CONSECRATION OF THE CATHEDRAL.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 554, 4 November 1881, Page 2

CONSECRATION OF THE CATHEDRAL.

The CliristchurchCrtthelr.il «' •<'■ mis - crated on Tuesday, which was All Siii>i.V Day. The following huto y \>i Mm.; building is from the Press : —

" The w rk o^ - pritrinj: in t.!in foundations was continued till 1808. when tney were completed, and nothing more was d;)tie till August, 1873. when the work of erecting the building was commenced, and it has gone on until tho pn.'sent timo. There are three entrances, viz., on the south, west, and north portions of the buildinjr. The cliiuf entrance is in the west, and over the door is a very handsome piece of carving, presented by the Cathedral Guild, a body established to collect subscriptions in aid of the work of building the edifice. The same body provided the very handsome rose window which appears above the entrance. The north porch, which .is the gift of Archdeacon Wilson, will be the entrance most used..is the west door will only be used for festivals. Passing in by the west door we come into the nave, which is 110 ft long, the nave and aisles being 68ft wide inside. -Down the nave are the columns carrying the clerestory, which aru alternately octegonal and round. At the east end are two piers. There are to he four piers at the great crossing, of which two have been completed. It may he hero mentioned tint the aisles themselves are 17ft wl■ 1 '•:•.

The height to the beams of the roof is 4(3: t, and to the ridge 25ft additional. The. whole interior is lined with wrought ashlar witli the exception of the wall panels al round below the windows, which ars reserved for mosaic decorations. The part yet to be built to carry out Sir Gilbert Scott's plan in its entirety, consists of two transept?, the choir, and choir aisles. At present a temporary wooden sanctuary has been erected between the two eastern piers, and a temporary choir arranged in the easternmost bay of tho nave. The easternmost bays of the aisle are to be applied one for an organ chamber and the Other for a vostry. The foundation stone of the tower was laid at tho same time as that of the other portions of the building, and the colonists owe it to the munificent liberality of Mr R. 11. Rhodes and the family of the lato Mr G. Rhodes, that this beautiful piece of work has been erected. The former gentleman presented the tower and the latter the spire. The tower from base to top of the cross, is 210 ft high, and is 27ft square at the base, exclusive of buttresses, which are about 4ft 6in more on each side. The tower walls to the base of the spire are 4ft thick. The finial stone measures sft 3in high when finished, and was cut from a single block measuring sf( siu long, and 2ft Gin square, or close upon 34 cubic feet. It is 'of the hard finegrained limestone found at Castle Hill, on the property of Mr J. D. Enys, and was selected, quarried and brought to Christchurch for this special purpose. The finial is carved with a double tier of leaves on four of the eight side?, and finished at the top witli n swelling bud terminal upon which is fixed the cross. In or<!er to diminish as mtah as possible the effect of the wind upon a surface i-o large r.s the cross renting on so small a ba-c, the w.nk of the coss li;is bovn of op jii work. The peal of t'.n b-.-lls. also the munificent gift of tun same donor as ihe tower, have br:e.u hung, and the following is a desciipion of them:—The total weight of tli's ten bnlis is 137cwt Oqr 241b, the weight of each one being as follows:—Treble. F sharp, β-jwt Oqr (5Pi ; second, E, Gcwt 2qr2ib ; r)rd, D, 7cwt lqr 141b ; 4th, C sharp, 7cwt ?,qr 71b ; sth, B, 9ewt2qrl4lb; Gtli, A, lluwt % 211b; 7th; G, 15cwt; Bth, P sharp, 17cwt .qr9l b 9th, X, 23cwt 2qr: tenor, D, 33cwt Oqr 7ib On each boll the name of the founders (Messrs Taylor and Co.) is cast. The bells are ssoiit out with missive o«k framework, and all tho fittings complete, including I'M 1 acorn bo's chiming anp<nUus.

The ceremony .vas most impressive, and in spite of the large assemblage there was, thanks to the excellent arrangements, no confusion, The Primate nrri the Bishops of Dunedin, Waiapu, Nelson, and Wellington were present. The flon 11. B. Gresson, Chancellor of the diocese, read the sentence of consecration. Mr Neville Barnett presided at the organ, and Mr Wells led the choir. The service was most impressive, and the sight was one which will not be easily foigotton by those who witnessed ir, th'! summer toilettes of the ladies adding in no s.nall degree to the beauty.of the scene.