St Johns Church Heritage Area

The immediate setting of the area is a varied one and, in architectural and historic terms, not greatly authentic. To the east – the other side of Willis Street – and south are largely new buildings, some even taller than the church’s spire. To the north are more buildings of a recent vintage, along with Dixon Street flats (1940), which is an early and very significant Government-built apartment building in the Modern style. To the west, on the hill above the precinct, is mostly Victorian and Edwardian housing, the church’s longest-surviving companions. In the middle of this housing is Dixon Street steps, a long-standing landscape feature.

There is relatively little open space within the heritage area as so much room is taken up by buildings. The most significant open places are the streetside margins of the church, the rear of the church and the courtyard. Otherwise the only other open space is the open-air part of the crèche on the corner of Dixon Street and MacDonald Crescent.

Of those spaces identified, the areas next to the street are enclosed by the buttressed masonry retaining walls finished with plaster render and topped by the wrought iron perimeter fence. The ages of these features, almost certainly built together, are not known, but they were in place soon after the completion of the present church.17 Between the fence and the church are, on the Willis Street side, grass, paving brick and pohutukawa, which are increasingly obscuring views of the church from Willis Street. There are also small fir trees on the Dixon Street side of the church. Behind the church the area is paved with modular concrete pavers.

The courtyard between the church, hall and Spinks Cottage is paved with modular concrete pavers. It is dotted with trees in planter boxes. The small garden in front of Spinks Cottage is retained by rail sleepers and contains a large tree and decorative ground-cover plantings.

The extent of the heritage area is shown in the District Plan, Chapter 21, Appendix 20.

The boundaries of this area are established by two main factors. The first is that the area occupies a discrete parcel of land owned by the one organisation – St John’s Presbyterian Church – and all the buildings are owned by the church, although not all are used for church purposes. The second is that there is an absence of a number of other closely associated heritage, character or landmark features that might easily be linked to the church precinct to create a meaningful, larger area.

The church land is a roughly square piece on one title – Lot 1, DP 72762. It is bounded on three sides by Willis and Dixon Streets and MacDonald Crescent, and bounded on the fourth, or south side, by a right of way and one commercial building.

A number of buildings have been built on this land since the early 1850s and today four buildings occupy the site. Two of those buildings, St John’s Presbyterian Church and Spinks Cottage are very significant heritage places. The other two buildings on the site are the recent Convention Centre (Church Hall), Troup House and crèche play area.The area has a number of features that make a considerable contribution to the heritage significance of the area. They are:

Rendered retaining wall (Willis and Dixon Streets)
The perimeter wrought iron fence
Main entrance gate posts (Dixon Street)
Pohutukawa (various)

The area has a number of features that contribute to, or do not detract from, the character of the area. They are:

Concrete walls, other than the main retaining wall

Paving around the church

Garden retaining wall of railway sleepers (in front of Spinks Cottage)

St John’s Presbyterian Church

The area has a number of features that make a considerable contribution to the heritage significance of the area. They are:

Rendered retaining wall (Willis and Dixon Streets)
The perimeter wrought iron fence
Main entrance gate posts (Dixon Street)
Pohutukawa (various)

The area has a number of features that contribute to, or do not detract from, the character of the area. They are:

Concrete walls, other than the main retaining wall

Paving around the church

Garden retaining wall of railway sleepers (in front of Spinks Cottage)

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St John’s Presbyterian Church

The first Presbyterians arrived in Wellington in 1840 and after holding the city’s first church service built a church on Lambton Quay in 1844. This was the first St Andrew’s and the fourth incarnation of this church stands today on The Terrace. The Free Church split from the Church of Scotland in 1843 and a branch of the church in Wellington established a separate congregation in 1851.
The Reverend John Moir of the Free Church of Scotland arrived to minister to this congregation in November 1853. Services were initially held in the Athenaeum on Lambton Quay. In 1856, a church, with a capacity of 200, was built on land acquired on the corner of Willis and Dixon Streets. It was known as the Willis Street Presbyterian Church, but by 1872, it had changed its name to St John’s Presbyterian Church.

