The foundation stone was laid on 19 November 1879 and the building opened on 14 March 1880. It was named Wesley Church in honour of the founder of Methodism. The building has had an undisturbed existence except for an arson attack in 1982 which partially destroyed the west end of the church.
List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
4422
Date Entered
28th June 1990
Date of Effect
28th June 1990
City/District Council
Wellington City
Region
Wellington Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent of registration includes the land described as Lot 1 DP 77432 (WN43D/535), Wellington Land District and the buildings thereon known as Wesley Church, including Wesley Church, Ecumenical Centre (also known as Old Hall), and Drama Christi Studio (also known as Wesley Theatre), and their fixtures and fittings. Registration does not include the other buildings on the land - the cafe fronting Taranaki St, the parish office building (including new hall), Epworth House (community mission building) and a shed.
Legal description
Lot 1 DP 77432 (RT WN43D/535), Wellington Land District
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
4422
Date Entered
28th June 1990
Date of Effect
28th June 1990
City/District Council
Wellington City
Region
Wellington Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent of registration includes the land described as Lot 1 DP 77432 (WN43D/535), Wellington Land District and the buildings thereon known as Wesley Church, including Wesley Church, Ecumenical Centre (also known as Old Hall), and Drama Christi Studio (also known as Wesley Theatre), and their fixtures and fittings. Registration does not include the other buildings on the land - the cafe fronting Taranaki St, the parish office building (including new hall), Epworth House (community mission building) and a shed.
Legal description
Lot 1 DP 77432 (RT WN43D/535), Wellington Land District
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. This is the major central city church of one of the larger Christian denominations active in Wellington. It has been a prominent feature of the Wellington cityscape for nearly 110 years.
Physical Significance
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY: While Thomas Turnbull was known for his use of masonry he often worked in timber when designing churches. Examples are St Peters (1879) and St Johns (1885) both in Willis street, Wellington. But whereas those two buildings have elegant Gothic spires, crocketted turrets and steep pitched roofs, Wesley Church is a conscious essay in eclecticism successfully combining elements of the Gothic with Classical and Romanesque features. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK VALUE: The Wesley Church complex has the only nineteenth century buildings in the immediate neighbourhood and they give character to what is otherwise a developing area. Large pohutukawa trees in the front (west) of the church embellish its streetscape.
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. This is the major central city church of one of the larger Christian denominations active in Wellington. It has been a prominent feature of the Wellington cityscape for nearly 110 years.
Physical Significance
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY: While Thomas Turnbull was known for his use of masonry he often worked in timber when designing churches. Examples are St Peters (1879) and St Johns (1885) both in Willis street, Wellington. But whereas those two buildings have elegant Gothic spires, crocketted turrets and steep pitched roofs, Wesley Church is a conscious essay in eclecticism successfully combining elements of the Gothic with Classical and Romanesque features. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK VALUE: The Wesley Church complex has the only nineteenth century buildings in the immediate neighbourhood and they give character to what is otherwise a developing area. Large pohutukawa trees in the front (west) of the church embellish its streetscape.
Construction Professional
Name
Turnbull, Thomas
Type
Architect
Biography
Thomas Turnbull (1824-1907) was born and educated in Scotland and trained under David Bryce, Her Majesty's Architect. He travelled to Melbourne in 1851 and after nine years there moved to San Francisco. He arrived in New Zealand in 1871 and soon established a thriving business. His son William, a distinguished architect in his own right, became a partner in the firm in 1891. Turnbull was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was a pioneer in the design of buildings to withstand earthquakes and he was responsible for breaking down prejudice against the use of permanent materials for building construction. He specialised in masonry construction for commercial purposes but was also responsible for some fine houses. Among his most important buildings were the Willis Street churches of St Peter (1879) and St John (1885), the former National Mutual Building (1883-84), the General Assembly Library (1899) and the former Bank of New Zealand Head Office (1901), all in Wellington.
Construction Details
Start Year
1963
Type
Modification
Description
Remodelling of vestry rooms in the east end
Start Year
1963
Type
Modification
Description
Extensive alterations to sanctuary including relining
Start Year
1963
Type
Modification
Description
Glazed wall added to divide the west porch and the Nave
Start Year
1982
Type
Modification
Description
Reinstatement after fire of porch and west end of church including staircase in south-west corner.
Start Year
1879
Finish Year
1880
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Timber framed and clad (kauri and totara) with rusticated weatherboards. Roofed with corrugated galvanised iron.
Notable Features
The unusual handling of the facade.
Construction Professional
Name
Turnbull, Thomas
Type
Architect
Biography
Thomas Turnbull (1824-1907) was born and educated in Scotland and trained under David Bryce, Her Majesty's Architect. He travelled to Melbourne in 1851 and after nine years there moved to San Francisco. He arrived in New Zealand in 1871 and soon established a thriving business. His son William, a distinguished architect in his own right, became a partner in the firm in 1891. Turnbull was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was a pioneer in the design of buildings to withstand earthquakes and he was responsible for breaking down prejudice against the use of permanent materials for building construction. He specialised in masonry construction for commercial purposes but was also responsible for some fine houses. Among his most important buildings were the Willis Street churches of St Peter (1879) and St John (1885), the former National Mutual Building (1883-84), the General Assembly Library (1899) and the former Bank of New Zealand Head Office (1901), all in Wellington.
