Historic church on the move
Hamilton’s oldest church has found its saviour, but the building’s ascension to the afterlife is likely to be in pieces on the back of a truck.
And there could be some loaves and fishes in the future of the century-old St Paul’s Methodist Church - it’s set to be turned into a cafe in Te Kowhai.
After nourishing Hamilton’s Methodist souls for more than 100 years, it will now replenish their stomachs as a cafe/gift shop in the nearby rural settlement of Te Kowhai.
The wooden London Street church, which is listed as a category B heritage item, will be moved in March. After a lengthy process, Saint Properties Ltd owners Jason Barnes and Nigel Smith, who purchased the church to save it from demolition, finally got the go-ahead on their plans and they promise to retain all its features.
The church was closed in 2012 because the congregation did not have the money to bring it up to earthquake regulation standards. After a call for a saviour in 2015, Barnes and Smith answered the church’s prayers.
The decision to allow the move was released this month by commissioner William Wasley on behalf of Hamilton City Council.
The city would lose a piece of its heritage, he wrote, but he thought it would be better for the building to be restored and be used again - albeit in another Waikato settlement.
Barnes said his company would strengthen the building and turn it into a cafe and gift shop next to the company’s Country Living subdivision.
Some parts of the church’s vestry might be altered or removed for the commercial kitchen and cafe, Barnes submitted.
And a larger doorway would allow customers to get on to an outdoor deck. Barnes also has a personal interest.
‘‘My partner’s mother’s parents got married here, I didn’t know until I spoke to the grandmother,’’ he said. ‘‘We brought her to the church at Christmas. You could see the memories come flooding back for her.’’
The church’s departure from Hamilton was debated in a resource consent hearing in November 2017, and Wasley’s decision was released in January 2018.
The installation in Te Kowhai comes under Waikato District Council’s jurisdiction, and was approved back in July 2017. Once the church has gone from London Street, the site will be used as a pocket park until the Methodist church gets consent for a new activity
Barnes said the process of uplifting the church would be done in two stages over two days.
‘‘My estimate is that all the restoration, refurbishment for use as a cafe/gift shop, installation of the commercial kitchen and full preparation for its new use will be completed within six months from delivery to the new site,’’ he said.
Three submitters - all with architectural or heritage knowledge - had submitted against the building being moved. Among their main concerns were the disconnect of moving the church away from the Methodist site, the loss of heritage, and absence of protection for the building on its new site.
Wasley set some conditions aimed at reducing the impact. They included preparing a full photographic record of the building, installing signage with information about the site’s historic nature and turning the site into a pocket park until another use was consented.
Barnes said his company is still looking for a cafe owner to take over and hope he or she would incorporate a holy theme into the name.