Christ Church Cathedral is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

at 1 Trafalgar Square,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, New Zealand. The cathedral serves as the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

for the Bishop of Nelson, currently

Steve Maina Stephen Maina Mwangi (born 1970) is a Kenya-born New Zealand Anglican bishop. He has been the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Nelson since 2019. Early life, education and career Maina was born in Kenya in 1970 and is the son and grandson of An ...

, and is the mother church for the Diocese of Nelson of the

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand, is a Anglican province, province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992 ...

. With seating for 350 people, the cathedral was completed in the

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, and is in length and wide. The tower is high.

History

The original church was erected in 1851 at a different site, and enlarged in 1859. In 1866 the church was named as Christ Church Cathedral and enlarged again. In 1887 a second church was constructed at the current site using much of the same materials of the previous cathedral. Construction of the current cathedral began in 1925 and was finished in 1965. The cathedral was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by Bishop Peter Sutton on 14 April 1972. The majority of marble was sourced from the Pakikiruna Range, near

Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 (New Zealand), State Highway 60 r ...

. When construction started the marble was to be used in blocks. However, after the

1929 Murchison earthquake The 1929 Murchison earthquake occurred at 10:17 am on 17 June. It struck the Murchison region of the South Island, with an estimated magnitude of 7.3, and was felt throughout New Zealand. There were 17 deaths, mostly as a result of landsli ...

this was deemed too risky and far too expensive. The marble was then ground down and mixed with plaster to give the unusual appearance and colour. The steps are constructed from granite. This granite was obtained from Tonga Beach, which is now part of

Abel Tasman National Park Abel Tasman National Park is a national park at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. It covers of land between Golden Bay / Mohua and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, making it the smallest of National parks of New Zealand, New Zealand's ...

. There is now a monument that overlooks Trafalgar Street and celebrates 100 years of settlement in Nelson.

Organ

The church's first

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

was constructed by T.C. Lewis in

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and shipped to Nelson in 1871. The organ was then rebuilt in 1932. After 30 years of use the organ was overhauled and now consists of 2500 pipes. The organ is spread over three manuals and pedals and has a detached electric-action console situated on a gallery opposite the pipes in the chancel.

Gallery

Christ Church Nelson 02.JPG, Christ Church Cathedral looking east. "Centre of New Zealand" visible to the left of tower. Trafalger Street and Nelson Cathedral.jpg, The cathedral acts as a

terminating vista In urban design, a terminating vista is a building or an object such as a monument that stands within view in the Sightline (architecture), sightline or at the end or the middle of a road. Function Terminating vistas are considered an importa ...

for Trafalgar Street, one of central Nelson's main retail streets.

Vicars of Christ Church Parish

*Rev Charles L. Reay 1842-1847 *Rev Henry F. Butt 1847-1857-''Note, laid the foundation stone of Christ Church Nelson.'' *Rev Henry M. Turton 1863-1864 *Rev George H. Johnstone 1864 1873 *Rev James Leighton 1874-1884-''Note, was also appointed Chaplain to the Bishop, and was a chaplain to the Nelson City Rifles in 1875.'' *Ven John P. Kempthorne 1885-1916-''Note, was appointed Archdeacon of Waimea 1916-1926 and Canon of Nelson in 1916. ''

Dean & Vicar of Nelson Cathedral

Katedrala u novozelandskom gradu Nelsonu

Katedrala u novozelandskome gradu Nelsonu

*Very Rev George E. Weeks 1916-1922 *Very Rev Charles F. Askew 1923-1933 *Very Rev Henry J. Raymer 1933-1934-''Note, 1901-1902 acting Chaplain British Imperial Forces South African War and later 1937-1941 served as Chaplain Bromley College diocese of Rochester.'' *Very Rev Percy B. Haggitt 1934-1950 *Very Rev Eric A. Gowing 1950-1956 *Very Rev William Bretton 1956-1970 *Very Rev Gavin Yates 1970-1981 *Very Rev Michael J. Hurd 1981-1993 *Very Rev Charles Tyrrell QSO 1994-2010 *(Rev Cannon Tony Andrews (Acting Dean and Priest in Charge) *Very Rev Nick Kirk 2011-2016 *(Rev Owen Haring (Priest in Charge) *Very Rev Mike Hawke 2016-2021 *Very Rev Dr Graeme O'Brien 2021-

Associate Priest's Nelson Cathedral

*Rev Allen Michel *Rev Ren Kempthorne *Rev Yvonne McLean *Rev Barry Price *Rev Simon W

Deacon Curates Nelson Cathedral

*Rev William A. Whyte 1877

References

External links

* {{Nelson, New Zealand, state=collapsed

Buildings and structures in Nelson, New Zealand Tourist attractions in the Nelson Region Terminating vistas in New Zealand 1960s architecture in New Zealand 20th-century Anglican church buildings in New Zealand 1925 establishments in New Zealand Churches completed in 1965 Modernisme architecture