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. Before the church/chapel was built worshippers had to be collected from the refuge and taken to St Stephen’s Church on Bonham Road, some 5 miles away.
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 in 1936.
Photos that show this Place
