Wesley Church, Perth
Encyclopedia
Wesley Church is at 75 William Street
at its intersection with Hay Street
in Perth, Western Australia
. It is one of the oldest church buildings and one of few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the City of Perth
.
style and features a landmark spire
, steeply pitched roofs, parapeted gable
s, label (hood) moulds and wall buttress
ing. The church has a strong verticality of form emphasised by tall lancet window
s with plate tracery to the east facade. Angle buttresses divide the nave
wall into five bays and the major windows have stucco
label moulds above them. The bricks of the building, fired at uncertain temperatures in wood-burning kilns, show a range of mellow tones and, laid in Flemish bond, create a chequerboard effect on the walls, which provides a decorative element to the walls of the building. The spire is 35 metres high with a weathercock on top; it is surrounded by four smaller spires at its base which are capped by metal finials. The north-east tower replicates these smaller spires above the gable. The roof structure is of hand-sawn timber and the roof covering was originally shingle
s, but at some point the Church was re-roofed in clay tiles.
on 3 February 1830 aboard the Tranby, to found a small religious community six kilometres (four miles) upstream along the Swan River
from the newly established town of Perth (approximately on the site of the current suburb of Maylands
). The group was led by Joseph Hardey and John Wall Hardey, and included a surgeon, preacher, bricklayer, blacksmith, shoemaker, surveyor, hatter, midshipman and several farmers.
The site for the church was purchased from James Inkpen (the first recorded Methodist to arrive in the colony, having arrived in December 1829) at a cost of ₤400. The new church was the third Methodist place of worship to be built in the forty years in which the denomination had been established in the colony. The original church was subsequently used as a caretaker's cottage; the second was used for Sunday School, then an armoury and then a store. George Shenton
(another prominent Methodist, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council) had earlier suggested that the name of the church be Wesley Church, and promised £1,000 to establish the building fund, with Joseph Hardey contributing a further ₤500.
Wesley Church was designed by Richard Roach Jewell
, an architect, circuit steward, clerk of colonial works and church member. Jewell was responsible for the design of a number of other prominent Perth buildings, including the Cloisters
(1858), the Pensioner Barracks (1863), and extensions and alterations to Government House
(1864) and Perth Town Hall
(1870). Jewell designed Wesley Church in the fashionable Gothic revival style, a style which he successfully adapted in his other buildings. Jewell's plan for Wesley Church, comprising the nave, chancel and bell tower with a tall and elegant spire, was accepted with one alteration - the relocation of the bell tower from the north-east side to the south-east side.
The foundation stone was laid on 25 October 1867 by Governor John Stephen Hampton. The church was opened on Sunday 10 April 1870 with services by Reverend William Lowe (who married Joseph Hardey's daughter Mary Jane), Rev. W. Traylen and Rev. T.C. Laurence. The total cost of the building was about ₤3,000 - a considerable sum for a church membership of 138 (with a quarterly income of a little over ₤66). The original bricks were made from local clay pits and the floor is made of jarrah
. The church bell, originally hanging in the southern tower, came from the sailing ship Tranby, which brought the original members of the congregation to the colony.
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In June 1875 the first church organ in the colony was installed at Wesley Church, a Bishop and Son instrument of two manuals and pedal with 15 speaking stops.
In 1880 a clergy vestry, choir vestry and organ loft were added to the Church at a cost of ₤385. In 1896 further alterations and additions were made, including the construction of the north-east tower (which buried the original foundation stone), the side galleries, the ceiling to the nave and the south-west porch. These alterations were undertaken by Talbot Hobbs
(a prominent Perth-based architect) at a cost of ₤1,150.
The Meckering
earthquake
of October 1968 caused structural damage to the church's steeple. A decision was made to demolish the steeple but, when approximately 30 ft was removed, the remainder of the structure appeared secure and so a copper
cone was placed on top to replace the damaged section. The bell was also removed from the tower as it was considered that the structure was too weak to support its weight. The bell was then mounted on display outside on the Hay Street side of the church.
