Jump to content

St James' Church, Kerikeri

Coordinates: 35°13′06″S 173°57′41″E / 35.21836°S 173.961379°E / -35.21836; 173.961379
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St James' Anglican Church
St James' Anglican Church
Map
35°13′06″S 173°57′41″E / 35.21836°S 173.961379°E / -35.21836; 173.961379
Address209 Kerikeri Road, Kerikeri, North Island
CountryNew Zealand
DenominationAnglican
Websitestjameskk.org.nz
History
StatusChurch
DedicationJames the Greater of Compostela
Dedicated5 December 1878
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)Marsden Clarke
Architectural typeChurch
StyleGothic Revival
Construction costNZ£235
Specifications
MaterialsKauri weatherboard
Administration
ProvinceAnglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
DioceseAuckland
ParishSt Paul's, Whangaroa
Designated6 June 1985
Reference no.68

St James' Anglican Church is an heritage-listed Anglican church located in Kerikeri, on the North Island of New Zealand. The historic church building was built in 1878.[1]

The congregation forms part of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa in the Diocese of Auckland, currently operated as a mission of St Paul's Church, Whangaroa.

The church was listed as a Category 1 building on the Heritage New Zealand register on 6 June 1985.[2]

History

[edit]

The first chapel was started in November 1823 and opened some six months later, but this was not built on the site of the present church. The second chapel, which was started some time early in 1829, was by tradition built on the site chosen by the redoubtable Hongi Hika, then the paramount chief of the Ngāpuhi.[citation needed]

When the Mission Station was disbanded in 1848 this chapel fell into disrepair with the result that a new church was built on the same site in 1878. An extract form the Church Gazette reads: "A remarkable neat little church was opened at Kerikeri on December 5th 1878. The services were conducted by Archdeacon Clarke and the Rev H P Tua." The entire cost of the building was NZ£235: a small debt of NZ£10 was all that was owed.[citation needed]

The building was made of Kauri weather boards (boards and battens) and a shingle roof, and foundations of pūriri piles on stone blocks. William Cook and Son of Waimate North, who had built the church of St John the Baptist in 1871, were also the builders of St James.[citation needed]

Cemetery

[edit]

The cemetery of St James is the oldest cemetery still in operation in New Zealand. Several graves are dated before 1840.[3]

Dedication

[edit]

The church is dedicated to St James the Greater of Compostela. Tradition has it that after his martyrdom in AD 42, the body of St James was placed in a boat without sail or rudder which drifted onto the Spanish coast. His shrine at Compostela became a famous place of pilgrimage and still is today.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "St James Church". Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  2. ^ "St James' Church, Kerikeri". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand.
  3. ^ John, O'Hare (February 2024). Adrienne, Hannan (ed.). "Grave eras: The changing face of New Zealand cemeteries". Heritage Quarterly. No. Summer 2023/2024. Heritage New Zealand. pp. 12–13. ISSN 2324-4267.
  4. ^ "History »St James Web Site". Retrieved 19 March 2016.
[edit]