Adelaide City of churches - Christ Church North Adelaide

The residential streets of North Adelaide are simply charming. The Jacaranda trees lining many of the streets were at their very best, branches laden with the unmistakeable pendulous purple-blue flowers, and complemented by the reds, whites and pinks of the many rose bushes in full bloom - it is after all summer in South Australia. Strolling past the striking Adelaide Oval cricket ground, claimed to be the most beautiful cricket ground in the country, and the Anglican Cathedral, where I was pleased to worship during my visit to this wonderful city, I was making my way to the historic Christ Church, established in the mid 19th century.
Sadly I was too late to see inside. As I was coming to expect in Adelaide City of Churches, the church was locked, although I just caught a delightfully helpful lady as she was locking up the church office for the day. It was too much for me to ask to be allowed access when she was on her way home. She did however give me a rather beautifully illustrated booklet, describing in some detail the history of the church and its many points of interest, although it it was clearly written before the installation of a new pulpit in 2011.

The booklet also states "The church is among the few open daily, enabling residents and visitors to spend time in quietness and prayer." Oh dear. That is no longer the case. When did this change and why?

The 1939 bell tower

I read that this church exists in no small part due to the efforts of a group of women who started a building fund back in 1841 and collected £60 as its nucleus. A group of Anglicans had been holding services for a while by that time in the area, through the kindness and hospitality of the local Wesleyan Methodists and the Society of Friends, or Quakers, but they felt the urgent desire for a church building to call their own. This wish became reality when on Ascension Day 1848, 1st June, the foundation stone was laid, and Christ Church was consecrated and opened for worship by Bishop Short on 20th December 1849.

Here is clearly a very active church, well staffed and attended, with a strong music tradition and with services (of which there are four each Sunday, plus a mid week Eucharist) based on the Book of Common Prayer. I was just so disappointed that I was unable to see inside for myself, to see for myself the stained glass windows, the new pulpit, and Bishop Short's throne (the church was used for a while as the "stand-in" cathedral before Saint Peter's Anglican Cathedral was completed).

The website says that the parish office is now open Wednesday to Friday, 9am to 1pm, for anyone who would like to make contact with them for further information, and hopefully to gain access to look at this historic and interesting pioneer church in Adelaide City of Churches.

The church also has a facebook page.