In 1974 redevelopment occurred on the north-west and south-west sides of the church site with the construction of the Wesley Arcade and Tower, which opened in May 1976. During these developments a small chapel was constructed at the north-west corner of the church. Wesley Church continued to be used as an active centre of worship and in 1997 the Methodist congregation joined the Uniting Church of Australia. In 1985 the Church launched a Restoration Fund through the National Trust of Australia (WA) to restore the external brick walls, gables, parapets and high part of the tower brickwork. Restoration works were finally completed in mid 1987.
Perth, a part of the Uniting Church in Australia.
.
William Street, Perth
William Street is a suburban distributor and one of two major cross-streets in Perth, Western Australia.Commencing in western Mount Lawley it also crosses the Perth to Fremantle railway at the Horseshoe Bridge....
at its intersection with Hay Street
Hay Street, Perth
Hay Street is a major road through the CBD of Perth, Western Australia. The street was named after Robert William Hay, the Permanent Under Secretary for Colonies. Sections of the road were called Howick Street and Twiss Street until 1897...
in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. It is one of the oldest church buildings and one of few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the City of Perth
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...
.
Built form
Wesley Church is built of load-bearing brick laid in Flemish bond in the Victorian academic gothicGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style and features a landmark spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
, steeply pitched roofs, parapeted gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s, label (hood) moulds and wall buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ing. The church has a strong verticality of form emphasised by tall lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s with plate tracery to the east facade. Angle buttresses divide the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
wall into five bays and the major windows have stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
label moulds above them. The bricks of the building, fired at uncertain temperatures in wood-burning kilns, show a range of mellow tones and, laid in Flemish bond, create a chequerboard effect on the walls, which provides a decorative element to the walls of the building. The spire is 35 metres high with a weathercock on top; it is surrounded by four smaller spires at its base which are capped by metal finials. The north-east tower replicates these smaller spires above the gable. The roof structure is of hand-sawn timber and the roof covering was originally shingle
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
s, but at some point the Church was re-roofed in clay tiles.
History
The first Methodists arrived in the Swan River ColonySwan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
on 3 February 1830 aboard the Tranby, to found a small religious community six kilometres (four miles) upstream along the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
from the newly established town of Perth (approximately on the site of the current suburb of Maylands
Maylands, Western Australia
Maylands is a suburb located approximately northeast of Perth centred on the Midland railway line and located on the northern bank of the Swan River....
). The group was led by Joseph Hardey and John Wall Hardey, and included a surgeon, preacher, bricklayer, blacksmith, shoemaker, surveyor, hatter, midshipman and several farmers.
The site for the church was purchased from James Inkpen (the first recorded Methodist to arrive in the colony, having arrived in December 1829) at a cost of ₤400. The new church was the third Methodist place of worship to be built in the forty years in which the denomination had been established in the colony. The original church was subsequently used as a caretaker's cottage; the second was used for Sunday School, then an armoury and then a store. George Shenton
George Shenton
Sir George Shenton was a prominent businessman in colonial Western Australia, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for over thirty years.-Early and family life:...
(another prominent Methodist, the first Mayor of Perth, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council) had earlier suggested that the name of the church be Wesley Church, and promised £1,000 to establish the building fund, with Joseph Hardey contributing a further ₤500.
Wesley Church was designed by Richard Roach Jewell
Richard Roach Jewell
Richard Roach Jewell was an architect who designed many of the important public buildings in Perth during the latter half of the nineteenth century....
, an architect, circuit steward, clerk of colonial works and church member. Jewell was responsible for the design of a number of other prominent Perth buildings, including the Cloisters
The Cloisters, Perth
The Cloisters is located at 200 St Georges Terrace, opposite its intersection with Mill Street, in Perth, Western Australia. It is a two-storey dark coloured brick building, which terminates the vista at the top of Mill Street and is a landmark in the rise of the street to the ridge of the...
(1858), the Pensioner Barracks (1863), and extensions and alterations to Government House
Government House, Perth
Government House in Perth is the official residence of the governor of Western Australia and was built between 1859 and 1864. The buildings and gardens are listed on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places and are open to the public from time to time.-Description:The building is a two...
(1864) and Perth Town Hall
Perth Town Hall
The Perth Town Hall, situated on the corner of Hay and Barrack streets, is the only convict-built town hall in Australia.Designed by Richard Roach Jewell and James Manning in the Victorian Free Gothic style, the hall was built by convicts and free men between 1868 and 1870...
