The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 691, 22 June 1859, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times.

Wednesday, June 22. The . occasion of. laying.th.c foundation stone o^ the church of the Most Holy Trinity, intended for the Parish Church of this town, was celebrated with the usual ceremonies on Monday.

Before speaking of the day' 3 proceedings it may be well to explain'the circumstances under which at this day, gome eight, years- and a-half after the arrival .of the. first colonists, the inhabitants, of Lyttelton are -found to be only • commencing a church. Most.of our readers are' acquaintedrwith the-.main facts of;.the,,case, but the--story: is v one which will bear repetition. '„..,> : ". ». , J ,;: liy.tte]ton,G,hurch was naturally^,theiii'st-thought <of and the/first commenced in the. settlement. . At .ineeting heM;o.n^%#th Se]ite|nber, 1851, the erection of a'building was determined.on-:-: and a committee was formed, which met on the 18th of the same month i .after obtaining subscriptions to the,,amount of £766. !.That same day plans of the .chiireTi were sent in. by Mi-. B, W. Mpuntfort, and

approved of.' ''Tenders were Jor, ;tb supply were obtained early, m .-the foUowmg war, the builder being MrJ Isaac Luck; ! I^ese P™*?^-1 S Mr. Godley,.tl,e : first went orth^anterbury dent of this province/each tobk/an active: part. On the 2Mof'April.;<th'e".foundation stone of the Church^as laid-.byMr,;Godley, amida ilarge•concourse of persons, and, with all due ceremony.:, ,Mr, ; Godley's address Jon th.c occasiQni.dehyered.upop. the ground;is, still recalled by thbs.e who : heard it as one of the most eloquent orations'to'which it had eyer been their.fortune 'to' listen. ,Qn .the day of the cerembn/it is rioted that a deficit of fund? was.expected'of £300/ a sum: which'at that time it was almost hopeless to expect from private subscriptions. The ..committee-took, the bold but most patriotic step of"raising the funds required upon their'own personal security,,a;step .which, as,th.e liabilities. they r -offered: to, incur, really fell .upon, them; tended by no'means to "sweeten, their labours/ or to ,encourage.;.them infringing., ihe work^ to a satisfactory, conclusion.. It is , due to mostof the gentlemen concerned c m these proceedings, to, say that even though,,s.irice ; that'tim'e,. they,have.had, an opportunity of being reimbursed from the:church funds, they- have witli .the purest liberality declined the ofieiyand Ibave thus; : increased .by no. inconsiderable, sum s -the ~amount" available ..for., the new building. '-.. The Church, in.; April 1852,:\yas opened on the 'Feast.of the; Epiphan y: (January 6,) .1853, and' was occupied,:, about nineimontlis. vlt should be said^ that:Mi:..;^punfc- ; fjort's original design was'for a very.large building, of which .only one-third'was' at "first undertakenr The wallsfWere of great-■height; and;',were' con-, structed of what is called 'brick nogging,''viz.-; bricks built into a framework of"timber^ The timber was'of -New Zealand'growth; and though said'to be the finest lot-ever cut in Porirua (Wellington district) it possessed- the prbperty'of shrinking to an1 extent certainly liever-to be "expected by a builder ; whose"; experience :;lay amo'ng^.6aks and I deals... Before.the church had stood six;monthsi the joints of the woodwork had drawn;in.. all directions • the, vacancies .even in, the closely, jointed portions became sufficient to pass the finger .through; The height of the walls and expanse of roof presented such a hold for the fierce; northj winds; that the .workings of the'loosened iiinbers in a'g'ale. became apparent,to, the eye.. . The congregation used.to assemble in terror,' and.pn'.some occasibns, it 'w,as"evide'nt thai but little, was wantingto make them j:all rush out in' Wbody. This little something was afforded' at "last by .the falling, of half a-dozeri bricks, from: the apex of the gable on to ; the floor ben'eath : r-a height "of ;som'e consecinentie.; After this no congregation assembled' there .again for public worship, though'1 in' cases of funerals the-bunal service" was sometimes "read there'; TheiVis little doubt that undue terror was,excited. r The; building-"in fact did' stand long after it wasJ1 abandoned, and might have stood any number of' yeai'S without getting worse. ,At ahy.'rate/'such repairs and' additions 'might have been made as would■ have: preyfented ..any^,,,more bricks from-.; falling:, and iihis: would possibly "have been 'done had not the .truncated;building presented itself .to' the public' eye as soirifensely ugly that taste 'as 'well as comfort demarided';its' removal. This was' donei in 1857, constant discussion'; on in the meantime as to what could or should be done'to providb a permanent church. -The vital question of funds, was; one \vliich prolonged the discussion, for- the Church Property Trustees, who held, a sum of money granted by. Sir Walter James to -Lyttelton Chuvch, requii'ed some time to realise the amount by the' sale of a portion of land. In October,, 1857, the subject was taken, up again in earnest, and subscriptions ■■wj?vft-«o}Vl!^d-Oi: -i^pmisedwithin a;m^^totnwunt of something «>---i----«.u^and pounds. . A design for a stone church, "one oitnree"'submitted by Mr. George Mallinson, had been approved, of at a public meeting, and nothing remained but to obtain a tender to construct the building within the amount available. This proved to be a most tedious process, so that, after a variety of endeavours resulting inthe receipt of a few tenders at a sum something r like double that estimated, the committee at the end of a year gave back their task into; the hands of the congregation, and the prospect of being able to erect a stone building, appeared indefinitely distant. Just at this time, when a wooden church iwas about to be determined on, the grant of money by the Provincial Council increased the church funds, and infused fresh vigour into the operations of the' committee. The design in stone was taken up again, and the introduction of labour rendered it more easy to execute that class of work. A tender by an experienced stone-mason and builder, Mr. -E. Morey, was sent.in and accepted, arid the work commenced in earnest a, second , time. The foundation was taken out in a somewhat different part of the reserve from the former site, so that the whole build-

