St Saviour's Chapel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Saviour's Chapel |
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| St Saviour's at Holy Trinity | |
St Saviour's Chapel at its Cathedral Grammar School site
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| 43°36′07″S 172°43′18″E / 43.601833°S 172.721559°E | |
| Location | Lyttelton |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | http://lytteltonanglican.wixsite.com/ |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 29 October 1885 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Category II |
| Designated | 24 June 2005 |
| Architect(s) | Cyril Mountfort |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Christchurch |
St Saviour's at Holy Trinity is an Anglican church located in Lyttelton, Christchurch, New Zealand. This special church has moved around a bit! St Saviour's Chapel was first moved from West Lyttelton to Cathedral Grammar School in Christchurch during the 1970s. Later, after some big earthquakes and the old Holy Trinity Church was taken down, St Saviour's was brought back to Lyttelton in 2013. It now stands on the same spot where Holy Trinity Church used to be.
Contents
The Story of St Saviour's Chapel
The story of St Saviour's Chapel began with a man named Benjamin Woolley Dudley. He was the first vicar, or priest, in Lyttelton. He arrived in 1850. In 1883, he suggested that Lyttelton should have another church. This new church would serve the people in West Lyttelton and sailors visiting the port.
Dudley even helped pay for the new church to be built and for a minister to lead it. The area of West Lyttelton then got its own church community in 1885.
Building the Chapel
Cyril Mountfort was chosen to design the new chapel. He designed it in a style called Early English Gothic Revival. This style looks like old churches from England. The chapel was built mostly from wood. It had a very steep roof and tall, narrow windows.
During construction, parts of the building were brought to the site. They were then bolted together to form the chapel. St Saviour's was officially opened on 29 October 1885. It was thought that the church might need to be bigger later, but it never was.
Famous Visitors
A very famous explorer, Robert Falcon Scott, visited this church. He and his team prayed here before their trips to the South Pole. Sadly, Scott and his team did not survive their second journey back from the South Pole.
Moving to a New Home
In 1964, all the churches in Lyttelton became one big group. St Saviour's became less important than the main church, Holy Trinity Church. So, in 1975, the people decided to give St Saviour's Chapel to the Christchurch Diocese.
The Diocese then decided to give the chapel to Cathedral Grammar School. The chapel was carefully taken apart into sections. Trucks moved it to a new spot in Christchurch Central City. It was put back together at the school in early 1976. The original altar from St Saviour's was even sent to Antarctica! It is now in the Chapel of the Snows at McMurdo Station.
Returning to Lyttelton
In February 2011, a big earthquake hit Christchurch. St Saviour's Chapel only had a little damage. However, the ground it was on was damaged. This meant the chapel had to be moved again.
The headmaster of Cathedral Grammar School offered the chapel back to the Christchurch Diocese. The Bishop, Victoria Matthews, decided that Lyttelton should get the chapel back. It would replace the Holy Trinity Church, which had been too damaged by the earthquakes and had to be taken down. The Christchurch City Council even gave money to help move the chapel.
The new foundation for the church in Lyttelton was started on 18 August 2013. In September 2013, the St Saviour's building was cut into ten pieces. It was then moved back to Lyttelton. The church was renamed St Saviour's at Holy Trinity. It was officially opened on 7 June 2015.
This is the third church building on this site since 1850. The main part of the building is still St Saviour's. However, it was turned around when it was rebuilt. The front of the old church is now the back!
Parts of the old Holy Trinity Church were also saved and used in the new St Saviour's. This includes the porch and other special features. A beautiful stained glass window, designed by William Butterfield, was also saved. The organ from the old Holy Trinity Church was fixed up and is now used in the new church.
Heritage Status
The church is a very important historical building. It was officially recognized by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 24 June 2005. It was first listed as a Category II heritage building. This means it is a place of historical or cultural importance. On 1 May 2017, its status was upgraded to Category I, meaning it is of special or outstanding historical or cultural importance.
