St Stephen’s is a timber church dating from 1879 and 1907 in the inner western suburb of Ponsonby, Auckland. It is prominently located and is a local landmark.
It is on the north eastern corner of the intersection of Jervois Road and Shelly Beach Road. Shelly Beach Road is used by traffic entering the city from the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Jervois Road is a major urban route west of Auckland’s Central Business District (CBD). The building is in an elevated position on the edge of the ridge. The church is part of a complex of church buildings dating from 1908, 1914 and 1920 with modifications to some of these undertaken in 1994 and 2005.
This Conservation Plan outlines a contextual history of the church building and its use over the previous 130 years. It discusses the architecture of the building against the background of the development of church design in New Zealand from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The heritage significance of the church is identified in terms of its physical, historical and cultural value. The second half of the Conservation Plan identifies issues which are likely to affect the ongoing conservation and preservation of the building and its overall heritage significance. It sets out policies and guidelines for the conservation of the building.
The Appendices provide supporting information and include: earlier drawings of surrounding buildings; Condition Report 2010; and the ICOMOS NZ charter.