THE SELWYN CHURCHES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19632, 10 May 1927, Page 6

THE SELWYN CHURCHES.

% COMMUNITY TREASURE. RELICS OF OLD AUCKLAND. HOW THEY WERE DESIGNED. architectural excellence. i Although a young community such as Auckland has but a short history to recall, that history should be jealously preserved for future generations. Reverence for the past and antiquarian zeal cannot be allowed to stand in the, way of progress, but there are some things that should be retained and treasured, whatever else may be allowed to go. Aucklanders, although few of them realise it, have a unique legacy of architecture and history in the '"Selwyn" churches scattered over tho suburban and nearer country districts. Built for the most part of stout kauri, these little places of worship bring back snore vividly than anything the "day of email things," when Auckland was scarce more than a village, but a village inhabited by men and women who, as is written upon the Symonds Street cemetery gateway, "in their day and generation •worthily upheld the standards of civic duty and the ideals of the Christian faith." Scarcely less do the churches recall the great Bishop Selwyn. They reflect his spirit and, what is more, he had i a i share in designing them, and some oven contain the work of his hands. A Professor's Praise. There are five principal "Selwyn" churches: —St. John's College Chapel; All Saint's, Howick; St. Peter's, Onehunga; Holy Trinity, Otahuhu; and All Saint's, Papakura. All these are of wood. The stone chufch of St. James, Mangere Bridge, belongs to the same era, although it does not appear to have been designed under Selwyn's supervision. Another etone building, St. Thomas', near St. John's College, has long been a ruin. The wooden churches, although all small, are architecturally so good that Professor C. R. Knight, of Auckland University College, has encouraged his students to examine them, and measured drawings of at least one have been made. Professor Knight sums up their merits under three heads. Designed, with one exception, as small village churches, they are entirely suited to their purpose. They are simple, without added ornamentation not a common virtue of New Zealand buildings. The material, wood, has been used faithfully, with a real appreciation of its capabilities and limitations. As a result, they have a dignity quite surprising in such little structures. Professor Knight draws a parallel between these little churches and a number of those erected in the eastern United States in pre-revoluntionary days. The American churches' are in a totally different style—one based on that of Wren but iri "each instance wood has been used with an approptfiateness that to-day Is seldom equalled. Having certain features, in common, the "Selwyn" churches all possess individualities ,of their own; The roofs ire steep, and shingled. The walls are [covered externally with boards set vertically, and ,the joints are made weatherproof by fastening battens over them. Sometimes diagonal timbers are laid over all, breaking op the wall surfaces and adding much to the attractiveness of the exterior. The windows are narrow 'diamond-framed casements, usually with square tops. At the east end there is invariably a smaller gabled extension forming the sanctuary, with three windows . above the altar. Fruits of a Partnership. The "Selwyn" churches appear to Slave resulted from collaboration between Bishop Selwyn and a young English architect, a Frederick Thatcher. The last-named was in the 'forties secretary to Governor Grey and superintendent of public works for the colony. He became associated with St. John's College, on its industrial side, studied for holy orders, and was the first vicar of St. Mathew's Church. In the 'sixties he returned to England, where he died. Both he and the bishop were well acquainted with the | proportions of the typical English village church," which the little buildings of their planning faithfully reproduce. Selwyn was also a student of the works of Pugin, several of which are preserved among his books at £!t. John's College. Built at St. John's College. Of the five buildings, St. John's College chapel is the most adorned, and has the richest associations. Its history is virtually that of the New Zealand Church, and it will probably be preserved indefinitely as a eacred shrine, even if ultimately a protective building Should have to be erected over it. All Saints', Howick, which will be 80 years old a few months hence, embodies a quaint fancy. Small though it is, the church was designed with all the features of a very large building—a nave fin/1 aisles, transepts, a miniature chancel, and a central tower over the crossing. 'Actually only one of the two aisles was built, but perhaps before long the second will be added. The church was framed in the St. John's College yard, and transported to Howick in the college vessels Undine and Marian. A large body of the associates of the college was ready to carry the materials to carts lent by the neighbours to convey them to the site, and a few days' hard work sufficed to put up the frame. Thus the first house erected in the village was the house of God, and the parishioners, military settlers who had recently arrived in the Minerva, found their church ready for tbem. Selwyn personally helped in the work. Altogether eight little churches were built in this way at the college Most of them have been demolished long since. St. James', Mangere, originally a native church, was built by Maoris under the direction of the Rev Robert Burrows. The stones, which he had pre- [ viously marked, were carried down from Mangere Mountain on the backs of men and women. Others will join Professor Knight in hoping that the surviving "Selwyn" churches will be lovingly preserved as long as possible, and put to some use, even after larger churches have replaced tbem.