Uniting Church, York, Western Australia

Last updated

Uniting Church, York
York Uniting Church
Uniting Church and Chapel.jpg
Uniting Church and chapel
Uniting Church, York, Western Australia
31°53′12.649″S116°45′59.216″E / 31.88684694°S 116.76644889°E / -31.88684694; 116.76644889
AddressGrey Street, York , Western Australia
CountryAustralia
Denomination Uniting (since 1977)
Previous denomination Methodist (1888 –1977)
History
Former name(s)Wesleyan Church
Status Church
Founded25 April 1888 (1888-04-25)
Founder(s)Mrs J H Monger
Dedicated22 August 1888
by Rev. Thomas Bird
Architecture
Architect(s) Alfred McBain Bonython
Architectural typeChurch
Style Gothic Revival
Administration
Synod Western Australia

The Uniting Church, York is a Uniting church located in Grey Street, York , Western Australia. The church building was established by the Methodist Church in 1888 as the Wesleyan Church, and together with the former chapel, the buildings are significant early buildings of the York settlement.

Contents

Chapel

The first pastor in York was Rev John Smithies, who also established the Gerald Mission. [1] : 14  While he was in York, tenders were called for construction of the "Wesleyan chapel" on 29 March 1853. Tenders were administered by John Henry Monger Snr, [2] publican and storekeeper, who lived in Faversham House next door to the north, a former engineer who must have been the building's designer.

Monger's call for tenders stated:

Tenders for Building the Wesleyan Chapel in York

TENDERS will be received by Mr J H Monger, York, on the 18th April, at 10 o’clock in the forenoon, either separately or jointly, from any person or persons who may be willing to perform the undermentioned work, viz: - To have a good sound stone foundation 18 inches thick, level from the highest part of the ground, the remainder of the wall to be brick, 9 inch work, 40 feet long, 22 feet wide, 10 feet high, good arches over the windows and doors, also the windows and doors and frames for both the sashes to be hung with weights and pullies, the doors to be panelled. Also the Roof, to be boarded and shingled with three pair of principals and ring posts and one purline. All materials to be found on the ground. For the Roofing, the price to be stated in words and figures, per square, doors and windows ditto, per foot, the brickwork ditto, per yard.

York, March 29, 1853.

Local residents subscribed £200 to fund the construction and the government also assisted. [1] : 11–19 

Monger himself was the successful tenderer. [3] Good progress on the chapel was reported in August 1853. [4] Funding for roofing was being solicited in November 1853. [5] George Wansbrough and his brother John (who were Wesleyans) [6] worked on the roof. [lower-alpha 1] One local complained that ticket-of-leave men were not available to be employed in construction of the chapel. [8] [lower-alpha 2]

The Wesleyan chapel and manse, with Solomon Cook's mill, 1877. Wesleyan chapel, manse and mill 1877.jpg
The Wesleyan chapel and manse, with Solomon Cook's mill, 1877.

The chapel was opened on 5 April 1854 by the Rev. William Lowe to a crowd of more than 120 people. [9] [10] The cost of the chapel was £317/12/4. [1] : 11–19  This chapel was the second church in York. [11]

Originally there was a gallery in the chapel but this was later removed. [1] : 11–19  [lower-alpha 3]

A harmonium was purchased for the chapel in 1859. [13]

Attendees paid pew rents, 5 shillings for a whole seat and 1 shilling for an individual. The cost of upkeep of the chapel was recorded in 1868 as being £15/19/-, of which candles for illumination constituted a large proportion. The chapel keeper (warden) was paid 1 shilling per week for his services. [3]

Monger's design is harmonic, simple and symmetrical, being Victorian Georgian style (not including the later portico). [14] : 24–27, 42–45 

Church

After Reverend Thomas Bird arrived in August 1878, [15] he saw that the chapel was too small and started plans for a new church and to use the old one for the Sunday School, and social and business meetings. [16] [17] : 4  In 1885, the trustees and the Rev William Lowe held a meeting to discuss plans for building the church. The "Wesleyan body generally responded to the demand upon their resources" and by March 1888 most of the money had reportedly been raised. [16]