With growing attendances at Sunday School, the building was enlarged in 1866 with the building of a separate structure for that purpose. It was extended again in 1871. By 1874, the building was considered to be too small and a new larger church in a Classical style, designed by Thomas Turnbull, was built in 1875. Unfortunately, fire destroyed this church in 1884, along with the adjoining Sunday School.

The church quickly moved to build again and decided on a larger building still. It negotiated to buy Spinks’ property for £1500 and moved the cottage to make

room for the new church,4 this time orientated north-south to take advantage of the broader platform. The cottage was then used by the church caretaker. The new building was again designed by Thomas Turnbull, by then one of Wellington’s best-known architects. The builder was James Wilson, an elder of the church, who also built another Turnbull design, the Wesley Church in Taranaki Street (1880). The contract price was £5,469.5 The community had raised much of the necessary funding by the time the church was dedicated on 11 December 1885. An organ, built by Lewis and Co. of London, was donated by merchant James Smith and installed the following year.

The new church opened with seating for 800, in a parish with 360 communicant members. By 1911, the parish had 700 communicant members, with attendance of 1,000 on most Sundays.
The church has had some important alterations over its life. A second entrance was built c.1904, and in 1920 and 1922 memorial windows were built in the southern and northern ends. In 1953 architect Malcolm Bennie added a memorial centennial porch and a stained glass window was added to the vestibule in 1965. Finally, the MacKay Chapel, courtesy of a bequest by Margaret MacKay, was added in 1993.

The church has had many notable parishioners, some of them elders. Among them were politicians such as Prime Minister John Coates and Jack Marshall, former leader of the National party, architect and Wellington mayor George Troup, merchants James Smith, Robert Hannah and John Kirkcaldie, and many others, as well as a number of distinguished ministers. Among the latter was Dr Gibb who was instrumental in founding Queen Margaret’s and Scots College in the early 20th century. Many of these people are commemorated with plaques inside the church.
Today attendees come from far and wide, as well as from the burgeoning ranks of inner city apartment dwellers. Changes have also come as a result of the closing of the Roseneath Church on Mt Victoria in the 1980s, and the unification with the Kelburn Parish in 1993. The church is popularly known as St John’s in the City, to reflect its citywide role.

Spinks Cottage

William Spinks was born in Dorsetshire, England, in 1803, and married Mary Langdon in 1832. They had two daughters, Florence and Sarah Ellen Jane. In 1843, the family immigrated to Wellington, settling in Dixon Street. Here the Misses Spinks opened a private school in 1849, while still in their teens. Their father became a storekeeper, and in 1854, he bought part of Section 168, Willis Street.
While the first St. John’s Church was opened in 1856, William Spinks does not seem to have built his house immediately. A photograph, thought to have been taken in 1858, shows the church but Spinks’ section was unoccupied. However, in the 1863 Wellington Almanac, William Spinks, Merchant, is listed as a resident of Willis Street (though he had been appointed the first wharfinger or wharf manager of Queen’s Wharf in 1862).10 A painting from 1863 shows the house in position next to the original church.11 The house has never been more accurately dated than sometime between 1858 and 1863.

The Spinks’ school moved with them to Willis Street, and it remained in existence until 1879, one of the longest lasting schools in early Wellington.
When the second St. John’s Church was destroyed by fire in May 1884 the church quickly offered to buy Spinks’ land and cottage.The negotiated price was £1,500, and the conveyance was date 3 October 1884. William Spinks had lost his wife died earlier that year and on 8 December he himself died. Both he and his wife were buried in the Bolton Street cemetery.

Because of the size of the new church the main axis was to be aligned with Willis Street rather than Dixon Street as the first two churches had been. At some point after the sale, the cottage was moved south to space for the new church. The cottage was then used as a residence for the St. John’s caretaker, and it kept that use for 80 years.
By 1954 the cottage was in poor condition. The City Engineer was asked for a report, and the Church Session minutes record that it (the cottage) had a further life of 25 years, providing the piles were replaced and the foundation timbers renewed. The work was successfully completed, despite some cracking of the chimney, which was repaired.

In 1966 it was decided not to appoint a new caretaker, and the cottage was made part of the ‘Troup House’ complex. After considerable renovation and internal modernisation it was used as a student hostel.

