Greyfriars Church, originally known as the Mt Eden Presbyterian Church, is an early 20th century

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church located in

Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Z ...

, Auckland, New Zealand listed as a Category 2 building by

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 ...

Description

Greyfriars Church is an

Arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

church constructed from

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

and cementer plaster with

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...

being used for the interior.

History

As Auckland expanded areas that were previously farmland started becoming urban and would require their own Church for services. In 1915 the Presbytery of Auckland decided to host evening services in the Masonic Hall on Woodside Road. These services proved popular and thus Mount Eden was given a home mission. Later the Presbytery paid £2,200 to Archibald Grandison for a Church that could seat 300. Thomas Mullions was the architect. The building was constructed from

ferroconcrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...

. On the 25th of February, 1917 it was officially opened by Reverend R. Scott West. Shortly after on the 12th of April, Reverend J. W. Shaw was made the minister of the Church. In 1919 the Church purchased a

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

on Penrhyn Road for £1,450. In 1921 a Sunday school was operating out of the basement. Reverend Shaw resigned in 1921 due to ill health and on July 7, 1921, Reverend Leonard H. Hunt was made minister. Under Hunt, in 1928, a new Sunday school was constructed and a pipe organ was installed. In 1932 he resigned and left for

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in The name Karori used to be Kaharore and is from th ...

. On March 16, 1933, Reverend E. J. Tipler was made minister. He passed away less than three years later on the 10th of October, 1935. Reverend John A. Allan took his place from the 14th of May, 1936 until later resigning in December 1937. Reverend J. Douglas Smith became minister on the 7th of July, 1938. Shortly after World War II occurred and many congregation members would serve in the war. During the war and for sometime following it the Church helped send food parcels to Britain and Europe. The Church developed close ties with the Trinity Presbyterian Church, Plymouth from this. Once the need for food parcels had died down the Church decided to build a memorial hall for congregation members that died during both the Second and First World Wars. £3,000 was raised for its construction and it was opened in 1952 at a cost of more than £11,000. This was in part funded by a gift of £16,000 from the estate of Susan Wilkie. She later received a memorial plaque on the 11th of April, 1954. The Church decided to begin restoration work the same year following completion of the memorial hall. During this period the memorial hall was used for services. Shortly after this Reverend Smith resigned. Reverend Douglas Watt was made minister on the 30th of April, 1953. In 1956 it was decided—due to growth—that the Church be extended, a new pipe organ be installed, a new manse on the corner of St Leonards and Cedar Roads be built, and a new Sunday school would open in the parish. In 1963 all of these goals had been met. The Church's plot was extended so a car park could be installed, a

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

was added that ran between the tower and the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

, the building was expanded to allow more seating, and a spire was erected on the top of the tower. The spire was high and increased the total height to . In 1959 the congregation presented a petition requesting the Church be given a formal name. A referendum was later held, the options were between St. Mark's and Greyfriars. Greyfriars won the vote and the Church was formally named ''Greyfriars Presbyterian Church, Mount Eden''. In December, 2012 the Church relocated services to the memorial hall after being identified as being at risk of collapse in event of a serious earthquake by Auckland Council. Seismic strengthening options have been too expensive for the congregation and as of 2024 the Church building has remained unused. In 2014 the congregation merged with the Epsom Presbyterian Church to become the Greyfriars Eden Epsom Presbyterian Church.

Description

History

References

Further reading