At cross purposes
Plans to create a new front entrance to Palmerston North’s historic All Saints Church have hit a brick wall, with Heritage New Zealand discouraging the church from removing the baptistry. Its request to reconsider using the existing west porch or a new south-facing entrance as alternatives have taken the parish by surprise. Senior priest and fundraiser John Hornblow said neither option was acceptable, and the design team would not spend any more time and resources investigating them. The church had twice revised plans on heritage advice, to make the new porch distinctly different rather than mimic the building’s style, and to leave the bell tower free from additions. ‘‘If they will not agree to the baptistry change, we will have to consider where we go with this project.’’ The plans have developed from the need to earthquake-strengthen the building, which has been closed since 2013. The parish wants to enhance the century-old building, removing the baptistry to create a new arched entrance offering views from outside directly towards the memorial stained glass window in the east above the altar. The baptism font, rarely used in decades, would move to a more central location. Archbishop David Moxon, former head of the Anglican Church in New Zealand and emissary to the Vatican, said the plans were in keeping with the church’s mission to offer hospitality. Moxon was baptised in the font, and said he would feel very good about having it in a place where everyone who came into the church walked around it, not past it. ‘‘Fonts should be in the public space, not locked away in a little room.’’ Heritage New Zealand central region area manager Alison Dangerfield said she understood the church wanted to make the building more welcoming. She said the new glazed front porch area would help create a weather-proof gathering space between the street and the church, while keeping the shape and form of the building visible. But the sticking point was the demolition of the baptistry and how that altered the heritage value of the building. ‘‘At the moment, we have not quite got to the point where we can give a firm decision.’’ Hornblow said the parish’s final report on the project was supported by the church, Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith, the city council, and by Rangita¯ ne kauma¯ tua Wiremu Te Awe Awe. ‘‘As far as we are concerned, this is the last such document we will produce.’’ Hornblow said they were struggling to understand the reluctance to allow demolition of less than 2 per cent of the structure. The stained glass windows from the baptistry would be moved to a new garden passageway at the south side of the building, and all that would be lost was a small back room used for storage and children’s play. He said a door to the south would cause destruction of a memorial to the Tangiwai disaster victims, and the west porch was not wide enough for pallbearers to carry a casket through. Hornblow said any ‘‘unreasonable’’ delays would trigger volunteer fatigue to see the project through. All Saints had outgrown its community centre and needed to reclaim the space within the church. ‘‘Otherwise we would have no option but to consider leaving the building as it is and asking Heritage New Zealand to take responsibility.’’ Dangerfield said it would not be an ideal outcome from a heritage point of view if All Saints ceased being a church.