The foundation stone for the Ashley Bank church of St Simon and St Jude was laid on 28 October 1870. It was the first church of a new parish, the headquarters of which were to be situated at Fernside. Charles Pemberton donated the land and Benjamin W Mountfort designed the building. C W Mountfort designed an addition of one bay to the nave in 1884. Regular services were held in the church until 1966. In 1973, a group of local residents stopped the church from being demolished after Church authorities had deemed it surplus to requirements, and the Historic Places Trust considered the chur
The foundation stone for the Ashley Bank church of St Simon and St Jude was laid on 28 October 1870. It was the first church of a new parish, the headquarters of which were to be situated at Fernside. Charles Pemberton donated the land and Benjamin W Mountfort designed the building. C W Mountfort designed an addition of one bay to the nave in 1884. Regular services were held in the church until 1966. In 1973, a group of local residents stopped the church from being demolished after Church authorities had deemed it surplus to requirements, and the Historic Places Trust considered the church to have little historic or architectural value. However, it was discovered that it was a Mountfort designed church, lending further credence to the residents campaign. A tender for the church from a buyer who wanted to re-use the kauri had been accepted, but the residents protested and bought the building for $1000. Once purchased, the group set about restoring it and mounting it on concrete piles. Today non-denominational services are held with occasional weddings and baptisms. In recent years an annual fete has been held to raise funds for the building’s upkeep. St Simon and St Jude is now Category II on the Historic Places Trust Register.
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Photo credit: © ART Collection / Alamy / Afripics
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