Blog

With St Chad, St Michael and St Aidan watching every move, Mark Whyte carefully takes a sample of grout from the beautiful 120-year-old stone reredos near the altar of Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary. Whether the saints approve, it’s hard to tell – the stern look on St Chad’s face suggests otherwise – but the work has their best interests at heart. Stone sculptor Mark, and business partner stone mason Robin Ayers, from Christchurch company Goldfield Stone Ltd, are in... read more

With plenty of blood, sweat and tears – and millions of dollars – being invested to earthquake strengthen and upgrade Taranaki Cathedral, keeping it safe once complete is a priority. That includes keeping it safe from fire. As part of The Taranaki Cathedral Project work, fire engineer Sam Grindrod, from fire engineering consultancy Holmes Fire, recently made a site visit to evaluate the life safety aspects of the building and to determine what form of early warning system from fire would... read more

Well, that’s what we are working to find out. Dr Dmytro Dizhur and assistant Dr Marta Giaretton were on site for three days in January investigating the makeup of our stone walls. Using a combination of techniques, the aim was to gain a lot more information on the properties of our unreinforced masonry walls. This is no simple matter as Taranaki Cathedral has walls of many different ages. The oldest wall erected in 1846 is to the left of the old... read more

Do you know the feeling when you have a big project on, someone comes along with a well reasoned argument, (joins all the dots) and you suddenly realise that the project just got a whole lot bigger - but also more worthwhile. Cathedral Remediation and Design Manager Jenny Goddard knows the feeling. The Way Ahead document, distributed and discussed with the parish over the last four months, has joined the dots for many. “The job in front of us is not... read more

The November earthquakes were a timely reminder of the importance of the earthquake strengthening project. While there is no discernable damage to the cathedral, Jenny Goddard, Cathedral Remediation and Design Manager, said she was pleased not to have been inside the building when the quake struck. “It was scary enough at home - definitely the biggest and longest shake I have felt in New Plymouth”. Currently Holmes Consulting are working on the Preliminary Design Stage of the engineering works and at... read more

A concept design for the seismic strengthening of Taranaki Cathedral has been received from Holmes Consulting. Architect Jenny Goddard has summarised the detailed report for us: read more

We have moved - at least for a temporary period - but we're open for business just like we have been for years. The Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary began worshipping in an interim space in February 2016. That is because our beloved historic building needs to be earthquake strengthened. Detailed assessments have determined that the stone church requires key structural work and the last service was held there on 31 January 2016. While we establish the scope and cost... read more

We're moving - at least, for a temporary period. The Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary will be worshipping in an interim worship space in the New Year. That's because our beloved historic building needs to be earthquake strengthened. Detailed assessments have determined that the stone church requires key structural work. The last service will be held there on 31 January 2016. While we establish what that work will involve and the likely cost, we will be relocating to another building.... read more

The heritage graveyard surrounding the Cathedral Church of St Mary in New Plymouth is a peaceful place steeped in history that goes right back to the digging of the first grave in 1843. But over the years graves and headstones of early settlers and their families – and soldiers garrisoned in the town – have suffered from the ravages of time; and that’s where John Pickering comes in. For the last three years John has been a familiar sight at work... read more

We give thanks for an emblem of Peace - this work of embroidery is complete. We give thanks to God for all that it represents in prayer and striving to be the community of God. We praise God for God’s servant Te Whiti O Rongomai whom this Peace Altar Frontal commemorates. We are seeking to memorialise the peaceful resistance of the Parihaka movement as an example of the Gospel of good news, and to celebrate the Anglican Faith Communities of Taranaki.... read more