ing rests level upon the solid ground. In our opinion the site.is thus much, improved.. This .alteration involved considerable expense in exeavar tion. Here, .by Monday last, all the foundations had been put in and all the builder's preparations very judiciously made for the ceremony, of laying the earner stone. , , ' ■ . ;'"••' The' Bishdp of Christchurch was 1 invited "and agreed to be the layer of the stone, irorning service was read at the Temporary Churchj:a large number of tho regular congregation, a'good attendance of visitorsi;and the. children of the school, being present, so that the church' was quite full. The day fixed upon was that.immediately succeeding the Feast' of' the"• Trinity, in ''whose name*the church' 'is dedicated. -■ It happened', alsb 'to, be the anniversary of her Majesty's accession;, and the peculiar service 'appointed for 'this""occasion. Was' therefore joined in, ,as it seldom happens to,be, by a large colonial Congregation. '"''' '". : '„- , JVVhen the regular seryice of the day was over, a procession was formed at the door of the Temporary Church, headed by the.children .of the,school,-the choir, the builder, architect, secretary, committee, churchwardens, clergy, and the bishop, the.congregation following two and two; in this order the site of the new church, was reached,, where all those who were to take part in the ceremony, proceeded to occupy their allotted places. A harmonium, had been placed on the ground, and the choir surrounded it. The day was. bitterly cold, being cloudy, and the wind blowing fresh from the southward- A few tents and tarpaulins were provided, which sheltered some of those present from the blast, but. did little else to mitigate the severity of the weather. The site had been carefully, arranged for the ceremony, a platform was provided .forthe ladies, rails had been placed, and other accommodation provided for those, who were not to take part in the ceremony, and the high banks forming two sides of the side afforded an excellent view of all the proceedings. Elags and colours were flying in groups all over the ground, and the presence of some three hundred spectators rendered the scene one of the most animated character. • The special service had been arranged by the.Bishqp bfChristchurch and printed, for distribution;" It commenced with the ' chaunting of three psalms', all-which were were, beautifully executed. At' the appointed moment the' stone"was raised ;to prepare it for the ceremony ; and ;here a slight accident occurred by the>'.triangle upon-which' the tackle'was rigged falling over just as the stoiie rose, and within ■ a little injuring some of the bystanders. No accident of conaequencedidj however,1 occur; all was put tc rights and.the service proceeded. The secretary read the incription which-had been engrossed upon parchment, to be deposited beneath the'stone It was as follows :—

„ *' .",'■ '■'■.'. ,ln h0n0rem.,.,.-, „ „: ' -'■ ''■'' '•' Sahctissimfe'TriMtatiß, <■"--•'>■ Patrfs,.Filii,;Spintiia Sancti, , .. Personarum,, Trium,; Unius... Dei, ; , Lunse;Die, ipsuni"T^r^nitatis. festuiij; ihse^uente; ;'" Necnbn 6tT"icton», jßVginas,; '■."