(1870). Jewell designed Wesley Church in the fashionable Gothic revival style, a style which he successfully adapted in his other buildings. Jewell's plan for Wesley Church, comprising the nave, chancel and bell tower with a tall and elegant spire, was accepted with one alteration - the relocation of the bell tower from the north-east side to the south-east side.
The foundation stone was laid on 25 October 1867 by Governor John Stephen Hampton. The church was opened on Sunday 10 April 1870 with services by Reverend William Lowe (who married Joseph Hardey's daughter Mary Jane), Rev. W. Traylen and Rev. T.C. Laurence. The total cost of the building was about ₤3,000 - a considerable sum for a church membership of 138 (with a quarterly income of a little over ₤66). The original bricks were made from local clay pits and the floor is made of jarrah
Jarrah
Eucalyptus marginata is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree in the southwest of Western Australia. The tree and the wood are usually referred to by the Aboriginal name Jarrah...
. The church bell, originally hanging in the southern tower, came from the sailing ship Tranby, which brought the original members of the congregation to the colony.
In 1880 a clergy vestry, choir vestry and organ loft were added to the Church at a cost of ₤385. In 1896 further alterations and additions were made, including the construction of the north-east tower (which buried the original foundation stone), the side galleries, the ceiling to the nave and the south-west porch. These alterations were undertaken by Talbot Hobbs
Talbot Hobbs
Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs KCB, KCMG, VD was an Australian architect and First World War general.-Early life:...
(a prominent Perth-based architect) at a cost of ₤1,150.
The Meckering
Meckering, Western Australia
Meckering is a town 130 km east of Perth, Western Australia along the Great Eastern Highway. Meckering is located within the Shire of Cunderdin.A railway line was completed in the area in 1895 and Meckering was selected as a station site...
earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
of October 1968 caused structural damage to the church's steeple. A decision was made to demolish the steeple but, when approximately 30 ft was removed, the remainder of the structure appeared secure and so a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
cone was placed on top to replace the damaged section. The bell was also removed from the tower as it was considered that the structure was too weak to support its weight. The bell was then mounted on display outside on the Hay Street side of the church.
In 1974 redevelopment occurred on the north-west and south-west sides of the church site with the construction of the Wesley Arcade and Tower, which opened in May 1976. During these developments a small chapel was constructed at the north-west corner of the church. Wesley Church continued to be used as an active centre of worship and in 1997 the Methodist congregation joined the Uniting Church of Australia. In 1985 the Church launched a Restoration Fund through the National Trust of Australia (WA) to restore the external brick walls, gables, parapets and high part of the tower brickwork. Restoration works were finally completed in mid 1987.
Current uses
The church is currently the home of the Wesley Congregation known as Wesley MissionWesley Mission
Wesley Mission is a name used by several Uniting Church congregations which are a part the Uniting Missions Network of UnitingCare Australia. Wesley Missions grew out of the inner city missions of the pre-union Methodist Church of Australasia...
Perth, a part of the Uniting Church in Australia.
Heritage value
The Wesley Church was entered into the Register of the National Estate by the Australian Heritage Commission on 23 March 1985 and classified by the National Trust of Australia (WA) on 11 June 1973. On 23 May 1995 it was placed on the permanent State Heritage RegisterHeritage Council of Western Australia
The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state.It was created under the Heritage of Western Australia Act...
.
Further reading
- Report on Wesley Church Restoration for Wesley Property Committee, Perth, Uniting Church in Australia - Bodycoat, Ron (Duncan, Stephen and Mercer Architects, March 1983).
- The Wesley Story, Centenary of Wesley Church, Perth, Western Australia 1870 - 1970 Lutton, W. (Perth, Wesley Church, 1970)
- The People of Perth. A Social History of Western Australia's Capital City Stannage, C. T. (City of Perth, Perth, 1979) ISBN 0-909994-86-2
- Early Years of the Methodist Church in Western Australia - C. A. Jenkins (Western Australian Historical Society, 1933)
- The Methodist Church in Western Australia - A. J. Sampson (University Studies in Western Australian History, October 1958)
- Architects of Australia - Howard Tanner (Macmillan 1981) ISBN 0-333-29929-9