St Cuthbert's Anglican Church, Governors Bay

St Cuthbert's Anglican Church
Governors Bay

Architect: George Mallinson
Builder: Edward Morey

Designed by the architect George Mallinson the foundation stone of St Cuthberts Church was laid in 1860. Mallinson was also the architect of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Lyttelton and the Wesleyan Chapels in both Lyttelton and Kaiapoi.
(from a postcard by the photographer Ernest de Tourret)

The delightfully picturesque Anglican Church, St. Cuthbert's, with its separate belfry, situated on the hillside over-looking the blue waters of the Bay, dominates the scene, and is inextricably associated with the life of the settlers. Previous to its erection, and up till 1860, services were held in a small sod building. The monuments in the old churchyard bear the names of many a hardy settler, but the lives of these indomitable folk constitute the real monument, and one which is being gratefully remembered at the present time throughout the length and breadth of the land. The first burial was that of Robert Munro, dated March 16, 1867. The story of a burial which took place in 1869 is instinct with chivalry and devotion. It was that of Mary Crompton of Little River. The body was borne on foot by eight men from Little River, a distance of forty miles, so that she whom they loved might rest in a real cemetery. The inscription is no longer visible, but the headstone remains. The foundation of this church was laid in 1860, and there was no hurried jerry-building about its erection. It took two years to build, some of the stone being brought from the beach, and some from Garlick's quarry. The first high roof was of shingles and more picturesque than the present corrugated iron one, and the thick walls with the very deeply inset latticed windows and substantial buttresses add to the charm of the building. The porch, with its cobblestone floor, is reminiscent of an English village church.

The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 15, Issue 1 (April 1, 1940)
Victoria University of Wellington


St Cuthberts Church in January 2008

George Mallinson - A native of Dewsbury served his articles with the noted firm of Barry and Brown, Liverpool. He returned to England in the 1860's with his wife and children and died at Filey, Yorkshire on 5 December 1908 aged 77 years.

refer: Historic Places Trust - http://www.historic.org.nz/TheRegister/RegisterSearch/RegisterResults.aspx?RID=281
Papers Past - Lyttelton Times, Volume XIII, Issue 779, 28 April 1860, Page 4
Papers Past - Lyttelton Times, Volume XIV, Issue 837, 17 November 1860, Page 4
Papers Past - Wellington Independent, Volume XIV, Issue 1431, 8 June 1860, Page 5
Papers Past - Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 22, 27 January 1909, Page 4
Papers Past - Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1909, Page 1