Cathedral Square, Christchurch
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Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand, where the city's
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral is located. The square stands at the theoretical crossing of the city's two main orthogonal streets,
Colombo Street Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial Capital city, capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limit ...
and Worcester Street, though in practice both have been either blocked off or detoured around the square itself. The square was badly damaged in the February
2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...
.


Naming

The square was originally intended to be called Ridley Square, after the Protestant martyr Nicholas Ridley, but in
Edward Jollie Edward Jollie (1 September 1825 – 7 August 1894) was a pioneer land surveyor in New Zealand, initially as a cadet surveyor with the New Zealand Company. The Christchurch Central City is laid out to his survey. Biography Jollie was born in ...
's 1850 plan of central Christchurch it was marked as Cathedral Square. Ridley's co-martyrs and colleague bishops, Cranmer and
Latimer Latimer may refer to: Places England * Latimer, Buckinghamshire, a village ** Latimer and Ley Hill, a civil parish that until 2013 was just called "Latimer" * Latimer, Leicester, an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leices ...
have Squares named after them, not far distant from Cathedral Square. The original choice of Ridley is another of Christchurch's many references to
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, since Ridley was martyred there.


History

In the original survey of central Christchurch (known as the Black Map), which was undertaken in 1850, it was envisaged for Christ's College and Christ Church Cathedral to be built adjacent to one another in Cathedral Square, modelled on
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
. The area set aside for the college in Cathedral Square was found to be insufficient, and
Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (; 7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (a post that would later be offici ...
suggested in June 1853 to move the college to land reserved for the
Christchurch Botanic Gardens The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, located in the Christchurch Central City, central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, were founded in 1863 when an English oak was planted to commemorate the solemnisation of the marriage of Edward VII of the Un ...
. This transaction was formalised through ''The Cathedral Square Ordinance 1858'', a law passed by the
Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...
in October 1858. The ordinance allowed for Colombo Street to go straight through the middle of Cathedral Square at a legal width of , and the cathedral to be placed west of this thoroughfare. Christianity has adopted the practice of praying towards the
East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
as the Orient was thought of as containing the mankind's original home. Hence, most Christian churches are oriented towards the east, and to comply with this convention, Henry Harper, Christchurch's first
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
, lobbied to have the eastern side of Cathedral Square to be used for the pro-cathedral. That way, the main entrance would face Colombo Street, resulting in praying towards the east in line with convention. ''The Cathedral Square Amendment Ordinance 1859'', which was passed a year after the previous ordinance, formalised the change in placement of the cathedral. Just before work on the cathedral's foundations began in 1864, the alignment of Colombo Street through Cathedral Square was changed again by introducing a curve towards the west; the western side of the legal road had a
radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...
of 3 chains 75 links (). The purpose of this change was to allow the placement of the cathedral slightly further west, making its tower visible along Colombo Street from a distance. Up to the point of work starting on the cathedral, here was initially little development. The '' statue of 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. In 2001, ''The Chalice'' was revealed a large modern sculpture in the forum of an inverted cone dedicated to the
millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
, the sculpture was designed by
Neil Dawson Francis Neil Dawson (born 6 November 1948) is a New Zealand artist best known for his large-scale civic sculptures. Early life Dawson was born in Christchurch in 1948. The son of Methodist minister John Brent Dawson and Florence Emily (), ...
and is made up of forty-two leaf patterns featuring different plants. Before 2011, the Square was the city's main meeting place for people and was a regular site of
street performers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
and
speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...
, one of the most notable was
The Wizard of New Zealand The Wizard of New Zealand (born Ian Brackenbury Channell; 4 December 1932) is a British-born New Zealand educator, comedian, illusionist, and politician. He is also known by his shorter name, The Wizard. Life and career England The Wizard ...
. Following the earthquakes, Christchurch's
Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...
dawn services were mostly held in
Cranmer Square Cranmer Square is an urban park in central Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located northwest of the city's centre, Cathedral Square. The major arterial route of Montreal Street skirts the edge of the square. The square (actually a rectangle) i ...
rather than Cathedral Square. This was until 2023 when dawn services returned to Cathedral Square. New designs for the Square were unveiled in 2017 which would remove the roadways through the square and add green space and waterways and split it into five zones (Post Office Place, The Courtyard, Library Plaza, Cathedral Gardens and The Living Room). But the plan lacks funding and the original plans have been shelved. Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre opened in 2021 as one of the city's anchor projects and the third new building in the Square since the earthquakes after
Tūranga Tūranga is the public library located in Central Christchurch, New Zealand. It opened on 12 October 2018 and replaced the nearby Christchurch Central Library that was closed on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Location and prior bu ...
and the
Spark Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: People * Spark (surname) * Jessica Morgan (born 1992; formerly known as Spark), female singe ...
building. In 2022 plans to renovate "tatty" corners of the square started these plans were meant to begin in 2019 but had been delayed. Minor work on these plans begun in late 2022 but in July 2023 work started on the completion of these plans in front of the Spark building, Distinction hotel and Old Government building. Although always called a "square", its shape is that of a
cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...
.


Registered heritage places

Cathedral Square has a large number of buildings and statues that are registered as heritage items with
Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
. Many of those were damaged in the February
2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...
and because of earthquake damage some have been lost as a consequence. ;Category I places * Christ Church 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 '' statue of John Robert Godley'' 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 Warner's Hotel in 50 Cathedral Square, Christchurch is the site of a hotel established in 1863. The original building, extended on numerous occasions, burned down in 1900. A new building was built in 1901. Again, it underwent numerous alteration ...
was registered on 24 April 1997, with its register number 7384. The historic part of the hotel was demolished.


Transport function

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. 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. 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. In February 2011 due to the
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
the Square was closed off but was reopened on 30 June 2013, however some areas and buildings remained fenced off due to earthquake damage.


Gallery


See also

*
Aotea Square Aotea Square () is a large paved public area in the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, markets, and political rallies. In No ...
, Auckland *
Te Ngākau Civic Square Te Ngākau Civic Square is a public square in central Wellington, New Zealand, between the Wellington Central, Wellington, Wellington central business district to the north and the Te Aro entertainment district to the south. The square is bounde ...
, Wellington *
The Octagon, Dunedin The Octagon is the city centre of Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. It is an eight-sided plaza with a circular one-way carriageway, bisected by the city's main street, and is also the central terminus of two other main thoroughfares. ...


Notes


References

* *


External links


Christchurch City Library article
{{Christchurch earthquakes Busking venues Streets in Christchurch Tourist attractions in Christchurch Christchurch Central City Squares in Christchurch *