Church of the Good Shepherd, Christchurch

Church of the Good Shepherd
Church of the Good Shepherd in March 2011
43°32′13″S 172°39′18″E
Location	Phillipstown, Christchurch
Country	New Zealand
Previous denomination	Anglican
History
Status	Church
Consecrated	31 May 1885
Events	2011 Christchurch earthquake
Architecture
Functional status	Demolished (2011)
Heritage designation	Category I (prior to demolition)
Designated	2 April 1985
Architect(s)	Benjamin Mountfort
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Completed	1885
Demolished	2011
Specifications
Materials	Brick
Heritage New Zealand – Category 1
Designated	2 April 1985
Reference no.	1855

The Church of the Good Shepherd was an Anglican church in Phillipstown, Christchurch, New Zealand. It was demolished following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

History

The Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, Christchurch, after the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake

Church of the Good Shepherd after demolition

The vicar of Phillipstown, Rev Hannibal James Congdon Gilbert, an accountant, (James Bowlker), and a storeman, (Lewis Aylwin Carrell), together purchased the land for the church in September 1881 for £380. In March 1883, they onsold the land to the "Church Property Trustees" for a nominal ten shillings. The church, constructed in 1885, was designed in the Gothic Revival style with red brick with contrasting bands of stone, reflecting the contemporary English architectural style A similarly detailed but larger church, St Johns Cathedral, was also designed by Mountfort and built in Napier between 1886 and 1888. That church was destroyed by the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake thereby leaving the Church of the Good Shepherd as Mounfort's only surviving brick church.

Mountfort's son, Cyril, oversaw the extension of the church between 1906 and 2007.

Due to an earthquake in September 2010, the church's gables were damaged. Later that month, further damage resulted from vandalism. On 22 February 2011, another earthquake caused major structural and the church was demolished later that year.

Heritage listing

The church had been the last surviving brick church designed by the architect Benjamin Mountfort (1825–1898). On 2 April 1985, it was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I historic place, with the registration number 1855.