Flinders Street Baptist Church is a church in Flinders Street,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

History

In response to a call by

George Fife Angas George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Province of South Australia. He established the South Aus ...

for a

Baptist minister Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

to found a new

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Rev.

Silas Mead Silas Mead (16 August 1834 – 13 September 1909) was an English Baptist minister remembered for founding the Flinders Street Baptist Church in Adelaide, South Australia, and for the missionary work in India which he inspired. History Mead was bo ...

emigrated aboard ''Parisian'', arriving in July 1861. He began taking regular services at

White's Rooms White's Rooms, later known as Adelaide Assembly Room, was a privately-owned function centre which opened in 1856 on King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia. It became Garner's Theatre in 1880, then passed through several hands, being kno ...

and soon his enthusiastic

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

decided to build a large

on Acre 273 in Flinders Street on the west corner of Divett Place.

Robert G. Thomas Robert George Thomas (16 February 1820 – 14 April 1883) was a draftsman and architect in the British colony of South Australia. He copied Surveyor-General Colonel William Light's original plan for the City of Adelaide and was later responsible ...

, the

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who would later be responsible for the

Stow Memorial Church 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. Social justice, as articulated by the Uniting Church in Australia in the inaugural S ...

(now

Pilgrim Uniting Church 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. Social justice, as articulated by the Uniting Church in Australia in the inaugural ...

), was selected to design the

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

, which is of

Gothic revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * felds ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

with elaborate

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

on the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s, a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

and front entrance with three

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es supported by

pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

. The building, which cost £7,000 and took English & Brown two years to build, was opened on 19 May 1863. The debt was cleared the following year, Mead

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

was erected in 1867–1870 and the

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

was built in 1877. The Australian Baptist Missionary Society was formed at the church under Rev

in 1864, and the first missionary, Ellen Arnold, sent from there in 1882.

Heritage listing

On 28 May 1981, the church was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

. The manse, in which Mead dwelt and his successors dwelt for many years, is now known as the Baptist Church Office, also known as Flinders House. Both the manse and Mead Hall were listed on 11 December 1997.

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 34.927115 , S, 138.603171 , E, format=dms, type:city_region:AU-SA, display=title, inline Baptist churches in Australia Churches in Adelaide Churches completed in 1863 1863 establishments in Australia Gothic Revival architecture in Adelaide South Australian Heritage Register