Located on the corner of 28 Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street in central Christchurch, Knox Church (Presbyterian), constructed in 1902 and dramatically remodelled on the exterior following severe earthquake damage in the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-2011, tells a story of ecclesiastical heritage improvisation in the Christchurch Rebuild. In 2011-2014, the badly damaged brick and stone Gothic Revival exterior of the 1902 building was deconstructed but remarkably the original internal timber roof form and columns remained. This interior and roof form was then incorporated within a striking new design and the church reopened in late 2014. Retention of significant parts of the building at a time when many historic buildings – not least masonry churches – were demolished has been much celebrated in the community.
Originally called the North Belt Presbyterian Church, the 1902 brick church was constructed to replace an earlier timber church of the same name, built in the early 1880s to the designs of S C Farr & Son Architects, at the eastern end of the same land parcel. In 1901 the land was officially transferred to the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees, the replacement church was designed by Robert William England and the foundation stone was laid. At the time of its completion in 1902, it was noted of the new multi-gabled brick church that ‘its outward appearance might not be pleasing to everyone, but that … the officers of the church found that their finances could not justify a spire, so that the architect had to cut his coat according to his cloth. But there could be no two opinions about the internal beauty of the church…’. The interior walls were plastered and had a high panelled dado. The dado, roof and all other interior woodwork was in oiled rimu and the seats were kauri.
In 1904 the church was renamed Knox Presbyterian Church. Many people have been associated with the church, including the Reverend Robert Erwin, who was Minister there for 39 years (1883-1922) and was later elected third moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Minor changes were made to the building, including some interior refurbishment in 1990-1, but it remained largely unchanged for over 100 years. However, in the dramatic events of the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010-11, the exterior of the church was badly damaged and subsequently deconstructed to a point where only the original internal timber roof form and columns remained. These were then incorporated within a new design, maximising the views of the heritage interior, by Wilkie and Bruce Architects. The church reopened again at the end of 2014. Knox Church (Presbyterian) was the Seismic Award winner at the Canterbury Heritage Awards in 2014, in recognition of the retention and restoration of the timber interior within a contrasting new exterior envelope.
Situated on a prominent site at the corner of Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street, at the northern end of the ‘Four Avenues’ that define the Christchurch CBD, the church retains the same scale as the 1902 building but now has a completely different exterior. The modern exterior shell is constructed largely of copper sheeting and glass, with post tensioned concrete buttresses and corrugated steel roof cladding. In contrast, the interior comprises original timber features – roof trusses, columns and panelling –and the 1902 Edgar Jenkins organ which was upgraded by the South Island Organ Company following quake damage.
Originally called the North Belt Presbyterian Church, the 1902 brick church was constructed to replace an earlier timber church of the same name, built in the early 1880s to the designs of S C Farr & Son Architects, at the eastern end of the same land parcel. In 1901 the land was officially transferred to the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees, the replacement church was designed by Robert William England and the foundation stone was laid. At the time of its completion in 1902, it was noted of the new multi-gabled brick church that ‘its outward appearance might not be pleasing to everyone, but that … the officers of the church found that their finances could not justify a spire, so that the architect had to cut his coat according to his cloth. But there could be no two opinions about the internal beauty of the church…’. The interior walls were plastered and had a high panelled dado. The dado, roof and all other interior woodwork was in oiled rimu and the seats were kauri.
In 1904 the church was renamed Knox Presbyterian Church. Many people have been associated with the church, including the Reverend Robert Erwin, who was Minister there for 39 years (1883-1922) and was later elected third moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Minor changes were made to the building, including some interior refurbishment in 1990-1, but it remained largely unchanged for over 100 years. However, in the dramatic events of the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010-11, the exterior of the church was badly damaged and subsequently deconstructed to a point where only the original internal timber roof form and columns remained. These were then incorporated within a new design, maximising the views of the heritage interior, by Wilkie and Bruce Architects. The church reopened again at the end of 2014. Knox Church (Presbyterian) was the Seismic Award winner at the Canterbury Heritage Awards in 2014, in recognition of the retention and restoration of the timber interior within a contrasting new exterior envelope.
Situated on a prominent site at the corner of Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street, at the northern end of the ‘Four Avenues’ that define the Christchurch CBD, the church retains the same scale as the 1902 building but now has a completely different exterior. The modern exterior shell is constructed largely of copper sheeting and glass, with post tensioned concrete buttresses and corrugated steel roof cladding. In contrast, the interior comprises original timber features – roof trusses, columns and panelling –and the 1902 Edgar Jenkins organ which was upgraded by the South Island Organ Company following quake damage.
