Construction Professional
Biography
The Rev. Dr Arthur Guyon Purchas (1821-1906), who was born in England, settled permanently in Auckland in 1846. Although his father was an architect, Purchas himself had no formal training in architecture, having graduated in medicine. Nevertheless, he left an indelible mark on the early ecclesiastical building of New Zealand. Bishop Selwyn, Purchas and another clerical architect, Frederick Thatcher, devised the style of building known as the 'Selwyn Churches' and created the distinctive chapels which are renowned for their architectural quality as well as for their historical association. While the Ecclesiologists in England imposed their standards on the design of the parish church, it was Selwyn, Purchas and Thatcher who transplanted their ideas in New Zealand.
Purchas gained building experience with Selwyn's architects at St Johns College, and in particular, with the temporary chapel at St Andrews, Epsom in 1846. He designed the original church for St Peter's at Onehunga 1847-48 and was also responsible for enlarging the nave and moving the tower. The design of the stone church of St James at Mangere (1857) has been attributed to Purchas and it is also possible that he was the architect of Holy Trinity Church, Otahuhu. Later in his life he designed a block of shops erected in Karangahape Road.
Purchas' interest and talents also extended to music. He also invented a surgical instrument and the first machine for the preparation of New Zealand flax.
Name
Purchas, Arthur Guyon
Construction Details
Description
Fifty-four loopholes for rifles cut into exterior walls.
Description
Interior clad with horizontal boarding. Clear glass windows in chancel replaced with stained glass windows for church centenary. Pulpit and font installed.
Description
Wooden shingles on roof replaced by fibro-cement shingles.
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Original puriri block foundations replaced in 1953 by concrete blocks. Totara framing with kauri joists and flooring. Roof structure of scissor trusses and kauri sarking. Roof and spire shingled. Exterior cladding of kauri vertical board and batten. Interior originally unlined, but later clad with horizontal kauri boarding.
Notable Features
Two original oil lamps (now wired for electricity); rifle loopholes; stained glass windows in chancel.
Physical DescriptionARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
St Bride's is an example of a Gothic Revival church in the Selwyn style. It adheres to the principles laid down by the Ecclesiological Society which believed that a building should be truthful and without pretence. The most influential architect of the Victorian Gothic Revival, A.W.N. Pugin (1812-1852) desired a return to medieval order, and more ritualistic and symbolic forms of worship for which he believed Gothic buildings were best suited. The ecclesiologists followed his teachings. Pugin based his architecture on the precept that there should be no features about a building which were not necessary for convenience, construction or propriety and that ornamentation should consist of enrichment of the essential construction of the building.
Today, the building is lined with horizontal kauri boarding, but it is probable that, in conformity with Ecclesiological precepts, it was originally unlined with the timber framing and trusses exposed.
The church is dominated by its broach spire which is directly above the entrance porch. The steeply gabled roof over the chancel, nave and vestry was originally clad with wooden shingles.
The building has cusped windows with trefoils, arranged in twos, or, on the chancel, in threes. The louvered windows of the belfry also have trefoils. These windows and vents, tower and steep roof together with the vertical board and batten sheathing of the exterior, contribute to the impression of verticality, in keeping with the Gothic ideal that a Christian building should express 'upwardness'.
The external walls still have the loopholes cut in during the military scare of 1863.
ReferenceInformation Sources
Lownsborough, 1961
I J Lownsborough. 1961 A History of St Brides Church, Waiuku
Report Written By
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.
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.
