Story: English

Durham Street Methodist Church, Christchurch

Durham Street Methodist Church, Christchurch

Methodism was comparatively strong in New Zealand, partly because of the high recruitment of immigrants from the Methodist communities in Cornwall and the Midlands. In Christchurch the first Methodist church opened in 1854, and ten years later the Durham Street Church opened. Its interior, laid out like a large preaching hall with a gallery from which people can see and hear the preacher, reflected the Methodist emphasis on the sermon. The church collapsed in the February 2011 earthquake.

Using this item

Heritage New Zealand – Pouhere Taonga
Photograph by Jennie Hamilton

Permission of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Terry Hearn, 'English - Religion', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/2010/durham-street-methodist-church-christchurch (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Terry Hearn, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2015