St Alban's Anglican Church is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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 ...

located at Hunter Terrace,

Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New Englan ...

in the

Muswellbrook Shire Muswellbrook Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line. Muswellbrook Shire was established on 1 July 1979 fro ...

local government area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was designed by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

and built from 1864 to 1869 by

Edmund Blacket Edmund Thomas Blacket (25 August 1817 – 9 February 1883) was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn. Arriving in Sydney from Engl ...

, supervised by

John Horbury Hunt John Horbury Hunt (1838 – December 30, 1904) was a Canadian-born Australian architect who worked in Sydney and rural New South Wales from 1863. Life and career Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of a builder, Hunt was trained in B ...

. It is also known as St. Alban's Anglican Church and St Albans Church. The property is owned by the Trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. The church was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 2 April 1999.

History

In 1981 the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

classified the St Alban's Church precinct. Within the precinct are St Alban's Church, the Gothic fence, the

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

, the Rectory and the Sunday School Hall with attached residence. The church is the only known design for a church executed in Australia based on the designs of Sir

. The construction was supervised by John Horbury Hunt on behalf of Edmund Blacket. The church is a superb example of English, Victorian Gothic Revival. Complete with 19th century plantings, fence and bellcote. The precinct "is closely identified the artistic and religious patronage of the White family, which was responsible more than any other, for much of the 19th century development in the Hunter Valley. The Rectory was built and for many years was the residence of Mrs Jane Wilson, sister of the Archdeacon W. E. White, Rector of the Parish from 1860-1900. It was acquired by the church in 1937 and now forms an essential element of the precinct. It is a good example of late 19th-century romanticism, featuring a complexity of gables, hipped roofs, tall chimneys and a semi-circular, single storey wing. The Sunday School and Hall, erected in 1874 as the St. Alban's School, was the first non-ecclesiastical building undertaken by Horbury Hunt. It was in pious memory of Sarah White, and Francis, her son, to the glory of God. Special features of this building are bellcote on the roof ridge, a triple arch porch, multiple gables and high chimney stacks. It is constructed of warm red sandstock bricks recovered from the original St. Alban's (). The attached residence was initially for the schoolmaster, later for the schoolmaster, later for the organist and currently for the

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

. In 1934, a kindergarten room, stage and porch were added in a style compatible with Hunt's concept. The rear room was dedicated in memory of Lillian Luke, cousin of Mrs Jane Wilson.

Description

St Alban's Church is constructed of stone quarried at Atienne and has a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof, with a square north-east tower. The interior construction features, chancel with scissor-

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

roof and original polychrome application. Carved limestone reredos by Harry Hemes of England designed by Pirie and Clyne, Aberdeen, Scotland. Floor tiles throughout the church were made by Minton and Hollins. Needle point kneelers and cushions were possibly made by early Rector's wife, Mrs Beedle. Chancel arch supported by short shafts and volute

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s. Four bay with south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

and

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

. Scissor and collar truss with braced principals and polychrome decoration. A complete set of stained glass windows by Howard Bros. of Frome, Somersetshire, England. Original oak pews. Nine shafted carved stone font, built by James Black & Son.

Condition

As at 13 January 1998, it is Sir George Gilbert Scott's only known design for a church executed in Australia, supervised by J. H. Hunt on behalf of E. Blacket. The Church is a superb example of English, Victorian Gothic Revival. Complete with 19th century plantings, fence and bellcote.

Modifications and dates

The following modifications have been undertaken to the site:CMP, 2012, K12 *1880sa fence, believed to be designed by John Horbury Hunt was built on the Brook Street and Hunter Terrace boundaries. *1886further maintenance works undertaken: whole exterior of church's stonework was re=pointed and the fence repainted. *1893roof repair works and guttering on the tower. Organ reubilt by Sydney organ builder, Charles Richardson, keeping some of the original facade and Walker pipes. *1894

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

installed by Muswellbrook Gas Co. *late 19th centurytermite damage led to replacing some floor boards and

foundations Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

below pulpit re-laid. *1913re-roofing carried out in slate for the roof and copper for the church

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. Stone work repointed. *1914Archdeacon White memorial clock with chiming bells installed in church tower, detached stand-alone belfry/bellcote/bell tower of timber erected in the church yard to house original church bell (from 1843 church, transferred to new one in 1869). Vestry enlarged on north-west side of tower, moving the wall approx. with

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) ...

of the same quality as the original and workmanship similar. The only style departure was using copper gutter and downpiping and diamond lead-lighting with clear glass with red border around the edges of the window. *mid-1980sBelfry/belcote/bell tower - major maintenance works done in the mid-1980s based on a 1979 Donald Ellsmore Report.

Heritage listing

St Alban's Anglican Church was listed on the

on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

* * *

Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans Anglican Church

Muswellbrook Anglican churches in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register George Gilbert Scott buildings and structures Alban, Muswellbrook

Churches completed in 1869 Sandstone churches in Australia 1869 establishments in Australia 19th-century Anglican church buildings Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia Gothic Revival architecture in Sydney Victorian architecture in Sydney Anglican Diocese of Newcastle (Australia) 19th-century churches in Australia