Wairarapa Times Age
October 31st 2006
Simple on the outside and beautiful inside constructed using a variety of native woods and lovingly restored by volunteers, the chapel will be officially consecrated on November 10th 2006
St Martin’s, as the chapel was originally known, has a most interesting history and its journey to Rathkeale is equally fascinating, the end of a long adventure in finding a chapel for the college.
The original section of the chapel, the Mission Room [now the nave] was built in 1900 to serve the Mangaweka community which had come into being largely as a result of the construction of the North Island main trunk railway line.
In 1914 a chancel was added and the building was consecrated by the Bishop of Wellington.’’ It is not known for certain who the architect of St Martin ’s was. However, well –known church architect Frederick de Jersey Clere’s 1899 drawings for a small Victorian Gothic Anglican church room in Mangaweka have a number of general similarities to the original building, including its siting parallel to the road.
The changes are primarily associated with strengthening the building. It is likely that the Clere plan was adapted to suit local conditions and abilities.
Heritage architect David Kernohan noted that the builder “with his practical experience and pragmatic nature, and also perhaps some advice from the church to reduce costs, may have revised the intended design and “cut the cloth to suit.”
The original lean-to porch built in 1900 was later altered to the present gabled front entrance, part of which was used as a Sunday School room and for the Ladies Guild. This was completed in 1927.
The small belfry or bellcote was added over the exposed bell between 1951 and 1953.
During this time the present leadlight windows replaced the original painted glass windows.
St Martin ’s was deconsecrated in 2000.
At this time Rathkeale had been searching for a chapel for more than thirty years.
In the late 1960s there had been suggestions that Old St Paul’s in Wellington be moved to the college, a probably impractical suggestion but one which helped galvanise support to save the cathedral, Robyn Prior, chairperson of the Friends Of St Martin’s Chapel Committee, says.
Then in the 1970s an attempt to transport a small Anglican church from Mangatainoka to the college ended in disaster when the movers got caught in the worst southerly of the year and the church was blown off the truck and into pieces.
The 1980s saw an architectural competition to build a chapel on site and a lovely design nominated but the 1980s share market crash and subsequent recession put paid to that.
In 2003 chapel thought came to the fore again and Anglican Bishop Tom Brown was asked to keep as eye out for a suitable building.
The bishop hung on to St Martin ’s until the college could put an offer forward.
While the Mangaweka community was sad to see the church go they were pleased that Rathkeale would bring new life to it, Robyn says.
“The parish was very sad about losing it but they had actually decided that they would like it to go somewhere like a university or school, somewhere where young people could bring life into the building again.
So when Rathkeale College approached them they were delighted because boys from the area had attended the school so there were considerable links already.”
Rathkeale College officially bought St Martin ’s in April 2004 after a drawn out ten month resource consent process.
Bishop Tom Brown’s determination helped swing the resource consent application in favor of the college after the Historic Places Trust was originally opposed to moving the church from its original location, Robyn says.
“Bishop Tom Brown had suffered a number of his churches to become houses, cafes or art galleries and he was absolutely determined that this one wouldn’t. The bishop argued that he was being prevented from moving one of his churches from one area of his garden to another area of his garden.”
The chapel was finally moved to Rathkeale College in April 2005 after being delayed for a year by the floods and slips suffered by Mangaweka around the time of the purchase.
It felt at times during that period that St Martin ’s would never come,” Robyn says.
The chapel now sits on the front corner of The Close at Rathkeale, hence its name St Martin ’s on the Close.
Rathkeale has entered into a heritage covenant with The Historic Places Trust in order to protect St Martin ’s and the relationship between the college and Mangaweka.
A number of links exist between Rathkeale College and the Mangaweka community and the purchase of St Martin ’s has commented these links, Robyn says.
For instance, Matthew Sweet, the great-nephew of Mervyn Sweet, a young soldier who died at Gallipoli and is remembered on a brass plaque in the chancel, attended Rathkeale in the 1980s.
The college will also be closely protecting the many memorials commemorating the Mangaweka men who fought and died overseas, including the chapel’s gifted 1920 harmonium and its chancel stained glass window.The college has also pledged to return to Mangaweka with a plaque to stand at the original site of the chapel and the church will always be available for the people of Mangaweka to use, Robyn says.
The Mangaweka community is also being invited to the reconsecration ceremony and the last bride to be married in the chapel in Mangaweka has been invited to the ceremony.