Frederick de Jersey Clere, an architect born in 1856, designed over a hundred churches throughout Aotearoa – around 85 of which are still standing today. He’s regarded for his unostentatious yet innovative techniques that made his buildings practical and hardy.
Though you can imagine that, after a century or so, some of these churches might need a bit of touching up.
That’s why Clere’s grandson, David Luke, bequeathed a fund for the purpose of helping to maintain the structures that Frederick de Jersey Clere designed.
The original design and build of the church took place around 1909, and the church has changed little during that time. The original plans show choir seats, a prayer desk and pews. Everything other than the choir seats remain in the church today. It stands as a beautiful church building with a bell tower rising above its surroundings, visible from across Motueka.
In early 2023 the parish was contacted by Heritage New Zealand, inviting them to apply for funding from the David Luke Heritage Bequest. It was a great offer and one the parish embraced.
That May, vestry submitted an application in order to give St Thomas a brand new coat of paint.
“The last few years during the pandemic have been hard work for a small rural parish,” vicar’s warden Laurie Gabites wrote in the application, “but all our work has paid off.”
“We are now seeing a growing attendance not only at church but associated activities such as Messy Church. This is encouraging and suggests this project has come at the right time for us. Painting the exterior of the church will signal, as we always have, a place that with a tall bell tower is the lighthouse of the community.”
The vestry employed a local family painting business to undertake the work. Over two months, teams of scaffolders, plumbers and painters carefully refurbished the building’s exterior.
The new colours were chosen to be more consistent with the original drawings done by Clere but also fit with the current surrounding environment. This was done in consultation with a colour consultant and the painting contractor.
Colin Bartlett, a vestry member who looks after church maintenance, was on site most days to supervise and answer questions throughout the process, completed in early 2024.
“The refresh has been a great result,” he said, “and should last for many generations of future parishioners.”
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We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Frederick de Jersey Clere, an architect born in 1856, designed over a hundred churches throughout Aotearoa – around 85 of which are still standing today. He’s regarded for his unostentatious yet innovative techniques that made his buildings practical and hardy.
Though you can imagine that, after a century or so, some of these churches might need a bit of touching up.
That’s why Clere’s grandson, David Luke, bequeathed a fund for the purpose of helping to maintain the structures that Frederick de Jersey Clere designed.
The original design and build of the church took place around 1909, and the church has changed little during that time. The original plans show choir seats, a prayer desk and pews. Everything other than the choir seats remain in the church today. It stands as a beautiful church building with a bell tower rising above its surroundings, visible from across Motueka.
In early 2023 the parish was contacted by Heritage New Zealand, inviting them to apply for funding from the David Luke Heritage Bequest. It was a great offer and one the parish embraced.
That May, vestry submitted an application in order to give St Thomas a brand new coat of paint.
“The last few years during the pandemic have been hard work for a small rural parish,” vicar’s warden Laurie Gabites wrote in the application, “but all our work has paid off.”
“We are now seeing a growing attendance not only at church but associated activities such as Messy Church. This is encouraging and suggests this project has come at the right time for us. Painting the exterior of the church will signal, as we always have, a place that with a tall bell tower is the lighthouse of the community.”
The vestry employed a local family painting business to undertake the work. Over two months, teams of scaffolders, plumbers and painters carefully refurbished the building’s exterior.
The new colours were chosen to be more consistent with the original drawings done by Clere but also fit with the current surrounding environment. This was done in consultation with a colour consultant and the painting contractor.
Colin Bartlett, a vestry member who looks after church maintenance, was on site most days to supervise and answer questions throughout the process, completed in early 2024.
“The refresh has been a great result,” he said, “and should last for many generations of future parishioners.”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
