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John Broughton

John Broughton was b: mar 21, 1830 in Bawtry, Yorkshire, England to parents William Broughton and Mary Harrott ne Gooddy. His intended his future career for the Church, but after receiving a military education in Germany, he entered the Royal Engineers. Retiring from the army, he went through a course of study at one of the agricultural colleges of England then immigrated to New Zealandin 1850 on the ship Cressy. A fellow Cressy passenger, Mrs Quaife, later described him as "a wild giddy, drunken, yet withall, a good-hearted fellow."

After arrival at Lyttelton John Broughton tried various occupations and then became the first public school master in Christchurch where he was credited the honour of opening of the first school.  He continured this career till the year 1870, before retiring into private life.  He was an accomplished German scholar and was a local preacher of the Wesleyan Methodist Church for many years, indefatigable in his labours. It was not uncommon for him to walk over the Bridle Track from Christchurch to Lyttelton and return the same day, after conducting one or two services.

After roads to various localities were made, this allowed Mr. Broughton to drive long distances with other preachers to different churches in outlying districts, experiencing many difficulties, such as crossing the Waimakariri river. He devoted much of his time to the visitation of the sick and poor. His favourite pastime was the culture of flowers, and he was interested in his garden up to the last years of his life.

In 1854 John Broughton aged 24,  married 16 year old Ann Elizabeth CRESSWELL, daughter of Thomas Richard Marshall Cresswell and his wife Jemima nee TAYLOR. They also were early pioneers arriving on the "Sir George Seymour". Ann died  in 1878, 3 weeks after the birth of their 15th child

Marriage Witnesses: The bride's father and John and Ann Guilford

In 1890 John Broughton married Anna Maria Clarke, the widow of the late Judge Clarke. He founded Broughton's Academy for Gentlemen in Merivale Lane.  He died in 1898, having devoted his life to the Wesleyan church. He left his widow and 13 children - 3 lived in Auckland. He was bur Barbadoes Cemetery.

JOHN BROUGHTON (son of WILLIAM) was b: 1830 in Bawtry, Yorkshire, and d: 24 Aug 1898 in "Roslyn", Innes Road, Christchurch aged 68Y leaving a  widow and 13 children (3 live in Auckland).

He mar: (1) ANN ELIZABETH CRESSWELL 1854, daughter of THOMAS CRESSWELL and JEMMA TAYLOR. She was b: 13 Aug 1838 in Marlebone, London, and d: 06 Oct 1878 in Merivale, Christchurch aged 40Y. He mar: (2) ANNA MARIE CLARKE 20 Mar 1890 in St Johns, Christchurch. She was born in Widow of District Judge Clake, and died 30 Apr 1917 in 14 Repton St, Merivale.

Children of JOHN BROUGHTON and ANN CRESSWELL are:

i. WILLIAM BROUGHTON (b. 25 Jun 1855 Chch; d: 20 Dec 1928) mar. 1878 to SARAH EMMA GOSS

ii. ELIZABETH (LIBBY) ANN BROUGHTON ( b. 18 Jun 1857 Chch; d. 02 May 1909, Christchurch 52Y)  mar. 25 Nov 1886, at the bride's residence, Merivale to ERNEST CROWHURST DANN They lived 1886 Barbour St, Ferry Road

iii. GILBERT HILL BROUGHTON (b. 21 Jun 1859 Chch; d: 18 Aug 1923 Ak); mar. 1882 to ADA LANDER

iv. KITTY MATILDA BROUGHTON (b. 9 Oct 1860 Chch; d: 12 Jul 1949 Ak); mar. 22 Dec 1882 at the residence of the bride's father  to EDMUND RUSSELL JONES (1859 - 1925)

v. JEMIMA MARIE BROUGHTON (b. 29 Mar 1862 Chch; d; 17 Mar 1942 Melbourne, Aus) mar. 1881 to ALBERT FREDERICK DRAPER .

vi. LYDIA  BROUGHTON (b. 9 Jun 1863 Chch; d: 1942 Hamilton NZ) mar: 1882 to JAMES MOOR

vii. RACHEL BROUGHTON (b. 1865 Chch).

viii. THOMAS RICHARD MARSHALL BROUGHTON (b. 16 Feb 1865 Chch; d: 28 Jun 1865).

ix. JOHN BROUGHTON (b. 1866 Chch; occ: carter; d: 11 Oct 1940 ChCh)

x. FREDERICK WOODCOCK BROUGHTON (b. 23 Hul 1870 Chch; d: 24 Mar 1930 ChCh) mar 1897 to ALICE LEE ROBINSON.

xi. JOHN DOBLE BROUGHTON ( b. 1870 Chch); m. (1) SOPHIA HARRIS in 1902; He mar. (2) EVE NOLAN in 1932.

xii. MARIAN EDITH BROUGHTON ( b. 30 Dec 1873 Chch; d: 1948 AK). mar: 1901 to JOHN McLAREN

xiii. ALBERT HENRY BROUGHTON ( b. 1875 Chch); mar. 1910 to MARY TURNER .

xiv. EDWARD ALBERT BROUGHTON ( b. 24 Mar 1877 Chch; d: 15 Aug 1957 ChCh)  mar. 1905 to JANE ELIZABETH PATCHETT (d: 12 Mar 1969)

xv. ANN BROUGHTON ( b. 17 Sep 1878 Chch; d: 25 Dec 1878 ChCh).  