By 1979 the church wanted to redevelop their land, and some of the congregation wanted the cottage demolished. In recognition of its historic value, it was proposed to move the cottage 90 degrees so that it stood on the boundary facing Dixon Street. This plan meant that the cottage, which had been almost hidden from view, could be seen by the public from both Willis and Dixon streets. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust became involved as part of their efforts to help safeguard the cottage.

Eventually it was agreed between the Trust and St. John’s Presbyterian Church that the Trust would meet the cost of moving the cottage to a mutually agreed location, repiling, erecting four new brick chimneys using recycled bricks to the original style, reinstating the verandah, and architectural fees, up to a maximum of $1,000. It was also agreed that if a retaining wall was needed, the Trust would also pay for this. The Church was to make arrangements for resiting the building, the connecting up of all services including electricity, water and sewerage. The church was also to take all reasonable steps to “restore and regenerate” the cottage on its new site, and to maintain it in reasonable condition “having regard to the fact that it is of historic interest”.

Following its resiting in 1983 Spinks Cottage continued to be used as student accommodation. In the 1990s it was converted into the Church Office, accommodating a staff of five, including the Church ministers and administrator. That use has ended and there is some uncertainty over the building’s future; a proposal to lift the house and construct a youth café beneath is subject to a resource consent process.

Troup House (identified as non-heritage for the purpose of rule 21B.2.2)

Troup House is a four-storied building, completed in 1993, and sited on MacDonald Crescent. Named for architect, former Wellington Mayor and prominent church elder George Troup, this building was designed by Ampersand Architects and replaced the original timber Bible Class rooms and gymnasium (1902). The first floor of Troup House is the home of the Youth Agreement between the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 6 April 1982.

Group as well as the Youth Co-ordinator’s office. The second floor is leased to Capital City Pre-School, a crèche for children from 3-5 years of age. The top two floors are occupied by commercial tenants.

Conference Centre (or Church Hall) (identified as non-heritage for the purpose of rule 21B.2.2)

St John’s has long had a church hall and the present structure, opened in March 1994, also doubles as a conference venue. The main rooms are downstairs. Upstairs the building continues the tradition established in the previous hall of providing facilities for Girls and Boys Brigade and Sunday School, with teaching rooms and a gymnasium. The building incorporates some features salvaged from earlier church buildings on the site, including some stained glass windows and timber joinery.

Crèche play area (identified as non-heritage for the purpose of rule 21B.2.2)

Located on the bend of Dixon Street, the outdoor play area of the crèche occupies land that was once the site of the Sunday School building. It was built at the same time as Troup House.
Former buildings.

The first building constructed on the site, other than a church or Spinks Cottage, was an annexe to the church built in 1866 to accommodate the Sunday School. When the second church was built, another, separate Sunday School was constructed, presumably to a design by Thomas Turnbull. Both were destroyed in the fire in 1884.

Later that year a new Sunday School and a schoolroom, with classrooms, were completed (before the main church), also designed by Thomas Turnbull. In 1896 a building was constructed for the Young Men’s Bible Class, alongside Spinks Cottage on the southern side of the property.

After protracted negotiations land was purchased on the MacDonald Street boundary in 1901. The Sunday School was already too small to meet demand and so a new building was planned that, apart from new school rooms, would also incorporate a social room, gymnasium, and a room for the Young Women’s Bible Class, was built. Designed by Thomas Turnbull’s son William, it opened in 1902 and with the church’s finances constrained at the time the building was necessarily more austere than the church would have liked.14 This structure was later named after George Troup.
Throughout their history the church’s ancillary buildings were frequently let to outside groups. The Girls’ and Boys’ Brigades in particular were long standing users. In 1962 the top floor of Troup House was vacated and let out to commercial tenants.

In 1983 the resiting of Spinks Cottage allowed the removal of the former Sunday School (by then long established as the Church Hall) from its position on the Dixon Street boundary to a new site on the south of the property and parallel with the church. The building was dismantled, re-erected and upgraded. The Young Men’s Bible Class building was demolished to make way for it.
The hall and Troup House were finally removed in the early 1990s and replaced with the present structures. They continue to serve a similar purpose to their predecessors.

