Host funeral services and memorial gatherings in this graceful, modern chapel.
The soaring, airy space with glass walls overlooking the memorial gardens feels calm and welcoming, a fitting place to remember and celebrate your loved one’s life.
Book a service at Harewood Chapel
To book a memorial gathering or funeral service at Harewood Chapel please contact one of our associated funeral homes listed below. These four funeral directors can also help you organise a cremation for your loved one at the Harewood Memorial Gardens crematorium.
Location
The chapel is located on Wilkinson’s Road in Harewood. There is plenty of parking on site, and we’re a 10-minute walk from bus stops on Gardiners Road.
Capacity
The chapel seats 200 people, with standing room for more. Screens ensure everyone can see the service. If you prefer a smaller service, internal doors can be closed to create an intimate space.
Reception
Serve refreshments after your gathering in the comfortable reception area across the courtyard from the chapel. Reflections Lounge is a serene space to reflect on your loved one with family and friends.
Audio visual
A new audio-visual system has been installed for photo and video presentations. We also offer a high-quality live streaming experience for those who can’t attend the service in person.
Accessible
Carparks, routes to the chapel, and the chapel itself are all wheelchair accessible. There are accessible bathrooms for the comfort of guests with mobility issues.
A caring welcome
Remembering your loved one’s life here, you’ll experience the calm, beautiful surrounds and thoughtful service that have been the hallmark of Harewood for 60 years.
We were warmly looked after throughout the entire journey ... We are thrilled with the way everything went during this emotional time.
Deb Harvey
Harewood Chapel is a local landmark. Its butterfly roof soaring above a sea of trees is familiar to generations of Cantabrians. A significant modernist building designed by Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney; the chapel won several architectural awards when it was established in 1964.
Built with the concrete blocks and expansive glazing that are a signature of New Zealand sixties architecture, the chapel’s design evokes a tent. Light flows through the airy space, and the glazed walls surrounded by the greenery of the trees, create a sense of the interior being one with the memorial gardens.
Enhanced by extensive renovations in 2024
By 2023, the building was 60 years old. It was showing its age and needed a lot of attention. The goal was to preserve the building for the next 60 years, while making the chapel more comfortable and inviting.
Architect Bernard Johnston, of Intrados Architecture, oversaw renovations. He explains, “Harewood Chapel was originally designed as a small chapel in the brutalist style. It was an austere, minimalist design, with little in the way of creature comforts.”
Renovations were carried out with tremendous respect for the original design. The building’s exterior and the memorial gardens are heritage listed. The architect also made the conscious decision to preserve the heritage of the interior. Because of the minimalist nature of the building there’s nowhere to hide, so a lot of care went into minimising the visual disruption of modern services such as audio and Wi-Fi.
As all buildings do, it has adapted. The chapel has over doubled in size and seating capacity since it was built. These days people want to be comfortable and see what’s happening. That changes the dynamic of the building from its original intent. We were given the task of giving the chapel a bit of a hug.
Architect – Bernard Johnston
Safety is a priority throughout
Caskets were placed on a raised catafalque at the front of the chapel during ceremonies. Pallbearers had to negotiate steps and the platform prevented people with mobility issues from gathering round the casket. The raised area has been removed and the catafalque lowered to make things safer and more accessible.
Stairs down to the crematorium have been reconfigured to make access easier for families who wish to view their loved one’s casket being charged into the cremator. If you would like to do this, please talk to your funeral director before the funeral.
Originally, the internal courtyard between the chapel and the catering lounge featured a fishpond, but the pool had become a hazard. Builders lifted all the paving, restored the original stones, filled in the pond, and repaved the whole courtyard. A stunning, cloud pruned tree is now a central feature.
Warm and welcoming
Interior designer Tania Gorton came up with a green and gold colour scheme to complement the chapel’s organic surrounds. This plays out in the lush broadloom carpet woven by Feltex and new upholstery for the chairs. A grand piano has been installed, and pianists can play as part of services and gatherings.
Graphic designer Alaina Rhind created designs for screens around the chapel using a diamond pattern set into the ceiling as a motif. She also designed new wayfinding signage to help people find their way around with ease.
If you’ve ever attended a funeral at Harewood Chapel, you might remember the bathrooms as cramped and unwelcoming. With Tanya’s touch, the bathrooms are now spacious, comfortable, and wheelchair accessible.
Carparking has improved dramatically. When you enter off Wilkinson's Road, you’ll find the car park entrances have been reshaped and routes reconfigured to create a logical, circular flow of traffic. Paths have been rebuilt and parking designed to ensure everything is accessible for anyone with mobility issues.