The church recently came up with a particularly poor plan to build an auditorium underground, which would result in the demolishing of the whole of the wall fronting Nathan Road.
Fortunately the Antiquities and Advisory Committee disapproved of the plan at a September meeting but expect a revised one soon...
The Chairman concluded that the Board was generally in support of retaining the existing rubble retaining wall and requested AMO to convey the comments of the Board to the Church. He further suggested that a site visit could be arranged to equip Members with better understanding of the subject buildings/sites thereby facilitating more fruitful discussion in the meeting in future... from AAB minutes here: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/form/AAB139_minutes_e.pdf
i know David is very keen on tunnels, i was there with HKU students last weekend, who were surveying the abandonned verger's lodge, does he know there is an ex tunnel /air raid shelter behind the church under Observatory Hill? its bricked up so unexplorable
I've read a couple of mentions of it, but never been for a look. One of the references I've been curious to follow up is the text 'Tunnel Portal' on CentaMap at maximum zoom. Here's the approximate position on a Google map. Is it the same as the one you saw?
St Andrew’s Church is the oldest English-speaking Protestant church in Kowloon. It is a Grade 1 listed building located at 138 Nathan Road, Kowloon.
Built in 1905 to cater for the rapidly growing population there, the overflow from Victoria which was tight on space, it was consecrated in 1906, and the first vicar was Rev A J Stevens.
The church is built of red brick and granite in the Victorian gothic style. The land was granted by the government but the building was delayed until Sir Paul Chater stepped in to finance it. Originally built for the expatriate community, it is now an international church with over 30 nationalities represented, and from the beginning it has been evangelical in persuasion with an interest in supporting global mission, with an emphasis last century on mission work in China, and the Philippines.
The Vicarage was built in 1909 with another donation from Sir Paul, and the first vicar was Rev A J Stevens.
Since 1913 the church has had a close relationship with the Diocesan Girls’ School in Jordan Road.
The church experienced difficulties in both wars as many of its members were from the military; during the Japanese occupation (1941-45) the vicar, Rev Henry Wittenbach, was interned and the church was converted into a Shinto shrine.
In 1978St Andrew's Christian Centre was opened next to the church. This is a 6-storey building that includes apartments, offices and a hall.
Two daughter churches have been founded by St Andrew’s, Resurrection Church in 1983, which meets in the gym of the Hong Kong Academy, Sai Kung, and Shatin Church in 1990.
In 2006 a much-needed restoration project of St. Andrew’s Church won a UNESCO Award of Merit.
In 2015 theSt Andrew’s Life Centrewas opened, with an 850-seater auditorium and classrooms, linking the church directly to Nathan Road, one of the busiest streets in Kowloon. The design won a Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter.
Comments
St Andrew's Church plan
The church recently came up with a particularly poor plan to build an auditorium underground, which would result in the demolishing of the whole of the wall fronting Nathan Road.
Photo here: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/form/AAB139-22-C.pdf
History, maps and photos here: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/form/AAB139-22-A.pdf
Fortunately the Antiquities and Advisory Committee disapproved of the plan at a September meeting but expect a revised one soon...
The Chairman concluded that the Board was generally in support of retaining the existing rubble retaining wall and requested AMO to convey the comments of the Board to the Church. He further suggested that a site visit could be arranged to equip Members with better understanding of the subject buildings/sites thereby facilitating more fruitful discussion in the meeting in future... from AAB minutes here: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/form/AAB139_minutes_e.pdf
i know David is very keen on
i know David is very keen on tunnels, i was there with HKU students last weekend, who were surveying the abandonned verger's lodge, does he know there is an ex tunnel /air raid shelter behind the church under Observatory Hill? its bricked up so unexplorable
Tunnel at St Andrews
Hi Paul,
Yes, definitely interested!
I've read a couple of mentions of it, but never been for a look. One of the references I've been curious to follow up is the text 'Tunnel Portal' on CentaMap at maximum zoom. Here's the approximate position on a Google map. Is it the same as the one you saw?
[gmap markers=small red::22.301880906702507,114.17449897529877 |align=Center |zoom=17 |center=22.302447862154274,114.17338728904724 |width=350px |height=350px |control=Small |type=Map]
Regards, David
Brief Timeline
St Andrew’s Church is the oldest English-speaking Protestant church in Kowloon. It is a Grade 1 listed building located at 138 Nathan Road, Kowloon.
Built in 1905 to cater for the rapidly growing population there, the overflow from Victoria which was tight on space, it was consecrated in 1906, and the first vicar was Rev A J Stevens.
The church is built of red brick and granite in the Victorian gothic style. The land was granted by the government but the building was delayed until Sir Paul Chater stepped in to finance it. Originally built for the expatriate community, it is now an international church with over 30 nationalities represented, and from the beginning it has been evangelical in persuasion with an interest in supporting global mission, with an emphasis last century on mission work in China, and the Philippines.
The Vicarage was built in 1909 with another donation from Sir Paul, and the first vicar was Rev A J Stevens.
Since 1913 the church has had a close relationship with the Diocesan Girls’ School in Jordan Road.
The church experienced difficulties in both wars as many of its members were from the military; during the Japanese occupation (1941-45) the vicar, Rev Henry Wittenbach, was interned and the church was converted into a Shinto shrine.
In 1978 St Andrew's Christian Centre was opened next to the church. This is a 6-storey building that includes apartments, offices and a hall.
Two daughter churches have been founded by St Andrew’s, Resurrection Church in 1983, which meets in the gym of the Hong Kong Academy, Sai Kung, and Shatin Church in 1990.
In 2006 a much-needed restoration project of St. Andrew’s Church won a UNESCO Award of Merit.
In 2015 the St Andrew’s Life Centre was opened, with an 850-seater auditorium and classrooms, linking the church directly to Nathan Road, one of the busiest streets in Kowloon. The design won a Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong Chapter.
Sources:
St Andrew’s Church – Our Story
St Andrew’s Church Life Centre
Antiquities Advisory Board - A brief history of St Andrew’s Church compound. With pictures.
Wikipedia
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