Construction Details
Start Year
1963
Type
Modification
Description
Remodelling of vestry rooms in the east end
Start Year
1963
Type
Modification
Description
Extensive alterations to sanctuary including relining
Start Year
1963
Type
Modification
Description
Glazed wall added to divide the west porch and the Nave
Start Year
1982
Type
Modification
Description
Reinstatement after fire of porch and west end of church including staircase in south-west corner.
Start Year
1879
Finish Year
1880
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Timber framed and clad (kauri and totara) with rusticated weatherboards. Roofed with corrugated galvanised iron.
Notable Features
The unusual handling of the facade.
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: This mid to late Victorian building is eclectic in design with Norman, Romanesque and Gothic styling. Entry to the building is by means of a large porch at the west end. Two doors capped by rounded arches are framed by a gable with a pinnacle at each end. This gable protrudes slightly from the central section of the facade, which also has a gable end. An acroterion caps this gable adding a classical emphasis to the street facade. In addition prominent arched and circular windows are contrasted with the Gothic pinnacles and quatrefoil windows. On either side of this central entry is a smaller entrance, each defined by a round arch. Above each of these entrances is a squat square tower with a steep roof hipped on all four sides, surmounted by a finial. Gables protrude from the base of the tower roofs on the east and west sides. The side elevations of the building have a series of alternating arched windows and buttresses, again providing a contrast between Classical and Gothic elements. Windows consist of two round arches and a circular form all enclosed in one round arch. The buttresses feature a gablet at mid height. Decorated ventilators line the roof ridge. The west porch entrance to the interior leads to a glazed wall. From here the floor slopes down to the simple sanctuary which is raised five steps. Pews are curved to face the altar and a gallery runs along the north, west and south walls to allow extra seating. Walls of the nave are lined with tongue and groove boarding to window height. The arched windows have frosted glass. The curved auditorium is echoed at roof level by an elliptical ceiling, dominated by heavily moulded ribs of kauri which divide the ceiling into panels.
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: This mid to late Victorian building is eclectic in design with Norman, Romanesque and Gothic styling. Entry to the building is by means of a large porch at the west end. Two doors capped by rounded arches are framed by a gable with a pinnacle at each end. This gable protrudes slightly from the central section of the facade, which also has a gable end. An acroterion caps this gable adding a classical emphasis to the street facade. In addition prominent arched and circular windows are contrasted with the Gothic pinnacles and quatrefoil windows. On either side of this central entry is a smaller entrance, each defined by a round arch. Above each of these entrances is a squat square tower with a steep roof hipped on all four sides, surmounted by a finial. Gables protrude from the base of the tower roofs on the east and west sides. The side elevations of the building have a series of alternating arched windows and buttresses, again providing a contrast between Classical and Gothic elements. Windows consist of two round arches and a circular form all enclosed in one round arch. The buttresses feature a gablet at mid height. Decorated ventilators line the roof ridge. The west porch entrance to the interior leads to a glazed wall. From here the floor slopes down to the simple sanctuary which is raised five steps. Pews are curved to face the altar and a gallery runs along the north, west and south walls to allow extra seating. Walls of the nave are lined with tongue and groove boarding to window height. The arched windows have frosted glass. The curved auditorium is echoed at roof level by an elliptical ceiling, dominated by heavily moulded ribs of kauri which divide the ceiling into panels.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
12th February 1990
Information Sources
Cyclopedia of New Zealand
Cyclopedia Company, Industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations, Wellington, N.Z, 1897-1908
Dominion
Dominion, 16 Jul 1915, p. 9.
Evening Post
Evening Post, 27 Jun 1919, p.7.
Fearnley, 1977
Charles Fearnley, Early Wellington Churches, Wellington, 1977
Morley, 1900
Rev. William Morley, The History of Methodism in New Zealand, Wellington, 1900
Lineham, 1983
Peter J Lineham, New Zealanders and the Methodist Evangel, Wesley Historical Society, New Zealand, 1983
New Zealand Times
New Zealand Times
Other Information
A copy of this report is available from the NZHPT Central 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. This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
12th February 1990
Information Sources
Cyclopedia of New Zealand
Cyclopedia Company, Industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations, Wellington, N.Z, 1897-1908
Dominion
Dominion, 16 Jul 1915, p. 9.
Evening Post
Evening Post, 27 Jun 1919, p.7.
Fearnley, 1977
Charles Fearnley, Early Wellington Churches, Wellington, 1977
Morley, 1900
Rev. William Morley, The History of Methodism in New Zealand, Wellington, 1900
Lineham, 1983
Peter J Lineham, New Zealanders and the Methodist Evangel, Wesley Historical Society, New Zealand, 1983
New Zealand Times
New Zealand Times
Other Information
A copy of this report is available from the NZHPT Central 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. This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration.
Current Usages
Uses: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Former Usages
General Usage: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Web Links
description:
Current Usages
Uses: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Former Usages
General Usage: Religion
Specific Usage: Church
Web Links
description:
Location
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