Ahnuni jamriunc' tertium et vicesinium' I'egnantis, • ' ' ' Acceßsio'njß sollenni die,! ■ Ante diem rfemjie duddecirnatii Kalendas. Julias,

Anno Itedemptionis'nostfae' - ■■ Millesimo qetingentepimo quinquagesimo nono, • ■_ ....' • , .Hunc,Angularem Lapidem, { . ; -ZEdis denuo a fundamentis exstructK, ■'' XjTbl olim lignese, nunc lapidese,,.. Civium Lytteltbnensium, '■'. - Adjiivante iErario Provinciali,-sump'titJiisi ' "Inte.r, multa's assistentiupi preces landesq.ue, .;-, :' /-.'»■* ' Posui't Vir'adiriodiitn-Ileverenduß r Henricus ,1. C. Harper,,Sancta3 Theolpgias Professor, Primus JEdis Ctiristi apud Cantuarienses Prseaul.' The English translation of. the above may be rendered thus,;— ;.„. . ;.-• ..: „; . : ■• To the Honour ; .. Of the Most Holy Trinity, ;; : '■'■ Father; Son; and" Holy Ghost, . >. :: ■■:> ■:, Three person s and one God, On Monday, the day after the F,east: of the Trinity ;' -And oh the Twerity-tliifd anniversary of tlie Accession of Queen Victoria, ; Being tlie,2otli .day, of-Juh^Hn the year of our Eedemption

MDCCCLIX, ; . This corner stone of-a church, ■. •„■■ JReeoiistructed;:frora >.i%9 foundations 'Formerly of t \tppd, now'of stone, At the expense of the inhabitants of Lyttelton, ['[ , / Aided-by a 1 grant from the Provincial-Treasury, "VVaslaid amid;the.-prayer,and praises of the Congregation >,; • By;thedlight.Reyerend : :; Henry JV'.G.; Harper,, Doctor of Divinity, !'! First Bishop' of Ghristchurch, Canterbury, , JJefr Zealand. .'.'"'...■'..'.,,

This inscription Was placed in' a flask, which also ; contained a sketch 'plan of thecharch.to.be built, ! a copy of the ' Lyttelton Titties' of; the latest date, '> and a coin of each "'denomination, of the present reign; the flask'J was placed in a cavity, of the lower stone, where "alscpwas deposited beside,it the flask extracted from the foundation stone of the former building, still In' 'a state of complete preservation. , r The,lessons-appointed were then read; and the' 1 "trowel" was ' taken by . the Bishop of Christchurch, who therewith' prepared the bed of mortar for the reception.of the stone.: The stone was loweredjinto its place,, adjusted well with level and square, and pronounced .to be. laid in ; due form, : the Bishop adding' an appropriate prayer. The service then proceeded1 till hear the close, when the Bishop took occasion to deliver an address which :we .cannot give at'the length which it deserves'; it is sufficient.to say that it was-well worthy of the Christian pastor-who delivered it; and of the occasion which; called it forth ; and that it evidently produced a deep impression upon all who heard i.t. Immediately' after the • address/a final psalm was sung, during' which a • -collection was made towards the building fund; -after which the Bishop's blessing dismissed 'the assembly. The • amount'colleetedi on the\rpund was about £45, arid a few contributions afterwards raised the-amount to about £50,' a very satisfactory, proof of liberality,on ther part of those assembled^ among whom were" several persons not members of the Church of England.^;:; : Thus ended, in the most satisfactory manner, except as/regards the weather: the ceremonial of laying the foundation stoneoftheNewParish Church of Lytteltpn. A cold collation- was provided after the ceremony in Mi\ Gee's Eooms, in Canterbury Street, where the Building Committee were joined by the Bishop of Christchurch, His Honor the Superintendent, His Honor Mr. Justice Gresson, the Veri. Archdeacon- Mathias; and the 'Clergy, who uuinpnsecrthe Jttevs.-C Hodgelina' F. Knowles, of Lyttelton- the Eevs. W. W. Willock, G.iCdtterill, H. Feh'dall, and-C. Bowen ; besides ■ several other gentlemen^ who ■ had' come from 'a' • 'distance: and withstood; the inclement south-jvestgaje upon the5, ground. To-complete the satisfaction of 'all classes, a special- pi'ovisioh was made for the' entertainment- of the school children who had been; called on to take part in the ceremony.' Mr. P. Banks, with1 well bestowed generosity, invited all the juvenile members of the • congregation to his residerce, where he regaled them with those delights which most charm the youthful heart —buns, cake, games, and sixpences' for'pocket- -money. ■ Certainly the. young folk heartily 'appreciated Mr. Banks's endeavours to amuse them, and the afternoon was one for them to lo,ok'back to for the rest-of the.year. .It is no small matter to have imbued the rising;generation with the feeling-that church building is ''a:.delightful occupation. • May- the feeling • now planted in their bosoms bear substantial fruit in time to:'c'ome!