ST. MARY’S CHURCH.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2672, 30 October 1882, Page 3

ST. MARY’S CHURCH.

At eleven o’clock mass yesterday the Rev. Father Ginaty announced that the time had come when in the opinion of the Bishop the present missionary district should be divided, and a new church erected. He mentioned a site of two acres had been secured in Manchester street north for this purpose, and that the price paid for the land was ,£2500. Ho also mentioned that he had incidentally received promises of handsome subscriptions towards the erection of the church, one gentleman having offered £IOO. We append a description of the principal features in connection with the proposed church : The period of Gothic architecture selected is that known as the early decorated, which belongs more especially to the latter portion of the fourteenth century. The whole church will stand on a platform in the shape of a parallelogram with an octagonal end, and accessible by means of stonefaced stops on all its sides. This platform will have an entire length of 240 ft, with a breadth of 150 ft, and a height from the street level of 4ft, constructed almost entirely of concrete, with stone facings to the steps. The object of this system of construction is not only to raise the entire building well above the street level, but also to give the foundation an additional means of strength. The east end of the nave will face the street line at a sufficient distance back to give a clear view of the nave gable from the main entrance gates. The general dimensions and form of the church will be as follows :—The nave, divided into seven bays, of a total length ox 105 ft, with two aisles, each 15ft wide. The height of the nave to the top of the clerestory walls will be 60ft from the street level, and Soft to the point of the gable. The aisle walls will have a clear height of 26ft. There will be two transepts, each 32ft long, and of similar height and breadth with the nave, and in their centre will rise, on four piers of clustered columns, spanned by moulded arches, a tower 2Sft square, with a height from the street level to the spring of spire of 132 ft. The spire will be f*ur-sided, constructed of strong timber framing and covered with lead, decorated with bands of gilt and embossed copper, making the whole height of tower and spire together from the street level 222 ft. The sanctuary will be constructed with an octagonal apse, having a total length of 40ft and a breadth of 30ft, and being of equal height with the nave. At either side of the sanctuary, and immediately facing the aisles, will bo two sidechapels, each 15ft by 20ft. The west end of the nave will be crossed by two wings or transepts of lesser dimensions, which project 15ft beyond the aisle walls on either side. This portion of the building will contain, on the ground floor, two internal entrance porches 15ft by 20ft, the baptistry 20ft by 30ft, a cloak room and registration office each 15ft by 20ft. On the floor 24ft above the nave floor -will be the organ loft 20ft by 60ft, choir library 20ft by 15ft, and archives room 20ft by 15ft. The general external view of the church from the street may be described as follows : The nave gable, which will be brought over the organ loft, will form the central feature ; the walla supporting it will be strengthened on either side by an octagonal turret, strongly buttressed, ri'hly decorated, and terminating with , cr; eke ted and moulded pinnacles. Within

, each of these turrets will be a bell for minor purposes. Between the two turrets r will be constructed a richly moulded and ■ carved pointed arch, rising well into the s gable, and carried on capped and clustered columnal jambs. The entire height from . point of arch to street level will bo 68ft., and about one-half of this height within the arch will be occupied by the great east window, consisting of a stone tracery-rose, developed in quartrefoil and trefoil from sexagonal base, and carried on six traceryheaded lancets. The ■wings on either, projecting north and south, from the nave end, will have the ridges of their roof level with the eaves of the clerestory, and each of their gable ends will contain a triplepointed lancet window, with the centre lancet rising within the line of the gable ; the front of these wings will have each an upper story with six plain moulded lancets, and the lower floor a gabled and richly decorated canopied entrance door. The tower, which rises from the centre of the building, will be formed by four masonry piers passing through the roof up to the ridge level ; each pier will be strengthened by four plain stone buttresses, constructed in two ramps with dressed stone weatherings; from this level to the spring of the spire the piers will be strengthened at tjiffir angles with four clustered columns .arvidod into four lengths, and then terminating with an open-work octagonal turret, surmounted by a moulded and crocheted octagonal pinnacle, rising a little more than onethird the height of the spire. On each face of the tower, and between the piers, will be the louvre arch, with deep moulded jambs and arch stones, divided in its whole height into two tracery headed lancets, and having also a tracery band across its opening, about one-third of the height up. This arch will be surmounted with a i pointed canopy, filled in with tracery < decorated with crockets, and terminating i with a foliage cross, making the whole rise i to within nearly a half of the height of ; the spire. Each flank of the building will present the aisle and clerestory walls, i divided into seven bays, with plain masonry 1 buttresses, and having double-pointed i tracery-headed windows; the eaves finished with a moulded and. decorated stone course. The transept gable ends will con- i tain each a rose window in stone tracery, 20ft in diameter, under which ; will be constructed a decorated en- i trance door, with shallow porches. The apse will have three large triple pointed tracery windows and four decorated buttresses, with pinnacle and niched heads, richly moulded and decorated eaves. The material for the construction may be briefly described as follows : —The foundations of cement concrete, with a moulded base to the entire building of dressed blue stone ; the dressings and decorations of the walls, &c., and the tower, as also the interior facing of the walls, in Oamaru or i other stone. The rest of the walls |generully of blue stone squared rubble.