The Congregationalist church began in the sixteenth century. Its followers disagreed with the idea of a state-controlled religion, believing rather in a democratic community and a 'simple and individual faith in Jesus'. Congregationalism began in New Zealand with the arrival of Reverend Barzillai Quaife in 1840 and the first meetings of the Congregationalists in Canterbury took place in 1861. By the following year there were enough members in Christchurch to form a Congregational Society. One of the society's first actions was to purchase a site for their proposed church on the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets. Their first minister, William James Habens, (1839-1899) arrived in 1864. (He subsequently played a significant role in the development of the New Zealand education curriculum.) Under Habens' ministry the first church building, partially designed by Samuel Farr, was constructed in 1864-1865. This served as a chapel and schoolroom until the early 1870s when the growing congregation and problems with the ventilation raised the need for a new church building.
In 1872-1873, the building committee of the church called for designs from four architects; Farr, Benjamin Mountfort, William Armson and R.A. Lawson. Interestingly it was Mountfort's design (himself a committed Anglo-Catholic), rather than Samuel Farr's that was chosen for the church, although Farr was a deacon of the church and, as stated above, had helped to design the church's first building.
The Gothic Revival church Mountfort designed for the Trinity Congregational Church was his first stone church built in Canterbury. Mountfort had earlier designed a number of churches in stone, but congregations had not had the funds to have them built. Mountfort's design reflected the demands of the Congregationalists by providing a central space with a gallery at the rear, which ensured all members of the congregation could see the minister. The church was cruciform in plan with very short transepts which made the central space octagonal in shape. Mountfort's ceiling for this space is a double-barrel vault panelled in timber which has been described as 'one of Mountfort's most impressive and original inventions'. (Lochhead, 1999; 198) The exterior of the church is stone with a striking asymmetrical composition dominated by the tower on the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets.
During the 1960s the Christchurch community of the Pacific Islanders' Congregational Church also began to hold their services at Trinity Congregational Church, and in 1968 the two congregations, Pakeha and Pacific Islander, were formally combined. The next year the Trinity-Pacific Congregational Church combined with the Presbyterian church of St Paul's in Cashel Street. (Now known as St Paul's-Trinity-Pacific Presbyterian Church, it is also registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust/Pouhere Taonga.) This uniting of Presbyterian and Congregationalism took place throughout New Zealand at this time, partly because a common international denominational body already existed; the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. The modest number of Congregational churches and their small congregations also influenced the decision to join the Presbyterians. The creation of the St Paul's-Trinity-Pacific Presbyterian Church led ultimately to the sale of Trinity Church. The congregation could not support two churches and required money for a new church hall and social centre in Cashel Street. Consequently in 1973 Trinity Church was put up for sale. After much public debate over its fate, it was purchased by the State Insurance Company who opened it as a community performing arts centre in 1975. It has since become a chapel for Japanese wedding blessings.
Trinity Church is significant as the first of Mountfort's churches to be built in stone. The internal timber roof with its double barrel vault is an elegant solution to the difficulty of roofing an octagonal space, a space created by the requirements of the Congregational way of worship. The exterior is an impressive composition of strong Gothic forms and the church forms a distinctive part of the townscape of Worcester and Manchester Streets.
In 1872-1873, the building committee of the church called for designs from four architects; Farr, Benjamin Mountfort, William Armson and R.A. Lawson. Interestingly it was Mountfort's design (himself a committed Anglo-Catholic), rather than Samuel Farr's that was chosen for the church, although Farr was a deacon of the church and, as stated above, had helped to design the church's first building.
The Gothic Revival church Mountfort designed for the Trinity Congregational Church was his first stone church built in Canterbury. Mountfort had earlier designed a number of churches in stone, but congregations had not had the funds to have them built. Mountfort's design reflected the demands of the Congregationalists by providing a central space with a gallery at the rear, which ensured all members of the congregation could see the minister. The church was cruciform in plan with very short transepts which made the central space octagonal in shape. Mountfort's ceiling for this space is a double-barrel vault panelled in timber which has been described as 'one of Mountfort's most impressive and original inventions'. (Lochhead, 1999; 198) The exterior of the church is stone with a striking asymmetrical composition dominated by the tower on the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets.
During the 1960s the Christchurch community of the Pacific Islanders' Congregational Church also began to hold their services at Trinity Congregational Church, and in 1968 the two congregations, Pakeha and Pacific Islander, were formally combined. The next year the Trinity-Pacific Congregational Church combined with the Presbyterian church of St Paul's in Cashel Street. (Now known as St Paul's-Trinity-Pacific Presbyterian Church, it is also registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust/Pouhere Taonga.) This uniting of Presbyterian and Congregationalism took place throughout New Zealand at this time, partly because a common international denominational body already existed; the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. The modest number of Congregational churches and their small congregations also influenced the decision to join the Presbyterians. The creation of the St Paul's-Trinity-Pacific Presbyterian Church led ultimately to the sale of Trinity Church. The congregation could not support two churches and required money for a new church hall and social centre in Cashel Street. Consequently in 1973 Trinity Church was put up for sale. After much public debate over its fate, it was purchased by the State Insurance Company who opened it as a community performing arts centre in 1975. It has since become a chapel for Japanese wedding blessings.
Trinity Church is significant as the first of Mountfort's churches to be built in stone. The internal timber roof with its double barrel vault is an elegant solution to the difficulty of roofing an octagonal space, a space created by the requirements of the Congregational way of worship. The exterior is an impressive composition of strong Gothic forms and the church forms a distinctive part of the townscape of Worcester and Manchester Streets.
