St. Mary's Church [1937- ]

St Mary’s Church, Causeway Bay, began as a chapel built in 1911 under the direction of Bishop Lander (1908-1920) primarily to provide a centre for worship for the residents of the Eyre Diocesan Refuge nearby, founded in 1898 to rescue destitute local women.   Prior to this they had had to travel some 5 miles to St Stephen's in Bonham Road in order to worship.

In those days Tai Hang was a fishing village close to the sea with no Anglican church nearby.  Bishop Lander envisioned that the chapel could be a foundation for the eventual establishment of a Parish Church in the Eastern District stretching from Wanchai to Shaukiwan.

In 1914 the Eyre Refuge moved over to Kowloon and congregation numbers fell for a while but the population of Causeway Bay was growing rapidly and Bishop Lander’s successor Bishop Duppuy decided that the old chapel should be replaced by a new and more spacious church. This came into being under his successor.

Planning for the building began in December 1930 and funding was sought for the project. A very generous donation of $20,000 from benefactor Mr. Kan Tat Choi launched the fund. Bishop Hall, when he started in 1934, appointed a full-time vicar for the new church to sit on the Building Committee, Rev. Lee Kau Yan.  Building work began in December 1936 and the church was completed on Christmas Eve 1937.  The final total for the build came to $50,000. 

A beautiful and imposing church of Chinese-Anglican design was created by extending the old site, elevating the building and constructing an impressive flight of granite stairs to approach it.  The church is a good example of the Contextualization Movement of the 1930s. The exterior with its red brick walls and green roof tiles, was designed to resemble a Chinese imperial palace.

The building was not consecrated until 25 March 1949 because of the intervention of the war, which interrupted the payments.

Sources:  For more detailed information see these:

Brief Introduction to St. Mary's Church

HKSKH St Mary’s Church

The Yip Family of Amah Rock - Jill Doggett