Cathedral Square, Christchurch

Cathedral Square in Christchurch, with ChristChurch Cathedral in the background

A view of Cathedral Square from the ChristChurch Cathedral

Damage from the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake on the square

Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located. The square stands at the theoretical crossing of the city's two main orthogonal streets, Colombo Street and Worcester Street, though in practice both have been either blocked off or detoured around the square itself. The Cathedral has been badly damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

Naming

The square was originally intended to be called Ridley Square, after the Protestant martyr Nicholas Ridley, but in Edward Jollie's 1850 plan of central Christchurch it is clearly marked Cathedral Square. Ridley's co-martyrs and colleague bishops, Cranmer and Latimer have Squares named after them, not far distant from Cathedral Square.

History

In 1851 the Canterbury Association kept aside an area of the Square for the planned Christ Church Cathedral and also for a school. This land came under the control of the Church Property Trustees in 1855, and in 1857 the site planned for a grammar school (Christ's College) was exchanged for its present site in the Botanic Gardens. The original choice of Ridley is another of Christchurch's many references to Oxford, since Ridley was martyred there.

There was initially little development. In 1862 the block on the eastern side of the Square was kept for the cathedral, and the rest of the land was taken over by the Provincial Government. Work started on the cathedral with the laying of a foundation stone in 1864.

A statue to John Robert Godley, the city's founder, was unveiled on 6 August 1867 on a pedestal opposite the cathedral. It was the first public statue in New Zealand. The city's central post office was located alongside the square in 1879.

Over the years Cathedral Square has been redesigned on several occasions. Two significant changes took place when the road in front of the cathedral was closed in 1965, and the road in front of the Post Office closed in 1972. In the late 1990s / early 2000s, the Square underwent a significant reconstruction using new tiling. This was an often criticised project, for example for the amount of glare that the tiles gave off in dry weather conditions, or the tiles being slippery when wet.

Although always called a "square", its shape is that of a cruciform.

Registered heritage places

The Sevicke Jones Building collapsed in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

Cathedral Square has a large number of buildings and statues that are registered as heritage items with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Many of those were damaged in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake and some of these will be lost as a consequence.

Category I places

• ChristChurch Cathedral is arguably the most important heritage building. Its register number is 46 and it was registered on 7 April 1983.
• The Press Building was registered on 2 April 1984, with its register number 302. It was significantly damaged in the February 2011 earthquake and was demolished in July 2011.
• The former Chief Post Office was also registered on 2 April 1984, with its register number 291.
• The Old Government Building was registered on 5 April 1984, with its register number 301.
• The Citizens' War Memorial was registered on 6 September 1984, with its register number 3693.
• The Godley Statue was registered on 2 April 1985, with its register number 3666. The statue fell off its plinth in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and time capsules discovered inside the plinth.
• The Regent Theatre was registered on 30 August 1990, with its register number 1918.
• The Lyttelton Times Building was registered on 16 December 1994, with its register number 7216. It was demolished in 2011.

Category II places

• The Sevicke Jones Building was registered on 28 April 1995, with its register number 7226. The building collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake.
• Warner's Hotel was registered on 24 April 1997, with its register number 7384. It is understood that the historic part of the hotel will be demolished.

Transport function

The Chalice alongside the cathedral

When steam trams began operating in the city in 1880, they left from the Square. Later, when buses replaced trams in 1954, the Square was used as the main point of departure. Trams returned in 1995, with the introduction of a tourist tram ride around the central city. Most buses left the Square when the Bus Exchange in Lichfield Street opened in November 2000. Since then, the public transport use of the Square was by the airport bus, taxis and shuttles. Since the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the core of the central city has been closed to the public. The first part of the central city, Cashel Street between Colombo Street and Oxford Terrace, is planned to be open again on 29 October 2011. Other areas, including Cathedral Square, will follow later.

For many years, the square was a busy road intersection. In 1962, the road in front of the Cathedral was closed. In 1972 it was redeveloped to provide large pedestrian areas, and the south-west quadrant was closed to traffic.

Current function

Chess in Cathedral Square

The square is the city's main meeting place for people taking a break from their work, or just visiting the city, and is a regular site of street performers and speakers of all varieties. Until recent years, the most well-known of these was The Wizard of New Zealand.

Since the year 2000, The Chalice, a large piece of modern sculpture in the form of an inverted cone, has stood in the square subverting the shape of the spire that rises above the cathedral. The Chalice, designed by prominent New Zealand artist Neil Dawson, is made up of forty-two leaf patterns featuring different native plants. The Square and the area surrounding it is currently closed to the public, as mentioned above.

See also

• Aotea Square, Auckland
• Civic Square, Wellington
• The Octagon, Dunedin

External links

• Christchurch City Library article