Tenders were called and the successful tender was from Pringle and Moscrip of Perth and Adelaide for £945. [18] : 4  The foundation stone was laid by Mrs J H Monger on 25 April 1888. [19] The foundation stone "is a most beautiful specimen of Sydney free stone, and will be carved during the coming week by Mr Pringle, one of the contractors, by whom it is presented". [20]

"Every preparation was made by the obliging contractor for the ceremony on Wednesday. The scaffolding was adorned with bunting hours before the company assembled. Stones were removed and planks placed for the comfort of those taking part in the service." A "hermetically sealed" bottle containing a list of parishioners and some silver and copper coins common in the colony, was placed under the foundation stone by Joseph Pyke, and Mr Pringle presented Mrs Monger with a silver trowel. [17] : 4  On the evening of the laying of the foundation stone, there was a promenade concert in the Oddfellows’ Hall. "The best musical talent that the district affords has been secured" and "with one or two exceptions" this concert was declared a success and raised £17 for the building fund. [21] [17] : 7 

The cost of the church was reputed to be £1,000 and in May 1888 there were concerns that only £400 had been raised. [22] [18] : 5  In fact, only £236 had been raised, all of the donors to that time being listed in an advertisement the following month, the largest of them being John Henry Monger (£59) who was paying in instalments. Donations continued to be published and the total crept to £345. [23] [24] [lower-alpha 4]

Stone for the church was donated and carted to the site by adherents. [1] : 11–19 

By June, it was reported that construction of the church was fast reaching completion and would be finished by the first Sunday in August 1888. [23]

Opening of the Church

The last two services for the chapel were held by the Rev Thomas Bird and the Rev William Lowe on 19 August. The Rev Thomas Bird held the opening service in the new Church on Wednesday 22 August 1888 at 3:45 pm. [26]

The local newspaper, the Eastern Districts Chronicle reported:

The Church is a valuable addition to the many imposing edifices erected here, and the internal arrangements are finished in a workmanlike manner, redounding greatly to the credit of Messrs. Pringle and Moscrip, as contractors. Its acoustic properties are of the highest order as was plainly evidenced at the services on Wednesday last. A great many people attended from Perth. Northern, Newcastle, Beverley, and other towns, and the whole congregation numbered quite 300 souls. [18] : 4 

Architecture

The architect of the church was Alfred McBain Bonython who had come from Adelaide and Melbourne and was living in Perth designing buildings for the Shenton family. He was only 23 at the time. He also designed the Wesleyan Methodist churches in Fremantle and Albany. [27]

The church is in Victorian Academic Gothic Revival style; [14] : 46–49  and its features include a steeply pitched roof, parapeted gable, excellent stone masonry, wall buttresses, lancet windows, a porch with Gothic arch (a later addition) [28] and label moulds.

Organ

A fund was raised by Mrs Florence Monger in 1895 for the purchase of an organ constructed by Alfred Monk of London. [29] [3] The organ is only one of two Alfred Monk organs in Australia and is considered the best 19th century organ in Western Australia "in both the warmth of its tone and brilliance of sound and in capability to fill the sanctuary with sound". [30]

Originally, the organ had to be hand-pumped. An organ pumper recollected:

The organ pumper was very important. If the musician and the person pumping the organ were on good terms, the pumper would use long even strokes of the pump lever to provide a nice even flow of music and when the musician was using FF which means full volume one would have to watch the level indicator and increase the speed of stroke but still keep it very even to compensate for the volume of air being used to produce the volume of sound. [3]

The names of a number of the organ pumpers are scratched in the back of the organ case.

In 1925, an electric blower was installed. [1] : 11–19 

The organ was restored in 1981-2 by F. J. Larner & Co and was cleaned and maintained in June 2001.

