All Saints Church, Canberra
Encyclopedia
| Church of All Saints, Ainslie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Denomination | Anglican (Episcopalian) | ||
| Located | Corner of Cowper and Bonney Streets Ainslie |
||
| Founded | 1958 | ||
| Rector | Fr Michael Faragher | ||
| Diocese | Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn | ||
| Website | http://www.allsaintsainslie.org.au | ||
Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory
Ainslie is a leafy suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district.The suburb is bounded by Limestone Avenue and Majura Avenue to the west and north, Phillip Avenue to the north-east, Mount Ainslie to the east and Quick Street to the south.Ainslie is within walking distance of the...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. It is part of the diocese of Canberra and Goulburn in the Anglican Church of Australia
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
.
The original building started as the First Mortuary station in Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, as noted on a plaque on the church:
- "The stonework of this church was originally used to build the first mortuary station on the branch railway to the necropolis rookwood near Sydney. This plaque was presented by the Australian Railway Historical Society to commemorate the old station which was in use from 1868 to 1948." http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/b/b1/20050906033915%21Plaque_stonework_ainslie_church_ACT.jpg
The railway line went underneath the main arch in the building, where the aisle is in the present church. The side aisles are where the platforms for the station were located. Coffins would be taken out on the railway line to the cemetery for burial.
The roof of the building burned down in a fire. The Ainslie parish bought the stonework for 100 pounds, and the stonework was transported to Canberra in 1957 where the current roof was built and work done to turn it into the present church. In the process the bell tower was moved from the left side of the entrance to the right.
One of the stained glass windows was part of a church in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which was bombed during World War 2.
The church bell was originally on a shay locomotive owned by the Commonwealth Oil Corporation that ran on the former Wolgan Valley Railway in the Blue Mountains, before being dismantled in 1925. The bell was presented to the church by the Australian Railway Historical Society
Australian Railway Historical Society
The Australian Railway Historical Society was founded in Sydney in 1933 as The Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. It aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. Membership now exceeds 2,500, with Divisions in every...
in 1958.
At the east end of the church is a garden and columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
. The church has several stained glass windows, and gargoyle sculptures on the outside of the building. On the inside stonework are two carved angels. It has two side chapels located on opposite sides of the chancel, one dedicated to Our Lady, and the other after Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
.