an Anglican community.
Physical Significance
Designed by Canterbury's Provincial architect B.W. Mountfort, the belfry illustrates his skills in the Gothic revival style and has considerable architectural value. Its elaborate form and detailing harmonises well with the present church, completed in 1872.
Why is this place Category 1 / Category 2?
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
The belfry can be assigned Category One status because it has outstanding historic associations with the first years of Canterbury's settlement and it represents the founding fathers' goals for the province to develop as an Anglican community. It is an important example of colonial design by a notable architect, it is part of a group of historic buildings and it is a landmark feature highly regarded by the people of Christchurch.
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Belfry has important historic values as it was built in 1861 alongside the first Church of St. Michael and All Angels, the first church to be built in Christchurch. At that time it provided a notable landmark within the flat environs of the evolving city and it remains a prominent streetscape feature. The bell the structure houses was brought to the province in 1850 with the first group of the Canterbury Association's settlers and represents the Association's plans for the province to develop as an Anglican community.
Physical Significance
Designed by Canterbury's Provincial architect B.W. Mountfort, the belfry illustrates his skills in the Gothic revival style and has considerable architectural value. Its elaborate form and detailing harmonises well with the present church, completed in 1872.
Why is this place Category 1 / Category 2?
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
The belfry can be assigned Category One status because it has outstanding historic associations with the first years of Canterbury's settlement and it represents the founding fathers' goals for the province to develop as an Anglican community. It is an important example of colonial design by a notable architect, it is part of a group of historic buildings and it is a landmark feature highly regarded by the people of Christchurch.
Construction Professional
Name
Mountfort, Benjamin Woolfield
Type
Architect
Biography
Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (1825-98) trained as an architect in England, in the office of Richard Cromwell Carpenter, a member of the Cambridge Camden Society (later the Ecclesiological Society). He arrived in Canterbury in 1850. Mountfort was New Zealand's pre-eminent Gothic Revival architect and, according to architectural historian Ian Lochhead, 'did most to shape the architectural character of nineteenth-century Christchurch.' The buildings he designed were almost exclusively in the Gothic Revival style. During his career he designed many churches and additions to churches; those still standing include the Trinity Congregational Church in Christchurch (1874), St Mary's Church in Parnell, Auckland and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, Christchurch (1884). In 1857 he became the first architect to the province of Canterbury. He designed the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings in three stages from 1858 to 1865. The stone chamber of this building can be considered the greatest accomplishment of his career. He was involved in many important commissions from the 1870s, including the Canterbury Museum (1869-82) and the Clock-tower Block on the Canterbury College campus (1876-77). He was also involved in the construction of Christchurch's Cathedral and made several major modifications to the original design. Mountfort introduced a number of High Victorian elements to New Zealand architecture, such as the use of constructional polychromy, probably first used in New Zealand in the stone tower of the Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings (1859). Overall, his oeuvre reveals a consistent and virtually unerring application of Puginian principles including a commitment to the Gothic style, honest use of materials and picturesque utility. The result was the construction of inventive and impressive buildings of outstanding quality. He died in Christchurch in 1898. A belfry at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, the church he attended for the last ten years of his life, was erected in his honour.
Construction Details
Start Year
1976
Type
Relocation
Description
1976 Relocated to current position due to road widening.
Start Year
1861
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Timber, shingle roof
Construction Professional
Name
Mountfort, Benjamin Woolfield
Type
Architect
Biography
Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (1825-98) trained as an architect in England, in the office of Richard Cromwell Carpenter, a member of the Cambridge Camden Society (later the Ecclesiological Society). He arrived in Canterbury in 1850. Mountfort was New Zealand's pre-eminent Gothic Revival architect and, according to architectural historian Ian Lochhead, 'did most to shape the architectural character of nineteenth-century Christchurch.' The buildings he designed were almost exclusively in the Gothic Revival style. During his career he designed many churches and additions to churches; those still standing include the Trinity Congregational Church in Christchurch (1874), St Mary's Church in Parnell, Auckland and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, Christchurch (1884). In 1857 he became the first architect to the province of Canterbury. He designed the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings in three stages from 1858 to 1865. The stone chamber of this building can be considered the greatest accomplishment of his career. He was involved in many important commissions from the 1870s, including the Canterbury Museum (1869-82) and the Clock-tower Block on the Canterbury College campus (1876-77). He was also involved in the construction of Christchurch's Cathedral and made several major modifications to the original design. Mountfort introduced a number of High Victorian elements to New Zealand architecture, such as the use of constructional polychromy, probably first used in New Zealand in the stone tower of the Canterbury Provincial Government Buildings (1859). Overall, his oeuvre reveals a consistent and virtually unerring application of Puginian principles including a commitment to the Gothic style, honest use of materials and picturesque utility. The result was the construction of inventive and impressive buildings of outstanding quality. He died in Christchurch in 1898. A belfry at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, the church he attended for the last ten years of his life, was erected in his honour.
Construction Details
Start Year
1976
Type
Relocation
Description
1976 Relocated to current position due to road widening.
Start Year
1861
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Timber, shingle roof
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
10th December 2001
Report Written By
Melanie Lovell-Smith
Information Sources
Lochhead, 1999
Ian Lochhead, A Dream of Spires: Benjamin Mountfort and the Gothic Revival, Christchurch, 1999
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Peters, 2008
M Peters with J. Mané, Christchurch-St. Michael's: a study in Anglicanism in New Zealand. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 1986
Other Information
A fully referenced version of this report is available from the NZHPT Southern Region Office. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
10th December 2001
Report Written By
Melanie Lovell-Smith
Information Sources
Lochhead, 1999
Ian Lochhead, A Dream of Spires: Benjamin Mountfort and the Gothic Revival, Christchurch, 1999
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Peters, 2008
M Peters with J. Mané, Christchurch-St. Michael's: a study in Anglicanism in New Zealand. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 1986
Other Information
A fully referenced version of this report is available from the NZHPT Southern Region Office. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Current Usages
Uses: Religion
Specific Usage: Belfry/Bell tower
Former Usages
General Usage: Religion
Specific Usage: Belfry/Bell tower
Web Links
description:
Current Usages
Uses: Religion
Specific Usage: Belfry/Bell tower
Former Usages
General Usage: Religion
Specific Usage: Belfry/Bell tower
Web Links
description:
