All Saints' Church, Dunedin

All Saints' has been the Anglican parish church of Dunedin North since 1865. The Dunedin North parish includes the northern part of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand and is made up of the former parish of All Saints' and the former parish of St. Martin's North East Valley. It is part of the Diocese of Dunedin. The parish boundaries include North East Valley, Pine Hill, North Dunedin, Ravensbourne and Leith Valley. The parish community is lively, inclusive, multi-generational and Anglo-Catholic. The building is the oldest church still used as a place of worship in Dunedin. All Saints' Church is the chapel of Selwyn College, Otago. The College was built around the church and the college and parish have a close relationship. Selwyn College was built as an Anglican theological college in 1893, from the beginning it also housed non-theological students from the university. All Saints' is the closest church to the campuses of the University of Otago and the Otago Polytechnic.

All Saints' Church, Dunedin
All Saints' Church
General information
TypeChurch
Architectural styleGothic
Address786 Cumberland Street, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand
Coordinates45.8623°S 170.5141°E / -45.8623; 170.5141
Design and construction
ArchitectWilliam Henry Clayton[1] and William Mason
Designated27-July–1988
Reference no.2136

Architecture

The nave of the church was designed by William H. Clayton and built in 1865; the transepts and chancel, designed by William Mason were added in 1873. All Saints is an example of gothic revival architecture. A notable architectural feature is the polychrome brickwork. The bricks came from the brickworks in Filleul Street, Dunedin. Also used in the building is Oamaru stone, an early use of the stone in Dunedin. In 1969, All Saints undertook a restoration project, in which the foundations, hardwood floor, and slate roof were replaced. At this time a nave altar was installed with altar rails designed by Ted McCoy. A restoration project is currently underway.

The building has a Category I listing with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.[2]

Art

Notable art works in the church include a large rood hanging above the sanctuary carved by leading sculptor Frederick George Gurnsey (1868–1953) who also carved the aumbry door and the pulpit. A small Christus Rex by the eminent New Zealand sculptor Ria Bancroft is above the pulpit. "By the end of the 1980s, with advancing age, Ria continued to work in spite of very fragile health. She felt she could accept one more important commission which was offered to her by All Saints Church in Dunedin. This commission was to make a memorial cross which depicted Christ in majesty. This Christus Rex was a fitting conclusion to Ria's work in public sculpture. Following its completion in 1990 she continued to be offered commissions, but poor health made it impossible to accept.".[3] In 2017 a set of ceramic sculptures of the Scriptural Way of the Cross by Whanganui sculptor Kirk Nicholls was installed. In 2019 an appeal was launched to install a stained glass window in memory of the Ross Sea Party and in honour of Rev. Arnold Spencer-Smith.[4]

History

All Saints' parish was organised before the Diocese of Dunedin was formed in 1869; for the first few years of the parish it was part of the Diocese of Christchurch. The land was given by James Allen Senior, father of James Allen and the foundation stone laid on 11 February 1865 by Henry Harper 1st Bishop of Christchurch. The church was built rapidly (admittedly only the nave and narthex) and opened on 23 July 1865. The church was consecrated on 21 April 1869.[5] At the 1886 Annual General Meeting the parish discussed an offer from the Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill 'to take over the Parish Church for the purpose of making it the Cathedral of the Diocese, and to facilitate the legal transfer by contributing 2,000 pounds towards liquidating the debt on the property, at that time 2,600 pounds.' The AGM agreed to the bishop's offer however the project failed, 'the General Synod hesitating on legal grounds to sanction the transfer of the property.'[6][7] All Saints' features in the 1936 book 'A Poor Scholar: A Tale of Progress' written by curate Rev. C.R. Allen, son of Sir James Allen. C.R. Allen mentions All Saints several times including: “In the midst of this eastern boundary (of the North Ground), stood the parish church of All Saints’… it was a red brick cruciform structure. The “Cally” served it as a Close…to heighten the ecclesiastical atmosphere, the red brick tower of a clergy school was visible from behind the church door, while an attendant vicarage and schoolroom stood to the right.” "On Sundays one was prepared for (All Saints') bell by the feel of clean underclothes and the hush in Great King Street." [8] James K. Baxter mentions All Saints in 'Walking up Castle Street', 1956. "Then the bell of All Saints swung slowly in its steeple. Requiescant. Requiescant in pace.' it tolled. Faces and voices died. The ordinary sun stood over me in a blue sky of crumbled quartz. It was very pleasant to be a fat man of thirty walking down Cumberland Street in the sun."

Vicars

1. Rev. E.H. Granger 1865–1872

2. Rev. R.L. Stanford 1872–1879[9]

3. Very Rev Alfred R. Fitchett Alfred Fitchett 1879–1928 (Dean of Dunedin 1894–1929)

4. Fr. William Hardy-Johnson 1928–1935 (Rector of Rosslyn Chapel 1923–1928)

5. Ven. L.G. Whitehead 1935–1948 Algy Whitehead also Warden of Selwyn College

6. Fr. Charles Harrison 1948–1964[10]

7. Rev. Canon Arthur Philip Atkinson Gaze 1964–1980 (Cousin of Arnold Spencer-Smith)

8. Rev. Dr. John Irwin 1980–1983

9. Fr. David Best 1983–1997

10. Rev. Canon Erice Fairbrother 1999–2002

11. Fr. Tim Hurd 2002–2009

12. Rev. Canon Michael Wallace 2010–

Notable Parishioners

One of the founders of the parish Alois Duffus Lubecki (d.1926)[11] was a Polish Prince, son of Prince Alois Konstanty Drucki-Lubecki (1814-1864).[12][13] Alois Duffus Lubecki was a member of Diocesan Synod, Diocesan Standing Committee and the Diocesan Trust Board.[14] He endowed scholarships at the University of Otago[15] and the University of Auckland[16]

Newspaper editor and proprietor George Bell (editor) (1809-1899)[17] served as churchwarden.

Politician James Allen served as churchwarden.

William Larnach of Larnach Castle

Dr. Richardson (after whom the Richardson building at the University Of Otago is named)

Artists Frances Hodgkins and William Matthew Hodgkins

William Gregg of Greggs Coffee and Spice Company

Lawyer Alfred Hanlon

Architect Basil Bramston Hooper served on the Vestry

Prof. Ferdinand Batchelor, lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. [18]

The ancestors of actor Sam Neill

Choie Sew Hoy and Eliza Prescott who lived in a house known as Canton Villa at 798 Cumberland St (the site to the north of the vicarage is now owned by the parish). [19]

Worship

Worship at All Saints' is in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. The teaching is inclusive and orthodox and draws richly from the Christian tradition. Eucharistic liturgies are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Sunday 8 am) and A New Zealand Prayer Book/He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa (all other eucharists). Incense and bells are used for High Mass. Major Feasts which fall on a weekday are celebrated on the day with a 6.30 pm High Mass. Each month there is a Family Mass. The normal weekly schedule is as follows:

  • Sunday
    • Mass from the Book of Common Prayer at 8 am (except January)
    • High Mass from A New Zealand Prayer Book at 10.30 am, Sunday School during the Liturgy of the Word (on the First Sunday of the month there is Family Mass, with an emphasis on children's participation and leadership)
    • Sundaynight@AllSaints, a contemplative worship service, inspired by Taizé at 8 pm. On High and Holy Days there is Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at this service. (no Taizé services in January)

Music

The first organ at All Saints was donated by the first vicar in 1871: "(Mr Granger) has to act as organist- or rather harmonium player- and later he presented the Church with an organ."[20] Mr. Granger left All Saints in 1872. This organ went to Holy Trinity Church, Lawrence, New Zealand in 1874. The second All Saints' organ (1874-1905), has a label on the back: 'John B. West, Organ Builder, Dunedin, New Zealand’, however, it appears that this label has been pasted over the position occupied by a former label and it may be a Halmshaw & Sons organ.[21] This organ was re-located to the original wooden 1863 St Peter’s Church in Queenstown, New Zealand in 1906.[22] The third and current organ was built by Bevington & Sons, a London firm founded in 1794. Two of the most notable Bevington organs are in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin and St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. Bevington organs won medals at exhibitions in Paris (1855 and 1867) and London (1862), and are held in high regard for the quality of their construction and voicing. The firm was absorbed into Hill, Norman and Beard in 1944. All Saints' Bevington organ was built in 1877 for St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Christchurch. In 1905 the organ was transferred to All Saints. It was restored in 1969 by the South Island Organ Company. The two manuals have tracker action, and the pedals have tubular pneumatic action. In recent years a Bourdon pedal stop has been added.

All Saints' has two choirs. The choir of students from Selwyn College, Otago including Choral Scholars sings for most Sundays and feast days, also at Selwyn College Services. The parish choir sings monthly at the 10:30 am High Mass and at other occasions. The parish is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music

Concerts are hosted regularly.

Groups
  • Children

The Baby and toddler group meets each Wednesday from 9.30–11 in the Front Hall. During the Sunday 10.30 Mass children participate in the first part of the liturgy, they then go the hall for their own programme focussing on the Gospel of the day. They return to the church to receive Holy Communion with their families. Once a month there is a Family Mass with an emphasis on children's participation throughout the Mass. Each Tuesday in term time at 4.00 pm the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (which uses a Montessori approach to religious education) is offered for children aged 3–12.

  • Students

The congregation for our Sunday 8 pm liturgy Sundaynight@allsaints is mostly students, non-students are also welcome. All Saints' has a long association with the Student Christian Movement and encourages students to be part of SCM.

  • Women

The All Saints' branch of the Association of Anglican Women (successor organisation to the Mothers' Union) meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 11.30 am. An evening AAW group meets on the third Monday at 6.30 pm.

  • Altar Servers

All Saints' has an active branch of the Guild of the Servants of the Sanctuary. The guild trains altar servers. The Guild's annual festival takes place on Corpus Christi (feast).

  • Fruit & Veges

In 2015 the parish launched All Saints' Fruit & Veges, vegetable box scheme to offer the community good quality, low price fruit and veges. In 2017 there were eight distribution centres around Dunedin, more than 1,000 people belonged to the scheme and around 240 packs were distributed each week.[23]

All Saints' Hall

All Saints' Hall was built as the Cumberland St Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. It is constructed from timber from the Bell Hill Methodist Church (1862-8) designed by George Greenfield. During a gale in 1862 the Bell Hill church was badly twisted and deemed unsafe until the addition of a transept designed by William Mason permitted its reuse in February 1863. Its poor design and inconvenient position prompted its early demolition.[24][25] From the sale of the Bell Hill property in 1868 £150 was set aside for the building of a new church. A weatherboard schoolhouse able to accommodate 150 worshippers was built on a quarter acre of freehold next to All Saints given by James Allen. Edward U’Ren, a Cornish Methodist, and a builder, had purchased the Bell Hill building materials, and it may be assumed he was the builder of the Cumberland St hall. The hall was erected in 1869, but the Wesleyan Methodist congregation didn't last very long - until about 1872.[26]

The hall has windows designed by prominent Dunedin architect Basil Hooper, Hooper was an All Saints' parishioner; he also designed the brick fence in front of the hall and church. The University of Otago creche was established in the hall in 1968.[27] Araiteuru Maori club (with Muru Walters as leader) used the hall before Araiteuru Marae was built.

The hall is used for parish activities, for All Saints' Fruit & Veges and by Cornerstone Congregation, Japanese Christian Fellowship, Alcoholics Anonymous, Amnesty International, the Girl Guides, a Coeliac group, the Student Christian Movement and for piano, singing and violin lessons. To hire the hall please contact the parish administrator.

Social Housing

In the 1960s All Saints' Parish purchased land beside the vicarage and built four single-bedroom units to house elderly people. In 2019 the parish entered an agreement with the Salvation Army to lease the units for those in need of temporary housing. In 2020 Dunedin North Parish demolished St. Martin's Hall in North East Valley[28] and in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity build units for social housing.[29]

References
  1. Dictionary of New Zealand biography article on William Henry Clayton. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  2. "All Saints' Church (Anglican)". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  4. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/window-commemorate-spencer-smith
  5. John H. Evans Southern See, Diocese of Dunedin, 1968, p 52.
  6. All Saints Jubilee Record, 1915.
  7. ANGLICAN GENERAL SYNOD. In tho Anglican Synod on Monday... The tenth Synod finished sitting soon after midnight. The Sessional Committee on Trusts recommended as follows re All Saints', Dunedin : " This Synod is not able to authorise the transfer of land applied for by the parishioners of All Saints', Dunedin." The Bishop of Dunedin proposed the following addition to the motion: "But they are of opinion that if the parishioners and Diocesan Synod wish to use the existing building for the purposes of a cathedral, the terms of the trust deed offer no objection in law to their doing so." The Primate said that when Bishop Nevill was appointed Bishop of Dunedin an omission was probably made in not naming a particular church as his cathedral it lie thought that the recommendation in this matter should come from the Diocesan Synod and lie sanctioned by the General Synod. The Bishop of Wellington and others strongly opposed this proposed addition to the motion by the Bishop of Dunedin. Archdeacon Williams maintained that the matter ought not to have been brought before the Synod. The Standing Committee was the proper tribunal. After considerable discussion the Bishop of Dunedin's amendment was negatived, and the recommendation of the Committee was adopted.
  8. A poor scholar by C.R. Allen, published in 1936, is another novel about a working class boy who gains a Rhodes Scholarship. It charts the progress of the hero, Ponto, from his kindergarten days to Oxford, with a couple of brief chapters devoted to his time at the University of Otago: lectures, football, capping and dances all feature. The novel is set in the 1900s and 1910s, and brilliantly evokes the streets and landscapes of north Dunedin prior to World War I. Though Allen had been blind since the 1910s, he knew this environment well: he lived with his family at Arana – later to become a university residential college – and studied for the Anglican priesthood at Selwyn College. Unsurprisingly, All Saints Church also looms large in the book. https://otago150years.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/otago-in-fiction/
  9. Littell's Living Age/Volume 134/Issue 1729/A New Zealand Divine on Early Closing
  10. James K. Baxter wrote: Father Harrison, (is) a man of great charm and integrity as I well know- but I would not like to see him in action in a theocratic State." Letter to Bill Oliver 20 May 1957
  11. https://otagosettlers.org.nz/dmsdocument/56
  12. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/gravestone-polish-prince-restored-and-consecrated
  13. pl:Druccy-Lubeccy
  14. http://www.duffus.com/prince_lubecki.htm
  15. https://www.otago.ac.nz/study/scholarships/database/otago020606.html
  16. https://scholarshipdb.net/scholarships-in-New-Zealand/Duffus-Lubecki-Scholarship-The-University-Of-Auckland-The-University-Of-Auckland=kwdyl4sX6RGUVQAlkGUTnw.html
  17. https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2b17/bell-george
  18. https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/batchelor-ferdinand-campion
  19. https://sewhoyreunion.weebly.com/stop-one-choie-sew-hoy--elizas-house.html
  20. John H.Evans, Southern See, Diocese of Dunedin, 1968, p52.
  21. https://nzopt.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/gazetteer/GazSI-270807-R9.pdf
  22. http://www.stpeters.co.nz/music/organ/
  23. http://fruitvege.allsaintsdn.org.nz/
  24. A City Rises exhibition, Heritage New Zealand, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, 2015
  25. 'The (Bell Hill Methodist) church was opened on July 14, 1862, the Rev. D. M. Stuart preaching in the morning, Dr Burns in the afternoon, and Mr Harding at night. The congregations were very large, and the collections totalled £61 7s 2d. The "Colonist" in describing the church (July 16, 1862) said: "The Wesleyan chapel is a building of that peculiar neatness of design which would have filled the hearts of the Pilgrim Fathers with delight. It is of a quasiGothic order, with all the elegance of the Renaissance style without its florid ornament. The interior is in keeping with the exterior, affording a nave with two aisles, crowned with a chancel containing the reading desk. It is lighted with lamps affixed to the arches of the aisles. The windows are disposed in form and position to a subdued but mellow light." A transept was later added for support. Within three months the church was wrecked. The structure was quite unequal to carrying a high slate roof in a very windy situation. Even in moderate winds it creaked, and the lamps swung and broke their glasses. A very fierce and destructive gale in the first week of October put the church out of plumb and broke its back, and again services reverted to the courthouse.'The Story of the First Methodist Church in Dunedin, A.R. Brown, Wesley Historical Society (NZ) Publication No. 17(1-3) Page 7
  26. Rev. Donald Phillipps, Methodist historian, Dunedin April 2019
  27. https://www.otago.ac.nz/childcare/about/history/index.html
  28. Built as a Primitive Methodist Church in 1904, it became a lodge of the Manchester Unity Oddfellows, until it was bought by the church in 1924
  29. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/hall-may-fall-social-housing
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