Anglican Parish of Pauatahanui

Church of Choice, Church with Choice, Church for Community

St Alban's, Pauatahanui

St Alban's at the head of the Pauatahanui inlet has special historic significance in the Pauatahanui area. In 2006 we celebrate the 110th anniversary of the church, designed by the Diocesan architect Frederick de Jersey Clere. Prior to 1896 Anglicans worshipped in the chapel built for "all denominations of Protestant Christians resident in Pauatahanui and neighbourhood".

St Alban’s Church is a simple, but elegantly composed and proportioned, Gothic Revival timber building and is an eloquent expression of the style executed in local materials. The church architect was Frederick de Jersey Clere. The plan is a plain rectangle, with a small porch at the south-west corner, a small vestry wing at the south-east corner and a semi-circular apse at the east end. The exterior of the church is distinctive for its dramatically sloped roof, tall bell-tower, gable screen, and rhythmic arrangement of timber buttresses and lancet windows. The roof is sheathed in corrugated iron and follows around the apse in a series of triangular segments, the walls are clad with weatherboards and the joinery is entirely in timber. The vestry and porch have low gabled roofs. The buttresses are placed on the sides of the building only and do not extend around the apse - these heavy-looking elements, shingled on the top edges, give strong pattern to the exterior of the building and add considerable visual interest. The bell-tower is sufficiently tall to be seen over the wider Pauatahanui area, despite the many mature trees surrounding the building.

Each year in December St Alban's hosts a performance of Handel's Messiah. Check the News of Pauatahanui Anglicans or the Messenger for the date.

On ANZAC Day (25 April) a Service of Remembrance is held at St Alban’s.  Following the service wreaths are laid at the Pauatahanui War Memorial.

Around St Alban’s there are two burial grounds.  The burial ground surrounding the church is administered by the St Alban’s Burial Ground Board of Managers.  The burial ground between the highway and the driveway is the Pauatahanui Burial Ground and dates back to 1860. Here there is a collection of old fashioned roses tended by volunteers. These roses grow amongst the graves of the early settlers to the area. The early and mid-summer months are when the blooms are at their best. However in the autumn many of the roses have beautiful hips and others throw blooms well into winter. Click here for an inventory and photographs of the roses: http://www.pcc.govt.nz/roses/

Stronghold of Faith by Helen Balham tells the history of St Alban's. It is available from the Parish Office. Read about our connection with St Alban's Abbey in The Tale of the Tile

 

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