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Registration Type
Historic Place Category 1
Register Number
4792
Date Registered
22-Aug-1991
Legal Description
Pt Sec 11 Blk 21 Town of Dunedin
City/District Council
Dunedin City
Region
Otago Region
Summary
DESCRIPTION:
The first meeting of the Baptist Church in Dunedin was held in 1863. Baptist meetings were held in the courthouse until 1864 when the site on the corner of Hanover and Great King Streets was purchased and a church was built to the design of Robert Arthur Lawson (1833-1902).
A fund to build a new church was initiated in 1900 and the proposal was brought forward in 1909 by which time the old building was considered "old and antiquated and unsightly". It was demolished in 1910 and the foundation stone of the new building was laid on 8 October 1910 on the same site. It was completed in 1912 at a cost of £7,000. The building continues to serve the inner-city Baptist community.
Historical Significance
The Hanover Street Baptist Church is a permanent reminder of the important role played by the Baptist Church in the ecclesiastical life of Dunedin. This building has served Baptist congregations for 78 years (1912-1990) while the church has had a 126 year association with the Hanover Street site.
Physical Significance
ARCHITECTURAL QUALITY:
Hanover Street Baptist Church is a relatively late example of a church which incorporates Gothic Revival elements more commonly associated with the nineteenth century. It is a very good example of the early work of Edmund Anscombe, an important New Zealand architect whose later buildings show a progression away from historicist styles. As such this building adds considerably to our understanding of Anscombe's oeuvre and handling of widely different styles during his career. The church itself makes fine use of its sloping inner-city site and the employment of the contrasting brick and Oamaru stone is inventive and interesting.
TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK VALUE:
The Hanover Street Baptist Church occupies a prominent corner site and, along with the neighbouring Sunday School building, makes an important contribution to the streetscape in an area which has experienced rapid commercial growth.
Construction Professionals
Notable Features
Elaborately detailed square towers
Constructional polychromy
Oamaru stone tracery
Construction Dates
- Modification:
- Original Construction: 1912 (circa)
Construction Details
Brick walls laid in the English bond with Oamaru stone facings. Gallery supported on cast iron pillars. Slate roof.
Other Information
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration.
Information on
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