The gallery in the church was originally intended to be used by the choir but the installation of the pipe organ meant that the choir assembled at the front of the church. [3]

Bell

The bell of the church was cast at the London foundry of John Warner & Sons in 1905. The bell is 510 millimetres (20 in) in diameter and weighs approximately 91 kilograms (201 lb). The bell was donated by Mr E. R. Parker. [31] Originally the bell was mounted on a wooden tower at the back of the chapel. When that became unsafe it was replaced by a metal tower. In November 2010, the bell was erected in the present tower which was paid for by public subscription. [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ George Wansbrough returned from his apprenticeship in Perth to assist his brother in cutting the roof of the Wesleyan chapel. [7]
  2. ↑ The complaint also related to the Castle Hotel for which ticket-of-leave convicts were eventually used, so it is possible the same happened with the Wesleyan Chapel.
  3. ↑ The gallery was still there in 1888. [12]
  4. ↑ In 1889, seat rents brought in sufficient to increase the building fund donations to £500: Eastern Districts Chronicle, 13 April 1889, p.4. In 1892, the Trustees of the church land allowed a street to be cut through block D in front of the church for a price of £500. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York, Western Australia</span> Town in Western Australia

York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated on the Avon River, 97 kilometres (60 mi) east of Perth in the Wheatbelt, on Ballardong Nyoongar land, and is the seat of the Shire of York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of Ballarat</span> Diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia

The Diocese of Ballarat is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, which was created out of the Diocese of Melbourne in 1875. It is situated in the Ballarat region of the state of Victoria, Australia and covers the south-west region of the state. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Christ the King in Ballarat. Garry Weatherill, formerly the Bishop of Willochra between 2000 and 2011, was installed as the 10th Bishop of Ballarat on 5 November 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosewater Uniting Church</span>

The Rosewater Uniting Church was founded in Queenstown, South Australia as a Primitive Methodist Church in 1878. The Foundation Stone was laid by the Chairman of the Rosewater District Council, Mr. H.C.E. Muecke on 10 August, and the opening services were held on 24 November 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham Street Methodist Church</span> Church in Christchurch Central City, New Zealand

The Durham Street Methodist Church in Christchurch was the earliest stone church constructed in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. It is registered as a "Historic Place – Category I" by Heritage New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Church, Perth</span> Church in Perth, Western Australia

Trinity Church is a Uniting church located at 72 St Georges Terrace in Perth, Western Australia. Commenced in 1893, the former Congregational church is one of the oldest church buildings in the City of Perth, and one of the few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the city.

The Reverend John Smithies (1802–1872) was a Wesleyan Methodist missionary who served in Newfoundland, the Swan River Colony of Western Australia, and Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Uniting Church, Toowoomba</span> Church in Australia

Wesley Uniting Church is a heritage-listed former Uniting church at 54 Neil Street, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Willoughby Powell and built from 1877 to 1924. It is also known as Wesleyan Methodist Church. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 10 May 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface Hill Uniting Church</span> Church in Australia

Surface Hill Uniting Church is a heritage-listed former Uniting church at Channon Street, Surface Hill, Gympie, Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architect Hugo William Du Rietz and built from 1869 to 1937. It is also known as City Church, Surface Hill Methodist Church and Wesleyan/Wesley Church. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 May 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilgrim Uniting Church</span> Church in South Australia, Australia

Pilgrim Uniting Church is a church in the heart of the City on Flinders Street, Adelaide in South Australia. It is a church of the Uniting Church in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellamy and Hardy</span> Architectural practice in Lincoln, England

Bellamy and Hardy was an architectural practice in Lincoln, England, that specialised particularly in the design of public buildings and non-conformist chapels. Pearson Bellamy had established his own architectural practice by 1845 and he entered into a partnership with James Spence Hardy in June 1853. Both partners had previously worked for the Lincoln architect William Adams Nicholson. Hardy was described as "Chief Clerk" to Nicholson. Hardy joined Pearson Bellamy immediately after the sudden death of Nicholson. As all known architectural drawings by the practice are signed Pearson Bellamy, it is likely that Bellamy was the architect and Hardy was the administrator in the practice. The partnership lasted until 1887 After this Bellamy continued to practice until 1896.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clayton Wesley Uniting Church</span> Church in Australia

Clayton Wesley Uniting Church, formerly Clayton Congregational Church, is a Uniting church, located at 280 Portrush Road, Beulah Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The current building with its tall spire was built was built in 1883, although an earlier building, behind the present church and now known as the Lecture Hall, was built in 1856. The church is located in a commanding position at the eastern end of The Parade, Norwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avon Terrace, York</span> Street in York, Western Australia

