ST. DAVID'S CHURCH.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 285, 2 December 1925, Page 12

ST. DAVID'S CHURCH.

PROPOSED NEW STRUCTURE. REPLACING OLD BUILDING. .A meeting of the congregation of St. Dfivid's Church will be held to-night to consider proposals for the erection of a new Presbyterian Church to replace the old wooden building at the top of Khyber Pass. It has been suggested by the board of managers that the structure should be of Gothic design, of the perpendicular period, on the site of the present church. The materials would be hriek and reinforced concrete, with facings of stone. Draught plans of the proposed new church have been prepared by Mr. Daniel B. Patterson, and contain several features. Among these is the square Gothic tower, surmounted by battlements and faced with buttresses at the angles and louvres in the window openings. The new church will have seating accommodation for about SGO worshippers, with provision for a gallery to hold another 100 .or 150. The side rows of seats will be placed diagonally inward to face the pulpit, so no portion of the congregation will be under the necessity of turning their heads to seek a view of the minister. The choir seats will be arranged in a semi-circle round the Communion table in front of the pulpit. Care in planning the building is going to do much to shut out the street noises which are a present source of no little annoyance. Instead of one main entrance to the building as at present, the plans show two main doors at the sides. These will give entrance to the vestibule and cloakrooms for ladies and men, and their arrangement will interpose no less than three walls between the street and the interior of the building. Another new departure will he a sloping floor, to give those seated in the rear of the church a clear view of the pulpit and choir. The slope will be about fin in a foot.

A basement will provide accommodation for six Bible class rooms, a small hall and cloakrooms and' a gymnasium. On the church level will be large rooms for the office bearers, the vestry and a room for the choir, accommodating about 50 persons. Access to the gallery is provided by a stairway inside the tower. Before the new church can be erected it will be necessary to remove the present church and Sunday school buildings, and the intention is to transfer them a 6hort distance to the west, where they will occupy a permanent site on the adjoining section. This section, on which an old wooden house at present stands,, was purchased by the congregation about two years ago. The residenco will be removed, and the wooden church and Sunday school will take its place and both do service as the- Sunday school. If the proposals are endorsed by the congregation this evening, specifications will be prepared and tenders will be called for. Work on the scheme in that case should commence in three or four months.