St Stephens - About

Available Now

Organ music from Holy Trinity Cathedral,
played by
Eugene Lavery,
Assistant Organist

St Stephen's Chapel (Old)

Bishop G.A. Selwyn, desiring a chapel for his own (though not exclusive) use, purchased 2½ acres (1ha) of land above Judges Bay (Taurarua) in 1844, and on it erected the first St Stephen's Chapel, which collapsed in 1847.

Read more about it here.

St Stephen's Chapel

The chapel now on the site was built at St John's College Meadowbank in early 1857 and was shipped about 8km to the site, a daunting task, as access to the water from the College and to the site of the Chapel are steep. The Chapel hosted the meetings which created the Constitution of the Anglican Church in New Zealand, signed here on 13th June 1857.

Visitors approach the chapel from Judge St through a lych gate, and pass through a graveyard in which are buried some of the earliest pioneers of New Zealand and of the Church in New Zealand.

The chapel, striking in its simplicity, sits on a small, levelled patch of land on a relatively steep slope which overlooks Judges' Bay (Taurarua). This small bay in the beautiful Waitemata Harbour gained its English name because the homes of New Zealand's first Chief Justice (Sir William Martin) and Attorney- General (William Swainson) were built on the foreshore of the bay.

With steeply pitched roof, vertical battens, windows of small diamond-shaped panes, and its suitability to its situation, it is a tiny version of the style which has become synonymous with the so-called "Selwyn churches", designed by Frederick Thatcher in close collaboration with Bishop Selwyn.

Built of five squares, each of 10 feet (3.3 metres) side, the chapel was built as a semi-private chapel for the Bishop's use, though open for use by all who chose to worship there.

The chapel fell steadily into a state of disrepair during the early part of the 20th century, and was close to collapse when, in 1928, the Most Revd Alfred Walter Averill, Bishop of Auckland and Archbishop of New Zealand began the task of restoring it to it's original glory - retaining for us a unique and beautiful part of the history of our young nation.

The chapel is today the "local" church for many people in the district. Holy Communion is celebrated each Sunday morning at 9:00, and a contemplative Communion each Wednesday at 7:30 pm. All are welcome, though only 40 people can be accomodated.

This church is a very popular venue for small weddings, which may be booked through the Cathedral office (click this link).

Learn more about St Stephens by viewing the gallery of photographs through the link below.

[St Stephens Gallery]