Wonderful Wood at Old St Paul's

Standing by the pipe organ

On our last visit to Old St Paul's we were able to have a more leisurely wander around.
It always fills us with awe that a building as beautiful as this is made of such beautiful wood that just glows with warmth.

The impressive pipes

The organ that is in the church now was purchased in 1977 to replace the original one.
It is made in the classical tradition and it's front is made of heart rimu.
It has 1316 pipes which are divided into 19 different voice ranges.

The Seddon Memorial Pulpit

The Seddon Memorial Pulpit is a memorial to New Zealand's last Premier Richard John Seddon.
New Zealand became the first country to give woman the vote while he was Premier.
The pulpit is a hexagonal shape and it was carved in England.
The wood is oak.
It is so impressive in "real life".

Having a sit down

Salem had a sit down to take in everything.
The wooden pews used to be reserved for people who had paid an annual subscription.

The brass lectern

The lectern is so beautiful!!!
It was made in London and then was gifted to Old St Paul's in 1881.
It was gifted in the memory of William Barnard Rhodes who was a New Zealand business man, pastoralist and politician .
He was born in England and Died in Wellington on the 11th February 1878.
He was one of the richest people in New Zealand at that time.

One of the plaques

There are lots of plaques on the walls that are always interesting to read.

In the shop

We had a good look in the little shop.
There are some really nice things in there.
Lots of good little gifts that would be good for xmas presents.
Salem bought a large piece of slate which was from the roof.
The church roof had been replaced and they kept a lot of the larger slate pieces.
The slate had originally come from Wales.

The Cathedra or Bishops chair

The Cathedra was presented to Bishop Wallis in 1896 by the congregation.
It is made from rimu and made to a Glastonbury design.
"Cathedra" means seat of a teacher or authority figure.
It is quite small by today's standards, more like a child's chair.
Peoples bottoms are definitely bigger these days :^)

Stained Glass Windows at Old St Paul's

We paid another visit a few weeks ago to have a more relaxed visit and to really explore Old St Paul's.

Old St Paul's is a lovely example of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture which was adapted to colonial conditions and materials. It was designed by the Reverend Frederick Thatcher, who was the vicar of St Paul's parish in Thorndon,Wellington. 

Old St Paul's is constructed entirely from native timbers which really glow and radiates a real warmth.  This is enhanced by all the stunning stained glass windows.  It is absolutely beautiful.

We spent a lot of time just looking up at the beautiful windows and it's amazing to think of all the people who have done the same in the past since it's consecration on the 6th June 1866.

The stained glass windows depict scenes from the bible and commemorates former parishioners.

Old St Paul's was the first Anglican cathedral of Wellington (but the second Anglican church in Wellington) and is considered to be his finest work.

Such a beautiful place to visit.
I will be doing a couple more posts on this wonderful historic treasure over the next couple of days.
We can't wait to visit again.

Old St Paul's - Thorndon, Wellington

Old St Paul's

After a day of walking around on another of our expeditions, we had a bit of time to kill before we had to catch the train that we wanted.
We had just been to Hobson Street Park so were walking down Thorndon to get to the Railway Station.
So we thought it would be nice to sit in the grounds of Old St Paul's and have some afternoon tea.

One of the many majestic Pohutakawa trees surrounding the church 

Even though I have lived in Wellington most of my life, I had never been into the grounds of this church.
We have walked past here many, many times.

Another great tree to climb

So while I was having a sit down and a snack, Salem was exploring all the trees.
He loves his tree climbing!!!!
There are some very large old Pohutakawa trees around the church, I was glad of their shade and Salem had climbed a couple of them.
He didn't go very high up though.
Too tired I think.

At the front doors of Old St Paul's

So since we were here, the church was open to the public and we still had a bit of time before we had to wander off to the station, we decided it was about time to go and have a look inside.

The bell tower

Old St Paul's is one of Wellington's, well really New Zealand's, greatest heritage places.
It is one of the finest examples of timber Gothic Revival styled architecture in the world.

Looking up at the bells

It was the parish church for Thorndon and was the Cathedral church for Wellington from 1866 until 1964.
While it is no longer a parish church, it is still consecrated.

Flag of the 2nd Division of the US Marine Corps

It is open to the public and there are lovely volunteers there who will give you an informal tour if you would like.
Unfortunately we didn't have the time for that so had a look around ourselves.

Looking towards the Sanctuary

It is such a lovely church.
All the wood was polished and it had that delicious lemony smell of wood polish.
I have not been in any building that had that much timber.
It was impressive and absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately the flash on my camera is not that great so these photos just don't do it justice.

Stunning stained glass windows

Salem and I were just stunned with the beauty of it all.
And the amount of stained glass windows was impressive as it was beautiful.
There was so much to take in but not enough time for us to look at everything.
There was an information area too, which was very interesting.
We will take a more detailed look next time.

Yes, we will be back again and have a real good look, have a tour and take our time.
I really wonder why I hadn't been here before.
Another place to add to our "Favourite Places" list.