Memorial to Frederick Thatcher in Lichfield Cathedral

The Reverend Frederick Thatcher (1814 – 19 October 1890) was an English and New Zealand architect and clergyman. He was born at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...

to a long-established Sussex family. He practised as an architect in London from 1835 and was one of the earliest associates of the

Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

, being admitted in 1836. He designed the workhouse in

Battle, East Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. ...

in 1840. With his dead wife's brother

Isaac Newton Watt Isaac Newton Watt (1821–1886) was a soldier, merchant and a Member of Parliament in Taranaki, New Zealand in the mid-to-late 19th century. Early life He was born in London sometime in 1821, the son of Isaac Watt the land surveyor and Susan ...

, (1821–1886) he sailed from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

on the barque ''Himalaya'', and landed in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. Th ...

, New Zealand, on 23 December 1843. Thatcher worked in New Plymouth then

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. He entered St John's College, Auckland to train for the ministry in 1848, and was ordained deacon the same year and priest in 1853. He designed the college's chapel, consecrated in 1847. He was the first incumbent of St Matthew's, Auckland, and at the same time was Chaplain to the Forces. In December 1856 he was obliged to leave on account of ill health. The next four years he spent in England, and from December 1859 he was curate at Winwick, Northamptonshire. He returned to New Zealand in July 1861 and was appointed to St Paul's parish,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

, where he remained until 1864, when he had to resign again for health reasons. He designed St Paul's Church (1866), now Old St Paul's, Wellington and Kinder House on Ayr Street, Parnell. He returned to England in 1868, and settled in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west ...

where he became secretary first to Bishop

George Augustus Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Metropolitan (later ...

and then to Bishop

William Maclagan William Dalrymple Maclagan (18 June 1826 – 19 September 1910) was Archbishop of York from 1891 to 1908, when he resigned his office, and was succeeded in 1909 by Cosmo Gordon Lang, later Archbishop of Canterbury. As Archbishop of York, Maclag ...

. He retired in 1882 and in the following year was made a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

canon. He was associated with Bishop Selwyn and the founding of

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (1 ...

. He died at

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, t ...

, Derbyshire, where his son Ernest Grey Thatcher was curate, in 1890. He designed many New Zealand churches, which were constructed of wood in the Gothic Revival style, as well as hospitals and schools. He was associated with the first Anglican

Bishop of New Zealand The Diocese of Auckland is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area stretching from North Cape down to the Waikato River, across the Hauraki Plain ...

, George Augustus Selwyn in planning several "Selwyn" churches in New Zealand, among them St Stephen's Chapel in Parnell and

All Saints Church, Howick All Saints’ Church in Howick was the first parish church in Auckland and is the oldest building in Manukau. It can be found on the corner of Cook Street and Selwyn Road in the suburb of Howick, New Zealand Howick is an eastern suburb of Auc ...

. He married, first, in 1840, Elizabeth Watt (died 1842), and second, in 1849, Caroline Wright of New Plymouth. One son, Ernest, was born of the second marriage.

References

Biography in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand

by Margaret Alington (2007, Polygraphia, Auckland) 1814 births 1890 deaths New Zealand architects Gothic Revival architects 19th-century New Zealand Anglican priests English ecclesiastical architects New Zealand ecclesiastical architects 19th-century English architects English emigrants to New Zealand Architects from Sussex {{christianity-bio-stub