Treasured church reredos restored

A treasured reredos that fell off the wall and shattered during the earthquakes is once more occupying pride of place behind the altar of the relocated St Saviour’s Church in Lyttelton.

The reredos, which is more than 100 years old and built in memory of the late wife of the first vicar of St Saviour’s Church, which was built in West Lyttelton in 1885, has been painstakingly restored with the help of a Christchurch City Council heritage grant and funding from the Lottery Grants Board.

The restored reredos at St Saviour's at Holy Trinity, in Lyttelton.

Church Property Trustees Recovery Project Co-ordinator Celia Falloon said it was fantastic to have the restored reredos - an ornamental screen or decoration on the wall behind an altar - back where it belonged.

When the earthquakes hit the oak-framed reredos fell off the wall of St Saviour’s Church, which at the time was located in the grounds of Cathedral Grammar School in central Christchurch. The slate backing board of the reredos broke into three, causing major damage to the decorative glass tiles.

But all the broken shards were carefully collected and over several months skilfully pieced back together.

St Saviour’s Church was moved back to Lyttelton in 2013 with the help of a $143,000 heritage incentive grant from the Council to replace the demolished Holy Trinity Church.

A number of items salvaged from Holy Trinity have been incorporated into St Saviour’s, which has been renamed St Saviour’s at Holy Trinity.

Ms Falloon said the re-installation of the restored reredos was one of the final pieces in the puzzle of the two churches.

“The incorporation of a number of salvaged items from Holy Trinity and the restoration of items from St Saviour’s has been a key element in combining the stories and histories of the two churches and those who have worshipped there over the last 150 years,’’ Ms Falloon said.

Council Head of Urban Regeneration, Urban Design and Heritage, Carolyn Ingles, said it was great to see treasured heritage items from both St Saviour’s and Holy Trinity together under one roof.

“The story of how the two churches were brought together as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes is one that will be told for years to come and is testament of the Anglican Diocese’s resolve to retain as much of the heritage of these historic buildings as practicable,’’ Ms Ingles said.