Avon Terrace it is the main street of the town of York, Western Australia, and is lined with heritage buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Church, York, Western Australia</span> Church in York, Western Australia

Holy Trinity Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church on the corner of Newcastle and Pool Streets, in York, Western Australia. The church was consecrated in 1858 by the first Anglican Bishop of Perth, Mathew Blagden Hale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Uniting Church, Broken Hill</span> Church in New South Wales, Australia

Wesley Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church at Cobalt Street, Broken Hill, City of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Frederick William Dancker and built from 1885 to 1888 by Messrs. Walter and Morris. It is also known as Wesley Uniting Church and Hall Group, Wesleyan Uniting Church Group, Wesley Church and Wesley Hall. The property is owned by the Uniting Church in Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 23 April 2010 and on the Australian Register of the National Estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faversham House</span> Building in York, Western Australia

Faversham House is a heritage-listed "grand residence" overlooking Avon Terrace in York, Western Australia. The house, named after the birthplace of John Henry Monger Snr, was built in four stages by the Monger family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Hotel, York</span> Heritage listed building in York, Western Australia

The Castle Hotel in York is one of the oldest surviving hotels in Western Australia. Its first proprietor was Samuel Craig and it was then held by members of the Craig family for 137 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Fire Station</span> Historic site in York, Western Australia

The York Fire Station is a single-storey red brick building originally constructed for the York Municipal Council as Council Chambers in 1897, in York, Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newtown Mission Uniting Church</span> Church in New South Wales, Australia

The Newtown Mission Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church at 280a King Street, Newtown, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Allen Mansfield and built in 1859 by Thomas Abbott. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

John Henry Monger Snr (1802–1867) arrived in Western Australia as an assisted migrant in 1829. After a short period running a mill at what became Lake Monger, he established a hotel and store in York and went on to become one of the richest men in the colony.

Joseph Pyke (1831-1910) was a shoemaker who settled in York, Western Australia in 1857 with his wife, Elizabeth, and became a prominent store keeper and land owner in the town, developing the first street-front shops, and taking a significant role in town affairs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Collins, Doris (2002). "The Establishment of Methodism in York". Barladong. The York Society (3).
  2. ↑ Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 1 April 1853, p.2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Collins, Doris; Morrell, Fred (2018). Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018. Uniting Church York.
  4. ↑ Inquirer 17 August 1853, p.2.
  5. ↑ Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 4 November 1853, p.2.
  6. ↑ Erickson, Rica. Dictionary of Western Australians, re George and John Wansbrough.
  7. ↑ Heritage Conservation Plan for Bridge House, p.9.
  8. ↑ Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 18 February 1853, p.2.
  9. ↑ Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 24 March 1854, p.2.
  10. ↑ Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 21 April 1854, p.2.
  11. ↑ Clack, A. M.; McColl, Jenni. York Sketchbook. p. 24.
  12. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.4.
  13. ↑ The Inquirer and Commercial News 29 June 1859, p.2.
  14. 1 2 Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter (1989). A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present. Angus & Robertson.
  15. ↑ Rica Erickson, Dictionary of Western Australians, re Rev.Thomas Bird.
  16. 1 2 Eastern Districts Chronicle, 17 March 1888, p.7.
  17. 1 2 3 Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888.
  18. 1 2 3 Eastern Districts Chronicle, 25 August 1888.
  19. ↑ York Chronicle, 4 September 1952; foundation stone.
  20. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 14 April 1888, p.5.
  21. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 21 April 1888, pp.4-5.
  22. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 26 April 1888, p.2.
  23. 1 2 Eastern Districts Chronicle, 23 June 1888, p.5.
  24. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 2 June 1888, p.6; 9 June 1888, p.5; 16 June 1888, p.6; 7 July 1888, p.5; 11 August 1888, p.5.
  25. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 15 October 1892, p.5.
  26. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 18 August 1888, p.4.
  27. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.4; and refer to Architects of South Australia.
  28. ↑ Heritage Council notes.
  29. ↑ Minutes of Parish meeting June 1895.
  30. ↑ Russell, Duncan (2018). Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018. Uniting Church York.
  31. ↑ Eastern Districts Chronicle, 16 December 1905, p.2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.