CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
NELSON, NZ ANGLICAN
PAUL SCOTT
SATELLITE VIEW
Nelson Cathedral is set on a wooded hill surrounded by Selwyn Place to the north and Trafalgar Square on the other three sides. The sanctuary, tower and flight of steps are to the geographical north. In this site we shall use liturgical directions with liturgical East (capital letter) to the geographical north, and other directions correspondingly. Thus the West doors (bottom) open to a small car park, there are squat North and South transepts (left and right), and the tower to the East.
We shall approach along Selwyn Place from the North (left), climb the first steps before branching off around the Southern path (right) to the Western (bottom) carpark, before walking back round the North (left) side close to the wall to the tower. Finally we shall enter the Cathedral through the West doors.
The garden setting is magnificent.
This official Cathedral plan shows the geographical direction at the top. I have made some minor modifications!
Nelson Cathedral is roughly cruciform with very squat transepts and adjoining chapels. There are unusual angled windows either side of the West doors (bottom). We shall enter by the West doors and explore the nave, followed by the North transept and adjoining ‘work space’, sanctuary, South transept and chapel. The tower is just East of the vestries.
A brief history of the Cathedral is given below. However, if you want to begin your tour of the Cathedral immediately, tap / click on START . You can also access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
NOTE ON MAGNIFYING IMAGES
With this website format the images are large enough for most purposes. If there is a need for greater magnification of an image, go to the identical photo on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulscottinfo/albums
and use Command - + (Mac) or Windows - + (Windows).
HISTORY
[Wikipedia]
Christ Church Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in upper Trafalgar Street, Nelson, New Zealand with seating for 350 people. It is 58 metres in length and 27 metres wide. The tower is 35 metres high.
History
The original church was erected in 1851 at a different site, and enlarged in 1859. In 1866 the church was named as Christ Church Cathedral and enlarged again. In 1887 a second church was constructed at the current site using much of the same materials of the previous cathedral.
In 1925 the current church construction began. Construction was finished in 1965. The majority of the marble was sourced from the Pakikiruna Range, near Takaka. When construction started, the marble was to be used in blocks. However, after the 1929 Murchison earthquake this was deemed too risky and far too expensive. The marble was then ground down and mixed with plaster to give the unusual appearance and colour.
The steps are constructed from granite. This granite was obtained from Tonga Beach, which is now part of Abel Tasman National Park. There is now a monument that overlooks Trafalgar Street and celebrates 100 years of settlement in Nelson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church_Cathedral,_Nelson
