Sydenham Heritage Church, originally known as the Colombo Street Methodist Church or Colombo Street Wesleyan Church or Colombo Road Wesleyan Church was a heritage-listed stone church building located in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

, an inner suburb

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand. It was registered as an "Historic Place – Category II " by the

New Zealand Historic Places Trust Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

History

Christchurch was mainly an Anglican settlement. The congregation of Methodists was small, but they had a significant presence. They built the first stone church in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in 1864, the

Durham Street Methodist Church The Durham Street Methodist Church in Christchurch was the earliest stone church constructed in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by Heritage New Zealand. The church was severely damaged ...

. The growth of the congregation, mainly in the working class suburb of New Town (now called Sydenham), required another church. St James church was relocated from Montreal Street in the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...

to one of the small streets of New Town. When it was decided to constitute Christchurch South as a separate circuit, and that St James was too small and poorly placed, a new site was sought. Land on Colombo Road was purchased, but it was exchanged in October 1876 for a larger section further south at the intersection of Colombo Road (since renamed as Colombo Street) and Pound Road (since renamed as Brougham Street). The building was designed in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

in 1877 by the Melbourne architectural firm of

Crouch and Wilson Crouch and Wilson was an architectural practice based in Melbourne, Australia in the late nineteenth century. The partnership, between Tasmanian-born Thomas Crouch and recently arrived Londoner Ralph Wilson, commenced in 1857 in Elizabeth Street ...

who had earlier designed the Durham Street Methodist Church. Construction was supervised by local architect Thomas Lambert and the building was officially opened in February 1878. With population in Sydenham declining due to industrialisation of the suburb during the 1960s, and with

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed ...

generally dropping, the church closed in 1971. The Seventh-day Adventist Church leased the building for a time, before it was sold to the Christian Congregational Church of Samoa. The Samoan congregation built a new church in

Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia *Linwood, South Australia * Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...

in 1997 and a property developer applied for a demolition consent, which sparked a public outcry. The Samoan congregation sold the church to another developer in 1999, whose initial plans of conversion into apartments were changed in 2001 to a demolition consent. This was also withdrawn amidst community resentment. The building was purchased in 2001 by the newly formed Sydenham Heritage Trust with the help of a

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, wh ...

interest free loan. Restoration and earthquake strengthening was an ongoing activity of the trust. The building was damaged in the February

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

. It was subsequently demolished by a demolition company without the knowledge or consent of the owners, and without authorisation from the Historic Places Trust, the council archaeologist (who approves demolition applications) or the National Civil Defence Controller (who oversees earthquake responses). A police complaint has been lodged, and an enquiry into the unauthorised demolition is likely. It subsequently emerged that the demolition had been sought and approved by Civil Defence, although approval of demolition was possibly in excess of its legal powers.

Heritage listing

On 24 June 2005, the building was registered as a Category II heritage item, with the registration number being 3137.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Gothic Revival church buildings in New Zealand Religious buildings and structures in Christchurch NZHPT Category II listings in Canterbury, New Zealand Churches completed in 1878 19th-century Methodist church buildings Buildings and structures demolished as a result of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake Christianity in Christchurch 1870s architecture in New Zealand