St John’s Anglican Church, Hororata, also known as St John’s Memorial Church or the Hororata memorial church, was funded by a bequest from local landowner and former Premier Sir John Hall (d. 1907) to build a memorial to his wife, Lady Rose (d. 1900).
The foundation stone was laid on 6 February 1910 and the church was consecrated on 27 February 1911. The stained-glass window, installed in 1914, is a memorial to Sir John himself, donated to the church by his family.
There are two war memorial tablets in the church: a brass plaque dedicated to William John Beddis, who died of wounds in France on 30 September 1916, and a marble tablet dedicated to Private R.J. Orsbourn, who died at Featherston military camp on 10 November 1918.
The tower of St John’s church was badly damaged in the September 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
Images: Francis Vallance, 2010
Text: Bruce Ringer, 2017