Concern over stained-glass windows

The St Agnes stained glass window in the Teschemaker's chapel. Photo by Peter Mackenzie.
The St Agnes stained glass window in the Teschemaker's chapel. Photo by Peter Mackenzie.
A former pupil of Teschemakers, now living in England, wants a comprehensive report drawn up by a team of architectural historians to ascertain the whole site's cultural heritage significance for New Zealand.

Former pupil Annie Gilmore contacted the Otago Daily Times after receiving an email circulated to past pupils showing an article and letter to the editor in the ODT mentioning the possible removal of the Teschemakers chapel stained glass windows.

Mrs Gilmore said it was "unthinkable" five stained glass windows could be removed from the historic chapel of the former Catholic boarding school.

An application for consent to remove the windows is on hold while the Waitaki District Council obtains more information about the potential heritage effects.

Mrs Gilmore emailed the New Zealand Historic Places Trust expressing concern about the proposal, saying it would destroy a large portion of the chapel's original F. W. Petre design.

The interior of the chapel was "extraordinary for its beauty", she said.

Her daughter visited the site earlier this year and took photographs.

Mrs Gilmore was saddened to see a lack of maintenance.

She was astonished the chapel was only listed as a category B heritage building in the Waitaki District Council's district plan, as it contained "so many fine architectural features".

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