(Corrections to this family documentation  welcomed)

St Albans Wesleyan Church on 163 Papanui Road, Merivale, CHRISTCHURCH, in  the Christchurch suburb of St Albans was a local seat of Methodism almost from the foundation of Canterbury province. Several families who later to become prominent in the St Albans Wesleyan church emigrated on the First Four Ships in 1850, where they caused some consternation among the more doctrinaire of Anglican passengers. By 1853 the little community of Wesleyans in St Albans were convening regularly for Sunday School, and later in that year the first Wesleyan service was held in the district by Rev. W. Kirk. Due to the efforts of the St Albans congregation, Kirk was appointed Christchurch's first Wesleyan minister.

John Broughton, a member of the congregation, gave a section in High St in Christchurch for the erection of a first Wesleyan chapel in the city. It  was however some considerable distance from the St Albans congregation, who soon had ambitions for their own church. By 1854 a  section in St Albans Lane (St Alban's Road) had been donated for this purpose and a first tiny Wesleyan church was erected on the site in 1859.

In 1868 the decision was made to build a new church, and extra land adjacent to the old building was purchased. Before the new building was commenced, the old church was altered to serve as a schoolroom. A new wing was added to accommodate 250 scholars, and the old church became an infant room. Upon completion, the schoolroom complex served briefly as the church.

In September 1868, just a month prior to the intended date for the laying of the foundation stone of the new church, businessman John Thomas Peacock offered another, better site in St Albans Lane and �100 towards construction costs - a condition was that the remains of his father Captain John Jenkins Peacock be buried in the church grounds. Upon acceptance of his offer, J. T. Peacock's mother gave a further �100. The new church, seating 270, opened on the new site in April 1869 at a cost of �1, 850. Captain Peacock's remains were removed from the Barbadoes Street cemetery and re-interred in a vault under the chancel. Later other family members were also interred there. This church was enlarged in 1884.

John Thomas Peacock (1827-1905) arrived in Lyttelton from Australia in the mid 1850s to manage the extensive New Zealand affairs of his father's Sydneybased shipping company, Peacock and Co. In 1862 the goodwill of the shipping business was sold, and J. T. Peacock retired in 1863 to a large new house, Hawkesbury, on Papanui Road in St Albans. Throughout his career Peacock took an active part in public life. In addition to his support of the St Albans Wesleyan Church, he served (amongst other roles) as a provincial councillor, member of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Council, and was first mayor of the St Albans borough in 1881. By the end of the 1860s, three of Peacock's sisters and his parents had followed him to Canterbury. All were eventually to settle with their respective families within the St Albans/Merivale area. The extended Peacock family were at the forefront of a move into the district of many of Christchurch's prosperous non-conformist merchants and professionals.

The St Albans Wesleyan Church not only therefore had a strong congregation, but was also financially well-endowed. In this point it differed markedly from its sister church, the Crescent Road Wesleyan Church (also constructed in 1869) to the east in nearby Knightstown, a more working class district.

In 1871, 1� acres at the corner of (what would become) Rugby Street and Papanui Road was bought from George Gould and J. T. Peacock for �150, as a site for a St Albans parsonage. Due to a burgeoning congregation, it was decided in 1894 to construct a replacement church on this site, and the parsonage was relocated around the corner to the Rugby Street frontage. The magnanimous J. T. Peacock subscribed �1,150 towards the building costs of the new church, and had the honour of laying the foundation stone in November 1894 - as he had for the previous church twenty six years before. Designed by R. W. England, the new building in form closely resembled its predecessor.

The 400-seat church was completed by contractor William Smith at a total cost of �2,380, and opened in May 1895. The original church site was sold at this time, and building moved to sit adjacent to the second church, where it served as the adult class. The second church was also altered to make it more suitable for school and social purposes. This work was carried out at a total cost of �420; when completed, �250 remained outstanding. Peacock generously offered to match every �5 donation, and by the first tea meeting of 1895, the debt was settled.

The peripatetic remains of Captain Peacock, and those of his family were exhumed from their vault under the second church and interred in Linwood Cemetery and elsewhere. The old church buildings continued to serve as the Sunday school until they burnt down in 1902. A new Sunday school and hall were then built on Rugby Street beside the later church. 

                

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