PARISH HALL FOR ST. PETER’S

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27726, 2 August 1955, Page 10

PARISH HALL FOR ST. PETER’S

VOLUNTEER LABOUR WILL SAVE £3500

Using volunteer labour under the supervision of a foreman-builder, parishioners of St. Peter’s Church, Upper Riccarton, are building , their own hall to accommodate 200, and they believe they will save £3500 in costs. The estimated cost of building the hall is £4OOO, and an extensive appeal has been launched to raise funds for the project. The promoters aim to make. the new hall not only the social centre of the parish, but also an asset fcr the district, the Growing suburb of Upper Riccarton. The hall will have adequate facilities for parish meetings, youth activities, Sunday School, socials and dances and other indoor recreation. It is proposed to incorporate in the hall a parish room in memory of the late Rev. H. T. York, vicar of St. Peter’s from 1910 to 1939.

The present parish hall was built in 1909 when Riccarton was a village. It covers an area of only 1500 square feet, and is now hardly large enough to accommodate one department of the Sunday School. With a seating capacity of only 120, it is inadequate for parish functions. St. Peter’s Church has developed and extended in step with the tremendous growth of the district. In 10 years the number of church families on the parish roll has increased from 400 to 1000. In 1940 there were 100 children in the Sunday School; today there are 300, and the number is expected to continue increasing.