St Matthias’ Anglican Church

• 1867
• First St Matthias’ Church constructed
• 1920
• Original Church demolished
• 1921
• Foundation stone laid
• 1921
• New church opened
• 1964
• Lych-gate demolished
• 1987
• Re-piled SR8680333
• c.1993
• Lych-gate rebuilt
• 2010
• Site subdivision SR 213556 see also SR223542 for conditions relating to household unit restrictions affecting the church site and on site sewerage disposal, water supply, building location and bush protection affecting the adjoining Lot 2 DP LT 436031

Not assessed

Not assessed

St Matthias’ Church is exquisitely sited on a small hill in the Makara Valley. It was designed to resemble a traditional English country church and the style is reminiscent of a Saxon or Norman church with traces of Gothic in the lancet windows. It is similar in design to another Clere church, All Saints in Ngaio. Like the latter, St Matthias’ Church is a simple rectangle in plan, with a sanctuary at the east end, a central nave with pews, and a small vestibule at the rear. The vestry is situated under the bell tower. The tower is a well-proportioned structure, the church’s most distinctive feature. It is capped by a shallow, pinnacled parapet and contains three louvered lancet windows on with side, serving as openings to the bell chamber.

The pitch of the gabled roof is modest, and there is a single buttress on each of the long elevations. The eaves are flush and there is no exterior decoration on the church. There are two paired lancet windows on either side and a three-part lancet window above the altar.

The interior surface is white-washed plaster, with a tongue-and-groove dado around the sanctuary. The roof is supported by a single and central wooden truss. The one stained glass memorial window is at the rear of the church.

Construction is reinforced concrete, with a roughcast exterior and timber window joinery. The roof is clad in Marseilles tiles.

The church is surrounded by a small cemetery and the burial grounds include graves for the nearby St Patrick’s Catholic Church which was built upon a floodplain and has no cemetery. The Makara war memorial is located at the intersection of Makara and South Makara Roads at the north east corner of the site.

Timber floor on concrete footings

Rough cast plaster on the external concrete walls – note the gravel aggregate is said to have been taken from near Makara beach

Timber roof truss, Marseille tile roof cladding

Timber joinery

Clear glazed lancet windows with small (diamond shaped?) panes

Single stained glass memorial window.

T&G timber wall linings to the sanctuary

Altar rail and small organ.

The words “Come to Me” are inscribed over the altar lancets.

St Matthias’ Church is a focal point in the township of Makara, superbly sited on a small hill overlooking the town. Its setting is enhanced by trees and the church cemetery, giving it the distinctive character of an English country church.

The building is one of a group of religious and community buildings and monuments in Makara village. Heritage buildings and objects of particular note are the Makara war memorial and St Patrick’s (former) Catholic Church which can be seen from St Matthias’ Church and cemetery.

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  St Matthias’ is a representative example of the style of revivalist architecture, a design style that was typical of New Zealand Anglican church buildings in the early twentieth century. The building was designed to resemble an English rural parish church, and is particularly notable for the simplicity of its form, and for the careful composition of the bell tower that is the building’s most prominent feature.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  St Matthias’ can be seen as part of a group of religious and community buildings, and memorials located in the heart of Makara village.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  St Matthias’ Church is a focal point in the township of Makara, and is superbly sited on a small hill overlooking the town. Its setting is enhanced by trees and the church cemetery, giving it the distinctive character of an English country church.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  The building has a historic association with the Anglican Church in New Zealand. It is representative of the history of rural settlements in New Zealand in that church buildings and church attendance were a vital and routine part community life. 

  
  

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The building and site have a long and continuing association with the Anglican Church in New Zealand. 

Not assessed

• Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  The church is an enduring landmark on Makara Road and makes a strong contribution to the sense of place and continuity of Makara village.

• Sentiment Connection

  Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection?

  The building has been a place of worship since 1921 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 family.

• Symbolic Commemorative Traditional Spiritual

  Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it?

  St Matthias’ has spiritual significance for the local Anglican congregation that continue to worship in the church.

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The building has had few intrusive modern alterations or additions and retains most of its original built fabric.

Not assessed

• Fearnley, C. 1977. Early Wellington Churches (Wellington: Millwood Press, 1977)
• 'Makara church window war memorial ', (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 20-Dec-2012
• Nicholson, Clare. St Matthias Anglican Church Makara, Wellington, Conservation Plan prepared for VUW Arch 273 course, 2006.
• NZHPT Buildings Field Record Form – St Matthias, Makara
• Page 8 Advertisements Column 6 Evening Post, 20 June 1917
• Shelton, Honor. The Centennial History of St Matthias Church Makara – Wellington 1867 – 1967 (Makara, Wellington: Parish Council of Makara and Karori West, 1967).
• Te Whanganui a Tara Me Ona Takiwa: Report on the Wellington District. WAI 145 Waitangi Tribunal Report 2003 (Wellington: Legislation Direct, 2003)
• WCC Heritage Building Inventory 2001
• WCC Archives SR 213556

Not available

Not available