THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Mateer Memorial Church is a familiar spot in the heart of the city. Located in the LMS compound and surrounded by other iconic places, such as the Napier Museum, Kerala University Stadium and the Museum of History and Heritage, the city’s oldest Protestant church has an illustrious history of its own.
The church has a history which dates back to the 1830s. Officers in the British army who were stationed at Cantonment (present-day Palayam) built a small church there. Resident Lt Col James Stuart Fraser obtained permission from the Travancore royal family to build the church. It was opened for worship on August 5, 1838, with Rev John Cox as in charge. He was part of the London Missionary Society (LMS) in Thiruvananthapuram.
After Cox resigned in 1861, he was succeeded by Samuel Mateer, who served until 1891. And it was Mateer who is credited with opening the church to native worshippers. Under him, administrative duties were transferred to them.
His successor T W Bach and missionaries H T Wills and I H Hacker built the present church in memory of Rev Mateer after his death. The foundation stone was laid in 1897, during the tenure of Rev. Bach. On December 1, 1906, the new church was opened for worship.
According to historian M G Sasibhooshan, Britentonel John Munro influenced the church’s location in the heart of the city. Col. Munro played a role in the ascension of Gowri Lakshmi Bayi as the Regent Maharani of Travancore in 1811, following the rebellion of Velu Thampi Dalawa and subsequent death of Maharajah Bala Rama Varma”, he said. Munro was appointed as the Diwan of Travancore by the Maharani, in the same year.
“The London Missionary Society, of which Munro was a member, would eventually receive many land and monetary donations from the Travancore government. The LMS compound in Palayam, where the church is situated, was built on the 16 acres donated by the Maharajah,” added Sasibhooshan.
“The church is built using granite and can be called a hall church. These churches were popular in Scotland and Ireland at that time,” says Sasibhooshan. Gothic arches support the church’s roof. Nowadays, the church offers services in English, Malayalam and Tamil.
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