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Old St Paul’s Church, Wellington survives through the belief and conviction of many whom see the great worth of this building as an exemplary instance of a timber colonial ecclesiastical building and vital piece of New Zealand’s culture and history. When approaching this building one can treat it as a journey both physically and symbolically starting with the exterior and moving through to the chancel. Throughout I will attempt to present my impressions and observations in relation to its significance as a key colonial example of romantic gothic revival architecture in New Zealand. On arriving at Old St Pauls, first impressions are not of utter awe and wonder of its size or beauty but more a feeling of peace - an oasis of calm set amongst a vastly different environment consisting of lack lustre concrete monsters looming down on the church’s plot of land. Its scale in relation to many of its stone counterparts elsewhere was limited by pragmatic issues: The adaptation of materials to the local timbers rather than stone and fear of earthquake and high winds restraining the architect, Fredrick Thatcher, to this design. For me this stands out as a very unique design aspect, one that sets it apart in those respects. Set in a