Cathedral Columns

COLUMN No. 1

This column together with arch No. 1 was the gift of the Cathedral Guild.

The Guild was formed in 1873 for the purpose of furthering the work of building the Cathedral. It was active for many years and after a long interval of inactivity was revived in 1927.

 

COLUMN and ARCH No. 2

The gift of the Maria Thomson Fund.

Mrs Charles Thomson was a French woman who arrived at Lyttelton in 1851. She was mistress of a private school in Oxford Terrace, near the Hospital. Mrs Thomson died suddenly on 20th December, 1875, and as a memorial, her old pupils and friends raised the "Maria Thomson Fund."

 

COLUMN No. 3

The gift of Sir Charles Thomas Dyke-Acland, Bt.

The donor was not a resident of the colony, but was the elder brother of John Barton Arundell Acland of Mount Peel the donor of Column 12.

Sir Charles Dyke Acland, 8th/12th Baronet of Columb-John, MP (1842-1919)
by Henry Tanworth Wells, RA (Marylebone 1828 - Kensington 1903)
National Trust Inventory Number 921915

COLUMN No. 4

The gift of Archdeacon Willock.

Archdeacon William Wellington Willock, M.A. (Cantab.), arrived in the "Randolph," one of the "First Four Ships." Appointed to the cure of Kaiapoi, Papanui and Rangiora in 1858, he became a Canon of the Cathedral and Archdeacon of Akaroa in 1875. The Archdeacon, who was born on the 18th of June, 1815, the date of the Battle of Water­loo (hence his name) was a cousin of Sir Robert Peel.

COLUMN No. 5

The gift of the Westenra family in memory of Captain Westenra, of "Camla," Dunsandel.   

Captain Westenra, of the 17th Royal Fusiliers, was an early settler who arrived on the "Mid­lothian " in 1851. He saw much service in the later stages of the Peninsula War against Napoleon. He represented the City of Christchurch in the Pro­vincial Council from 1855-57 and again from 1860-66.

COLUMN No. 6.

The inscription reads:

This column was built in memory of the late
ALFRED CHARLES and EMMA BARKER
by their children.

Dr. Alfred Barker, born in London in 1799, qualified as a surgeon at King's College, London. With his wife and three sons, he arrived in the "Charlotte Jane" in 1850. Barker was in the first boat to land at Lyttelton. Being for many years one of the very few doctors in Canterbury, Barker was too busy to give much time to politics, although he was a member of the Provincial Council, 1855-57. In 1858, he retired from practice and devoted himself to intellectual pursuits. His skill as a photographer resulted in many valuable historical records being made. He was a Trustee of the Museum and a Fellow of Christ's College, the library of which he designed complete with plans. Dr. Barker was a member of the original Cathedral Commission. Hie died in 1873 at his home in Worcester Street west. His elder daughter, born in March, 1851, was the first white child born in Christchurch.

COLUMN. No. 7

The Column bears the inscription:

The shaft of this Column was erected by the
Freemasons of Canterbury. To the Glory of
God and in grateful fraternal remembrance of
the Pioneers of the Craft in the Canterbury
Settlement. Anno Lucis, 5902.

"Anno Lucis, 5902 !" Surely an anomalous inscription in a Christian Church?

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12026, 29 October 1904, Page 7

COLUMN No. 8

The column at the south-east of the choir was the gift of Mr R. M. Morten. Mr Morten had given £1000 to the fund for the completion of the Cathedral and the Chapter decided to mark the gift by regarding this column as his gift. The column bears a tablet inscribed:

This Column was erected by

RICHARD MAY MORTEN,

A.D. 1904.

Richard M. Morten, born in Buckinghamshire in 1823, was educated at private schools and brought up to the shipping trade. He left England in 1859 for Australia but after a short stay there he settled in Canterbury in 1860. He immediately took up land at Rakaia, later acquiring land at Mt. Pleasant, Tai Tapu, Waipara and Whiterock, some 12,000 acres in all. He died on August 20th, 1909.

COLUMN No. 9

This column, situated at the south-east end of the nave, was the gift of Canterbury Pilgrims.

The following subscribed to the column: Dean Jacobs, Archdeacons Dudley and Willock, the Revs. C. Bowen and F. Knowles, Messrs John Anderson, C. C. Bowen, R. Fleming, Edward Chapman, W. G. Brittan, F. H. Brittan, E. C. Latter, B. W. Mountfort, W. Pratt, W. B. D. Wilson, Mr and Mrs W. J. W. Hamilton, the Hon. John Hall, Mrs John Bealey, Miss Bealey, Passengers per " Sir George Pollock," " A Seymourite " and " In Memoriam."

 

COLUMN No. 10

Presented anonymously and dedicated: In Memory of a Pilgrim.

COLUMN No. 11

The gift of John Fletcher, Esq., of Croft, Ambleside, England, through his brother-in-law, the Ven. W. W. Willock, Archdeacon of Christchurch.

 

COLUMN No. 12

This column was the gift of the Hon. J. B. A. Acland, M.L.C.

Mr Acland, educated at Harrow and Oxford, where he took his M.A. degree, was a barrister-at-­law of the Inner Temple. He arrived in Canter­bury early in 1855, and later, in company with C. G. Tripp, took up land at Mt. Peel. A Fellow of Christ's College, Acland was also a member of the Diocesan and General Synods. Always a prominent and devout supporter of the Church, Acland regularly took the services at Mt. Peel and at Peel Forest. The churches at Fendalton, Mount Peel and Peel Forest are mainly due to his enthusiasm and generosity. From 1864 to 1899, he represented South Canterbury in the Legislative Council, He died in 1904.

COLUMN No. 13

This column is the gift of Philip Hanmer, Esq.

Mr Hanmer was a barrister and the first Chancellor of the Diocese of Christchurch from 22nd of September, 1874 until his death on the 3rd of November, 1878.

COLUMN No. 14 and the ARCH

Built with the funds of the Cathedral Com­mission.