Hastings CBD Heritage Inventory Project WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH LOCATION: Photo: P. Huddleston, 2015 Street and Number: 100 Hastings Street South Location Information: Corner of Heretaunga Street East and Hastings Street South. City/ Town: Hastings Region: Hawke s Bay LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Legal Description: Lot 1 Deposited Plan 17316 Certificate of Title (including Registry): HB K1/27, Hawke s Bay Registry Page 1
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANCE: Architectural Value: The Wesley Methodist Church is an excellent example of the Spanish Mission style, a popular one during the post-earthquake rebuilding of the city during the 1930s. It is an assured design, innovative for its time, and it has some national interest as a major ecclesiastical building in this style. It has also stood the test of time - in 75 years of use. The building has seen relatively little change. It is perhaps the best known collaborative design of an important firm of local architects, Davies Garnett and Philips, who were responsible for the design of a number of new buildings following the Hawke s Bay earthquake. The carefully designed building makes a dignified contribution to the streetscape. Set well back from the Heretaunga Street frontage, its position and its prominent square tower in the centre of the front (north) elevation, make it highly visible from surrounding streets and footpaths. It has become a landmark on the eastern edge of the CBD, and is part of a group of important civic buildings in the Spanish Mission style that includes the Opera House and Municipal Chambers. The concentration of buildings of aesthetic value along Hastings Street makes this group an outstanding one in the city, especially in views from the north. Cultural Value: As a place of worship since its construction this church has considerable cultural importance for local Methodists. The central role of this church in Hastings Methodism is exemplified by the speed with which the building was erected following the Hawke s Bay earthquake in 1931. It remains a place of pride and spiritual importance to the Methodist community. The present church has been used for literally thousands of services of all kinds, including funerals, naming ceremonies and commemorations, along with the usual Sunday services. It is the pre-eminent Methodist church in Hastings and has been used for religious purposes by generations of the city's Methodists. The building's uses regularly change too and today it is a building of much importance to Samoan Methodists, who make up a considerable part of the church membership. The building's distinctive form and siting near the Municipal Chambers and Municipal Theatre give it high public prominence and recognition. It is part of what is arguably the most important stretch of streetscape on Hastings Street. Historic Value: Wesley Methodist Church was built in 1932 and occupies a site associated with local Methodism since 1878. It is one of Hastings' most important church buildings and a significant historic building in its own right. Generations of Hastings' citizens have worshipped there. It is the main Methodist Church in Hastings and has been the centre of the city's Methodist life, which has encompassed social and recreational activities, as well as the spiritual. The church has also been the source of support for nearby Methodist communities and churches over its life. Technological Value: Page 2
HISTORY: There is some technological value in the in-situ concrete construction of the building, and in secondary elements such as roofing and flooring. The fact that the building has remained in authentic form from 1932 means that it is a very good exemplar of the materials and building technology of the time; it is also important technically for its structural design in concrete in the immediate post-earthquake period, yet before the introduction of a national code for structural design in 1935. The present Wesley Methodist Church and Methodism in Hastings have their origins in the gatherings of early adherents. From 1877, the first Methodist families received monthly visits from the United Methodist Free Church of Napier. The first visiting minister was the Rev. J. Berry. In 1878, the Rev. W.C. Oliver, also based in Napier, purchased a quarter acre section on Hastings Street opposite the municipal buildings. Two years later he purchased the adjoining section, for a total cost of 45. 1 The land later, reputedly, the site of Hastings' first rugby match in 1890 2 was bounded by streets on three sides, Hastings, Heretaunga and Eastbourne Streets (east). After the appointment of a resident minister, Rev. J.J. Lewis of Napier in 1883, planning for a church began. A year later a timber church was erected, with a capacity of 180. The growing town brought many new members and by 1894 it was necessary to expand the building. In 1896 Hastings was designated a separate Methodist circuit and services were held in outlying settlements, such as Havelock North, Omahu, Stortford Lodge and Pakipaki. In 1906, funds were raised to build a hall alongside the church. In the following years, the church's accommodation again became an issue and in 1910 the parish decided to build a new church. By this time there were 127 church members, up from 98 in 1898. 3 Architect Albert Garnett (1878-1956) won a competition for a Gothic Revival design. The building was constructed by Thomas Styles at a cost of 3499. 4 The foundation stone was laid by the Mayor James Garnett, a church trustee and Albert Garnett's father. The church was dedicated on 27 September 1912. 5 1 R.B. Gosnell. Wesley Methodist Church, Fifty Years of Daily Witness, Jubilee Souvenir, Hastings, 1934. 2 Swamp to Centenary: a history of Hastings, New Zealand, Hastings: Heretaunga Intermediate School, 1961, p.82. The sequence of construction and rugby is not made clear in accounts of this event. If the rugby match took place in 1890, the second and third incarnations of the church had to be on a different site from the first. 3 Hundred Years of Methodism in Hastings 1879-1979, Hastings: Hastings Methodist Centennial Committee, 1980, p.6 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. Page 3