St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area is a significant inner-city precinct of ecclesiastical buildings and has, as its centrepiece, the magnificent timber Gothic church of St John’s. This church is one of three timber churches designed by Thomas Turnbull in central Wellington, and remains a significant city landmark long after larger buildings have been constructed nearby. It is a glory of timber Gothic architecture, made all the more interesting for the quirky but successful use of a range of architectural styles inside. The main space is magnificent, with a combination of exposed and painted native timbers and a beautiful collection of carved pews. This space has been virtually untouched; in fact the entire building, with the exception of the MacKay Chapel, some windows, and a few other minor alterations, is little altered from the original. It is architecturally significant as one of the city’s finest remaining 19th century churches. The neighbouring Spinks Cottage is among the very oldest of Wellington’s houses. Although it has been altered and relocated, this picturesque artisan’s cottage has become a minor inner-city landmark, rather like Plimmer House on Boulcott Street. Its pairing with St John’s Presbyterian Church retains a significant 19th century character in a predominantly late 20th century streetscape. The remaining buildings within the Heritage area are purpose-designed for their situation and are compatible with the older buildings in terms of their design, style, scale, materials, colour and patterns of use. This ensures a sense of cohesiveness across the Heritage area which is further enhanced by the setting and landscaping of the steeply sloping hillside. Of particular note are the perimeter wall and fence, the main entrance gate, trees, courtyard arrangement and paving which create a sympathetic setting for the historic and new buildings in the Heritage area. In terms of the wider setting of inner-city Wellington, the Heritage area is home to one of three surviving major timber Gothic churches designed by the important 19th century Wellington architect, Thomas Turnbull. These churches which include St John’s, the Wesley Church and St Peter’s, are all located within a short distance and have considerable group value. The St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area has significant aesthetic, architectural and group values, and makes an outstanding contribution to the character of Wellington, and to its sense of place.

St John’s Presbyterian Church Heritage Area is an important precinct of church buildings, the result of over 150 years of continuous occupation of the site by the church. As the land has been used for generally the same purpose during that time, it has great historical significance. St John’s has been the city’s most prominent Presbyterian complex for much of that time and has evolved and changed in response to the shifting needs of the church. St John’s is one of Wellington’s finest churches and the most historically significant of Wellington’s Presbyterian churches. It has been used for worship by generations of Presbyterians, among them some of Wellington’s most famous citizens, including former prime ministers, mayors and other notables. Spinks Cottage is among the very oldest of Wellington’s houses and historically important for that. It was built by 1863, but possibly earlier, and with the scarcity of truly old houses in Wellington it is an important relic of the city’s earliest days. The house has been moved twice and altered over time. Nevertheless, the benefit of the cottage’s present site, which it has occupied for the past 23 years, is its visibility from Willis Street and its easy compatibility with the church.

The site has a recorded history since the 1850s and is likely to have archaeological value.

The Heritage area is likely to be held in high public esteem by many Wellingtonians. It includes two Heritage New Zealand “Category I” historic places, both of which are local landmarks and have high aesthetic and historic value. The Heritage area has spiritual and cultural value for the Presbyterian Church community which continues to use the church and its associated buildings. It is a focus for community sentiment and connection, and continues to be associated with the key events in the life of members of the congregation including the births, marriages, deaths of individuals, their friends and their family. A church has occupied at least part of this land since the 1850s and the current St John’s Church has been a place of worship since 1885. The site’s long-term occupation by the Presbyterian Church contributes to the sense of place and continuity of the Heritage area.

The Heritage area is a good example of an ecclesiastic precinct set on a steeply sloping Wellington site. While the area has seen a number of changes over the last 15 years these changes have maintained the continuity of the church’s use of the site for a range of ecclesiastical and church-related functions. At the same time the area has retained some of its historic integrity by virtue of the retention of the church and Spinks Cottage, albeit that the latter is no longer on its original site. These two buildings are notable connections with an earlier era and rare in Wellington for their survival. With the exception of the church, the use of buildings has changed considerably, although, in a wider sense, the various outbuildings have retained – at least in part – an ecclesiastical use.

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The Heritage area includes two Heritage New Zealand “Category I” historic places and, as such, is important at a national level.

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