| Church of the Good Shepherd | |
Church of the Good Shepherd in March 2011
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| Location | Phillipstown, Christchurch |
|---|---|
| Country | New Zealand |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Consecrated | 31 May 1885 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Category I |
| Designated | 2 April 1985 |
| Architect(s) | Benjamin Mountfort |
| Architectural type | Gothic Revival style |
| Completed | 1885 |
The Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown, Christchurch, New Zealand is the oldest and only surviving brick church designed by architect Benjamin Mountfort (1825–1898). It is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
The vicar of Phillipstown, Rev Hannibal James Congdon Gilbert, teamed up with an accountant (James Bowlker) and a storeman (Lewis Aylwin Carrell) to purchase the land for the church for £380 in September 1881. They onsold the Church Property Trustees for a nominal ten shillings in March 1883.[1] The church, constructed in 1885, was designed in the Gothic Revival style with red brick with contrasting bands of stone, reflecting contemporary English architectural style[2] A similarly detailed but larger church, St Johns Cathedral, was designed by Mountfort and built in Napier between 1886 and 1888.[1] This was destroyed by the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and thus left the Church of the Good Shepherd as Mounfort's only surviving brick church.[1]
During an earthquake in September 2010, the church suffered slight damage to its gables.[3] Later that month, the church suffered significant damage to its interior due to vandalism.[3] Major structural damage was caused the following February during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
On 2 April 1985, the church was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category I historic place, with the registration number being 1855. It is significant as Mountfort's only surviving brick church.[2]