became a massive obstacle to the development of Dunedin, and a decision was made by the Otago Provincial Council to make a substantial excavation into the hill. This resulted in a cutting through which one of the city's main streets, Princes Street, now passes, and the reduction of the height of Bell Hill by some . Much of the excavated soil and stone was used in the reclamation of land which now forms the Southern Endowment of South Dunedin. The church's site, on a promontory of what is left of the hill, commands views to the south across Queen's Gardens towards the Otago Harbour and South Dunedin. The building, in decorated Gothic style, was designed in 1862 by Robert Lawson, who also designed the city's Knox Church, which has a similar tower. Lawson had won a competition for the design of the church from among six entrants. Construction was delayed after the decision to reduce Bell Hill, with the foundation stone being laid in May 1868 by Dr. Thomas Burns, and was officially opened on 23 November 1873, by which time Burns, its champion, had already died. The church is dominated by its multi-pinnacled tower crowned by a spire rising to . The spire is unusual as it is pierced by two-storeyed gabled windows on all sides, which give an illusion of even greater height. Such was Lawson's perfectionism that the top of the spire had to be dismantled and rebuilt when it failed to measure up to his standards. It can be seen from much of central Dunedin, and dominates the skyline of lower Moray Place, and has a capacity of over 1000. The expense of the building was not without criticism. Some members of the Presbyterian synod felt the metropolitan church should not have been so privileged over the country districts where congregants had no purpose designed places of worship or only modest ones. The Reverend Dr Burns's championship of the project ensured it was carried through against such objections. The building Externally, First Church successfully replicates the effect, if on a smaller scale, of the late Norman cathedrals of England. The cathedral-like design and size can best be appreciated from the rear. There is an apse flanked by turrets, which are dwarfed by the massive gable containing the great rose window. It is this large circular window which after the spire becomes the focal point of the