St Peter's Church is a heritage-listed former

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 precinct on the corner of Bourke Street and St Peters Street, in the inner city

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of Darlinghurst in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 and is listed on the (now defunct) Australian

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

History

The former church was built in 1866-67, with a vestry addition between 1871-83. It was designed by O. H. Lewis, son of Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, and is his only known work. The church hall, designed by

Benjamin Backhouse Benjamin Backhouse (182929 July 1904) was an architect and politician in Australia. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Early life Benjamin Backhouse was born in England in 1829. He was a Bachelor of Arts and was educa ...

, was built in 1873. In 1924, the church purchased five terrace houses along Forbes Street on land they had long sought to obtain and demolished them to create an entry and forecourt area. It was associated with a number of prominent Sydney figures, including '' The Sydney Morning Herald'' owner Charles Kemp, Assistant Commissioner-General Henry Connell, businessman Lebbeus Hordern and author

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

. Hordern and Kemp were honoured with stained glass windows. Amidst declining congregations and finances, the church became a branch of St John's Anglican Church in 1986 and was closed in March 1993. It was sold to SCEGGS Darlinghurst in September 1993. The former church is now the school's Great Hall, while the former hall was refurbished in 1998 to serve as its Playhouse. The school has used the former church for Easter and Christmas services.

Description

The former church is a two-storey sandstone building with a gabled slate roof, designed in the English Gothic Revival style. It consists of a nave with two aisles, a vestry and chancel. The former hall is a single-storey brick building with a sandstone base. The upper hall was divided into three spaces as part of the 1998 refurbishment, while the lower hall retains its two original principal spaces.

Heritage listing

St Peter's Church and Precinct was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

References

Bibliography

Attribution

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Church, Darlinghurst Darlinghurst Darlinghurst, New South Wales Peter Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Churches completed in 1867 Religious organizations disestablished in 1993 1867 establishments in Australia Victorian architecture in Sydney Gothic Revival architecture in Sydney Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia New South Wales places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate New South Wales Heritage Database