In 1915, a Lebanese cedar tree was planted on the front portion of the site by Samuel Goulton, a lay preacher. 6 It was understood to have been brought back as a seed by World War I soldiers. 7 It dominated the main elevation of the church until its removal in 2006 as part of an upgrade of the park in front of the church. Several of the tree branches were also rotten making the removal of the tree more of a necessity. The new church was built of brick, rendered to resemble stone, but at one stage the church was to be built of timber after a sharp earthquake in 1911 forced a rethink of the principal material. 8 In the end the church decided to go with brick, with disastrous consequences 20 years later. The 1931 Hawke s Bay earthquake, which struck on 3 February, destroyed most of the building. 9 The parish marshalled its resources and with the help of the parent church was able to rebuild within 12 months. Services were held in the old hall while the new church was being erected. Designed by Davies, Garnett and Phillips and built by A. Bryan, 10 the church's Spanish Mission design helped establish the dominance of that style in Hastings' post-earthquake built environment. The church is usually attributed to Harold Davies and Eric Phillips, who were engaged in a lot of post-earthquake work at the time. However, all three names are on the plans for the building. Davies, Garnett and Phillips were each successful architects in their own right before joining up together to help with the huge task of rebuilding the town centre. In 1953, the South Centre was added to the mix of buildings on the site, including a youth hall. In 1973, the old hall (former church) was moved to Havelock North. Two years later, extensive renovations were made to the church interior, with the removal of the choir and pulpit, the provision of new choir seating and the building of a lounge at the rear of the church. 11 In more recent years the church has changed considerably. The loss of members of the more established congregation has been off-set by the influx of Samoan immigrants, who hold their own Sunday service separate from the traditional service. The Samoan choir has become a well known part of the church. However, the church remains administered by a single council. In 2006 it was announced that the church and Hastings District Council would jointly redevelop the small park in the front of the church as part of an extensive upgrading of Hastings Street. As part of that work, the Lebanese cedar in front of the church was removed. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Architect: Davis, Garnett and Phillips (Harold Davies, Arnold Garnett, Eric Phillips) Date of construction: 1932 Construction details: In-situ reinforced concrete structure. 6 Hawke s Bay Today, 2 October 2006 - www.hbtoday.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=localnews&storyid=3703610 7 Ibid. 8 Hundred Years of Methodism in Hastings 1879-1979, p.6 9 M.B. Boyd, City of the Plains: A History of Hastings, Wellington: Victoria University Press for Hastings District Council, Hastings, 1984, p.148 10 Hastings District Council building files 11 www.methodist.org.nz/index.cfm/touchstone/june_2006/wesley_hastings.html Page 4
Description: The Wesley Methodist Church occupies a prominent site, on the busy corner of Heretaunga Street East and Hastings Street, and opposite the Opera House, and it plays an important role in the townscape. Being set well back from the Heretaunga Street frontage, there is an open space in front of the church which allows it to be well seen from surrounding streets and footpaths. The building has a complex form, built around the rectangular plan shape of the nave. A prominent square tower in the centre of the front (north) elevation, standing forward of the nave, is the visual focus of the building. The north elevation of the tower (facing Heretaunga Street) has a very high window, reaching to two thirds of its height; the corners of the tower are facetted near the top and the neatly hipped and tiled roof has neither eaves nor gutters. A cross at the peak of the roof proclaims the purpose of the building. There are symmetrical porches on either side of the tower, with flat roofs hidden behind parapets. The nave roof is pitched, and is set behind a parapet too. The west elevation, at the southern end, has another flat-roofed section (matching the porches in height) containing vestry and associated rooms with their own entrance door from Hastings Street. Most of the corners of the building have attached columns (or shallow buttresses) which provide articulation to otherwise plain and smooth wall surfaces. One of these columns, on the west elevation, has foundation stones for both the church destroyed by the earthquake (laid on 7 February 1912) and the present church (30 April 1932). The Spanish Mission style is seen most confidently in the tower, and especially in the clay (Cordova) roof tiles; in the semi-circular openings of the windows to the porches and nave, and in the plain wall surfaces with decorative detail of slightly recessed panels. A frieze of these inset panels runs along the parapets of the porches and nave. ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE: Element General form of the church In-situ concrete Clay (Cordova) tiles Decorative elements Significance Aesthetic, architectural Technical Technical Aesthetic MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Boyd. M.B., City of the Plains A history of Hastings, Wellington: VUW Press for Hastings District Council, 1989. Gosnell R.B., Wesley Methodist Church, Fifty Years of Daily Witness, Jubilee Souvenir, Hastings, 1934. Hastings District Council building files Hawke s Bay Today, 2 October 2006 Hundred Years of Methodism in Hastings 1879-1979, Hastings: Hastings Methodist Centennial Committee, 1980. New Zealand Historic Places Trust file no 12004-489 Page 5
Swamp to Centenary: a history of Hastings, New Zealand, Hastings: Heretaunga Intermediate School, 1961. www.methodist.org.nz/index.cfm/touchstone/june_2006/wesley_hastings.html OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION: NZHPT Registration Number: Prior to an audit of the Register in 2004, the NZHPT understood that Wesley Methodist Church was classified D under section 35(1) c of the Historic Places Act 1980 by the NZHPT Board at a meeting held on 7 April 1983. The place was given Register Number: 1097. The transitional provisions of section 114 of the Historic Places Act 1993 deemed that all buildings classified C or D under the 1980 Act become Category II historic places. The place was therefore thought to be a Category II historic place. The audit of the Register indicated that there is no confirmation of registration in the NZHPT Board Minutes for this registration. The registration is therefore invalid. 12 District Plan Listing: Listed as a Category II historic place in the Operative Hastings District Plan (Plan declared operative 10 th June 2003) New Zealand Historic Places Act 1993: This site has been identified as a potential archaeological site under Section 2 of the New Zealand Historic Places Act 1993. 12 As at November 2007 the Central Region of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust is in the process of remedying these deficiencies. Please contact NZHPT for further information. Page 6
ARCHIVE PLAN(S): New Wesleyan Church, 1912, (TRIM Ref: 22232#015) Page 7
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ADDITIONAL PHOTO Second plaque Photo: P. Huddleston, 2015 Page 10