Cathedral Square is the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. As the name suggests, it is directly in front of the city's Anglican cathedral, Christ Church.

Originally intended to be called Ridley Square (after the Protestant martyr Nicholas Ridley), the area was developed in the 1850s and 1860s, with work starting on the cathedral in 1862. A statue to Robert Godley, the city's founder, was erected in 1867, and the city's central post office was located alongside the square a few years later. The original choice of Ridley is another of Christchurch's many references to Oxford, since Ridley was martyred there.

For many years, the square was a busy road intersection, but the main thoroughfares through it were closed during the 1960s and 1970s, and it is now almost entirely pedestrian-only. The square is the city's main meeting place for people takig a break from their work, or just visiting the city, and is a regular site of street performers and speakers of all varieties. Until recent years, the most well-known of these was The Wizard of New Zealand.

Since 2000, a large piece of modern sculpture in the form of an inverted cone has stood in the square, subverting the shape of the spire that rises above the cathedral.

Although always called a "square", its original shape was cruciform, and modifications over the years since its first creation have altered its shape dramatically.

External link

Christchurch City Library article on "The squares of Christchurch" (http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Childrens/EarlyChristchurch/SquaresofChristchurch.asp)