St. Stephen's Church (1st Generation), IL830 [1866-c.1888] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

St. Stephen's Church (1st Generation), IL830 [1866-c.1888]

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Submitted by David on Tue, 2010-02-23 15:41
Current condition: 
Demolished / No longer exists
Date Place completed: 
1866-01-01
Date Place demolished: 
c.1888-12-31 (Year, Month, Day are approximate)

This church stood on the corner of Po Yan Street and Hollywood Road.

The first Anglican missionary sent to Hong kong to establish a Chinese congregation was the Revd. Thomas Stringer, who arrived in 1862. Two years later, a site on Gap Street - now a part of Hollywood Road - was secured for a church. St. Stephen's was opened there in 1866. It was hoped that the new congregation would have the support of the Christian old boys from St. Paul's, but they showed little interest.

[...] In 1888, St. Stephen's was moved to Pok Fu Lam Road and today is on Bonham Road.

Pg. 5, Chinese Christians: élites, middlemen, and the Church in Hong Kong, by Carl T Smith.

We get confirmation of the Gap Street location from the 1894 edition of The Directory & chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits ..., which has the following entry:

Po Yan Street, Po Yan Kai, from Gap Street to Market Street.

Today, Po Yan Street runs from Hollywood Road (previously named Gap Street) to Po Hing Fong (previously named Market Street).

Thanks to Thomas for giving the clue to this church being St Stephen's, in his translation of the history of St Matthew's Church.

Annelise has made a page for the next generation at the site on Pokfulam Road: http://gwulo.com/node/32586

Tags: 
church
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Comments

Submitted by annelisec on Mon, 2016-05-30 07:29.

Can we change the title to "1st generation"  and add IL 830 and with the new map feature we can more accurately place the pin ?

 

(File  HKRS58-1-5-5 INLAND LOT 830 - ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH - RECOMMENDING THE SITE OF - BE EXCHANGED FOR LAND NEAR THE DIOCESAN HOME. - ,   19.01.1887)

Submitted by annelisec on Tue, 2016-05-31 12:13.
Or should that be first location? And what about future Generations at the second location? It is a puzzlement.

Submitted by christoph on Fri, 2016-08-12 15:33.

I just read a note by a missionary of the Orphange Bethesda. She writes on August 27th 1892: "Today we attended the dedication of a Chinese Church of the Church-Mission on the spot of former St. Stephen´s Church by Bishop Burdon right down the hill to our place. The church has got a rose paintork and high colour windows."

Considering construction works etc. for that new church St. Stephen´s Church 1. Generation ended some times before 1892.

On http://gwulo.com/node/32586 Herostratus has 1888 for the inauguration of St. Stephen´s Church 2. Generation. So the time frame for the 1. Generation is most likely 1866-1888.