The Selwyn churches were a group of 19th-century Anglican churches and chapels in the

Auckland region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...

, New Zealand, named after

Bishop Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was metropolitan bishop ...

, who inspired their construction. The majority were built in wood in the

neo-gothic style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an 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 of the 19th century ...

, and many were designed by the architect

Frederick Thatcher The Reverend Frederick Thatcher (1814 – 19 October 1890) was an English and New Zealand architect and clergyman. He was born at Hastings to a long-established Sussex family. He practised as an architect in London from 1835 and was one of th ...

. Two Selwyn churches, St Bride's Church in Mauku and the Holy Trinity in Otahuhu were designed by Arthur Guyon Purchas, an associate of the Bishop Selwyn. Most Selwyn churches were constructed from local timber, mainly

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

and totara. Earlier churches were simple with a rectangular

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, and a smaller

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

; larger churches containing a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

and smaller ones having a

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

; internal walls were stained and varnished; Tudor style

oriel windows An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an ...

were used in some. Examples of these include:

All Saints Church, Howick All Saints’ Church is a historic Tudor revival Anglican church located in Howick, Auckland, New Zealand. Constructed in 1847 to a designed from Frederick Thatcher and located on a site picked by Bishop George Augustus Selwyn, it is one of the ...

, St Peter's Anglican Church, Onehunga, and St Matthias' Church, Panmure. In 1930 two architecture students recorded and surveyed some of the more well-known Selwyn churches. Selwyn churches in the Auckland region: * St Stephen's, Judges Bay (1844) – first St Stephen's chapel * St Andrew's, Epsom (1846–67) * St Thomas's, Tamaki (1847) * St John's Chapel, Meadowbank * All Saints, Howick (1847) * St Mark's, Remuera (1847–60) * St Peter's, Onehunga (1848) * St Barnabas,

Mt Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave ...

(1848) * St Barnabas, Parnell (1848) * St James' Church, Okahu (1850) * St Matthias', Panmure (1852) * Old St Mary's, Parnell (1855–58) – replaced by St Mary's Cathedral *

St Stephen's Chapel St Stephen's Chapel, sometimes called the Royal Chapel of St Stephen, was a chapel completed around 1297 in the old Palace of Westminster. After the death of Henry VIII until 1834, the building served as the chamber of the House of Commons of E ...

, Judges Bay (1857) * St James', Māngere Bridge (1857) – the only stone church * St John the Baptist, Northcote (1860) * St Bride's, Mauku (1860–61) * All Souls', Clevedon (1861) * Christ Church, Papakura (1862) * St John's, Drury (1862) * Holy Trinity, Otahuhu (1863) – moved in 1928 to become Selwyn Church, Mangere East * St Sepulchre's, Eden Valley (1865–91) * St Peter's in the Forest, Bombay (1867)

References

{{Reflist Churches in Auckland Frederick Thatcher buildings Anglican churches in New Zealand *