ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS’ CHURCH

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLVI, Issue 18, 1 May 1919, Page 42

ST. MARY OF THE ANGELS’ CHURCH

THE NEW BUILDING

Many congratulations have been forwarded to Father S. Mahony, S.M., Administrator of St. Mary of the Angels’ Parish, Boulcot-t Street, Wellington, on the fact that he has been able to let a contract, at £27,500, for the re-erection of the church which was burned down nearly a year ago.

The elaborate plans, and the two perspectives which have been prepared by Messrs. Clere and Williams, the architects, give a very good idea of what the church will be when finished. The site is an excellent one, and worthy of a fine and permanent building, and both these points will be attained, for the material (reinforced concrete) of which the walls will be constructed is recognised as being as earthquake-proof as possible, fire-proof, and practically indestructible. The roof will be of Welsh slate, so that there can be no question of its permanency. The natural finish of concrete is plain plaster, and so the building has been designed to get architectural effect, more by breaking up the surfaces to produce light and shade than by trusting to surface adornment, which would be costly and difficult to produce.

It was decided by the authorities that Gothic should be the style, but it was left to the architects to choose the phase, and they decided that that which prevailed in England during the fifteenth and the early part of the sixteenth centuries (known as Perpendicular) was best suited to concrete construction.. Naturally, in a new material and in a new country, and under new conditions generally, modification is necessary, and ideas have been gleaned from all quarters. The apsidal termination of the sanctuary, the processional path all round the church, the square turrets at the salient angles of the . tower, are features more Continental than British. At the same time they have been so woven into the fabric as not to be

incongruous. The exterior is decidedly strikingespecially the facade towards Willis Street, which consists of a high gabled wall containing a large rose or wheel window, and flanked by two four-storied pinnacled towers rising to a height above the pavement of 106 feet. The two upper stories of these towers will have open tracery sides, while at the front and outside angles will be square turrets containing the circular staircase giving access from the ground floor to the roof. Though these are suggestive of the famous Somersetshire towers of the 15th century, the turrets alter their character entirely, and in the position of the towers in relation to each other and to the main gable, the composition is most satisfactory. The side towards Boulcott Street, extending nearly 150 feet, presents a rich effect of aisle and clerestory windows, broken by the projecting confessionals and the large northern side chapel. Inside, the building will have a roomy and spacious appearance. The main features are two long arcades of nine arches each. Above these is a series of panels suggesting the triforium of the earlier Gothic, while above all are the clerestory windows containing 113 lights, divided by mullions and surmounted by traceried heads. All the spandrills, both inside and out, are richly pannelled. . The church is 33 feet wide

between the arcades, and: all the seating (excepting that of the chapels) is contained within the nave, so that each worshipper can have an uninterrupted view of the altar. The choir (accommodation is provided for forty) will be in a gallery at the entrance end of the church.

As the church will be approximately 150 feet by 90 feet in width, it will rank among the largest sacred edifices of the Dominion, and its central position will make it among the best known. In material and design it will be about the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and consequently.’ its erection should mark a new epoch in architectural progression. The public, no doubt, will watch its progress with great interest, and its completion eighteen months hence will be a source of gratification, not only to Catholics, but to all lovers of progressive architecture.