OPENING OF ALL SAINTS' CHURCH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1118, 21 July 1865, Page 4

OPENING OF ALL SAINTS' CHURCH.

All Saints' Church, Cumberland street, North Danedin, is to be opened for public worship on Sunday ; when the services will be'conducted by the Rev. Mr Grainger. The building aa it now stands represents only a portion of the design for the church; accommodation being provided for 300 persons, whereas the completed building will give seat room for 600. The style chosen by Messrs Mason and Clayton, the architects, may be termed LombardoGothic of the Early English character. On plan, the nave is 60ft. long and 35ft. wide; the transept, 54ft. by 24ft.; and the I chancel, 31ft, by 18ft. The walls of the j nave are 14ft. high, from the floor to the j wall plate, while those of the transept are 25ft. high, the additional height allowing a gallery to be introduced at each end ; one being intended as an organ loft, and the other for use by the choir or by the Sunday School children. The staircases to the galleries are made features in the north and south elevation. The roofs are high-pitched and very light and neat in design, neither purlins nor common rafters being used. The whole are covered with close Oregon boarding, and finished with different colored slates, in fan-tail bands. The nave has three large windows and two small ones on each side; and the larger ones, by breaking up through the the roof, add much to the appearance of the building. The west gable, over the

porch, bas a large four light window, which is flanked by a lancet window on each side of the porch. At each end of the transept there are a large three-light window and three smaller ones; and the « chancel has four two-light windows—all of them being of characteristic desigp. The architects have succeeded in carrying out their original intention, of finishing the walls, both internally and externally, in brick; and advantage has been taken of the bricks being of different colors, to relieve the design by.the introduction of bands of color. The-mu!lions ere also of brick (white), and window frames are dispensed with, the bricks being chased to receive the glass. The wails are faced on each side with red machine-pressed bricks, and the bands, &c, with black glazed ones; (lie whole being manufactured by Mr George Howell, of Fil cul street and Anderson's Bay. We believe that this is the first instance of pressed brinks having been made in the Province; and Mr Towell has succeeded completely in the to r^y 'he portion of the design which has been carried out includes the west porch and tfai nay the latter being closed at the east enG **y a temP°ra ry wooden wall, and a' small \ vestry being added at the back. The desfs. n 'nc^u^es a campanile tower, 18ft Fqnare a"d 80ft ht Sh» witil a s Pife 55ft hi"-h. 1 lie towel% which will accommodate 3 a peal' of bells> is P^'ced directly in front of the weat end of the nave, and distant from it a bout 20ft. a groined corridor connecting t\. ' c tower with the west lobl>3'. This positio. noi the fower gives a novel anrl striking ch\ r"ctcr to the design, and we believe thai t!ie arrangement is unique. It will no \'vl he a!l object with the congregation ana ' Jritnds to secure that the whole design shall' lie '-arried out as i-pcedily as the neccssarj ' iunds can be raised.

Tiie infernal fittings are nm'Ple but appropriate in design; the kcter.ni reading desk, and altur rait being of cl\-ar pine, white varnished. The seating is massive and effective, though neat. Tht' contractor for the portion of the bnv'Hing about to.be opened is Mr James Gore, who has carried out the work most satisfactorily under the superintendence of the architecta- - The contract price, exclusive of the seating," is L 1330. There has been raised by subscriptions about L7OO ; and the promoters have been able to arrange /or an advance ofL6OO. The seating vill no doubt be paid for out of the pew rents; and there will thus be a debt of something over LCOO to be cleared off, as a first duty upon the congregation. The ceremony of consecrating the church must be delayed until the next visit of the bishop of the diocese—the Bishop of Chrii-tcharcli; which will probably be some time di?ring the summer. It was a cause of regret to all interested, that it was not possible to have the Church ready for consecration during the recent visit of the metropolitan, Bishop Selwyn, in company with the Bishop of Christchurch, after the conclusion of the synodal meeting in Christchureh.