Durham Street Methodist Church

Durham Street Methodist Church
Durham Street Methodist Church circa 1890–1915
Coordinates: 43°31′40″S 172°38′00″E / 43.5279°S 172.6333°E / -43.5279; 172.6333
Location	Christchurch Central City
Country	New Zealand
Denomination	Methodist
Website	Durham Street Methodist Church
History
Founded	25 December 1864 (1864-12-25)
Architecture
Heritage designation	Category I
Demolished	22 February 2011

The Durham Street Methodist Church in Christchurch was the earliest stone church constructed in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. It is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

The church was severely damaged by an earthquake on 4 September 2010, but collapsed during a following earthquake on 22 February 2011, killing three workers who were removing the organ.

Christchurch was mainly an Anglican settlement. The congregation of Methodists was small, but active. The first Methodist Chapel, which was located in High Street, was sold in 1864.

An architectural competition was held for a new church in Durham Street. The winning architectural firm, Crouch and Wilson from Melbourne, had entered a design in the Gothic Revival style in the 1863 competition. Local architect Samuel Farr, who had come to Akaroa in early 1850, came second in the competition and was engaged to for the construction supervision. In early 1864, the foundation stone was laid by Samuel Bealey who at the time was Superintendent of Canterbury Province. The building was officially opened on Christmas Day 1864 and Canterbury thus had its first church built of permanent materials. The stone used includes Halswell and Port Hills basalt and Charteris Bay sandstone. A gallery was added to the building in 1869 and a schoolroom was built next to it in 1875. A parsonage was subsequently erected facing Chester Street. In 1951 a Memorial Chapel was added, dedicated to those killed in both World Wars.