St John's Anglican Church, Dalby
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St John's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed
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 ...
at 153 Cunningham Street, Dalby, Western Downs Region,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, Australia. It is the third church of that name on the site and was designed by Henry James (Harry) Marks and built in the 1920s. It is also known as St John's Church of England. It was added to the
Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 14 August 2008.


History

St John's Church, Dalby is a brick church constructed in 1922-1923 to the design of Harry Marks and is the third church of this name on the site. The previous timber church, built in 1876, remained on the site in a modified form as part of a former parish hall, until it was demolished in February 2003. The site of St John's Church is part of a continuing tradition of Anglican worship established during the first years of European settlement on the Darling Downs, which began in 1840. At this time (prior to the
separation of Queensland The Separation of Queensland was an event in 1859 in which the land that forms the present-day State of Queensland in Australia was excised from the Colony of New South Wales and created as a separate Colony of Queensland. History European sett ...
) the Darling Downs were part 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 ...
and fell within the
Diocese of Newcastle The Diocese of Newcastle is a Church of England diocese based in Newcastle upon Tyne, covering the historic county of Northumberland (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of Alston Moo ...
. The Reverend John Gregor visited the area, holding services in camps and private homes from 1840 until his death in 1848. The energetic Reverend Benjamin Glennie succeeded him and his first service on the Downs was held in the parlour of the Bull's Head Inn at Drayton in 1848, there being no church. On 25 May 1851, Glennie held the first service in the Dalby area in the home of Hugh Ross. From then on, regular services were held in such diverse venues as private homes, a
woolshed Shearing sheds (or wool sheds) are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities. In countries where large numbers of sheep are kept for wool, sometimes many thousands in a flock, shearing sheds ar ...
and the
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
. Glennie was responsible for the Anglican pastoral care of the Darling Downs from 1850 to 1860. He laid the foundations of a parochial system on the Downs by establishing congregations, buying strategic sites and building churches. Glennie approached his
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
William Tyrrell for permission to buy land for a church in Toowoomba and in February 1853 gained permission to collect subscriptions for buildings in other towns on his tours throughout his parish, state aid for the construction of church buildings having ceased in 1852. He envisioned four churches, each dedicated to one of the evangelists, in the four major towns of the Downs. This vision was eventually fulfilled by St Luke's at Toowoomba (1856), St Mark's at
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
(1857), St Matthew's at Drayton (1859) and St John's at Dalby (1866). The town of Dalby developed on the site of a crossing over Myall Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River. Here Henry Dennis, seeking grazing land for his employer, Charles Coxen, camped in 1841 soon after the first land was taken up on the Darling Downs. A small settlement grew up around "the Crossing" and became a recognised township in 1854. In 1863 Dalby was proclaimed a municipality, the
Borough of Dalby A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
, and developed as the main centre of the northern Downs. The Western railway line reached Dalby in 1868 and it grew in importance as the railhead for the surrounding pastoral and agricultural industries. In June 1858, Glennie wrote to his Bishop asking him to secure a piece of land at Dalby for a church. In 1859, the government granted a two-acre block of land at the corner of Cunningham and Drayton streets for a church, school and parsonage. In 1860 the first parish priest, Reverend Edmund Moberley, was appointed and in 1863 a parsonage was built in Patrick Street where 27 acres (11 hectares) of Glebe land were also held. In 1866 a small brick church with an iron roof was built on the corner of Cunningham and Drayton Streets to the design of WC Wakeling. Due to insufficient funds, it was built to only half the size originally intended and in 1874 developed cracks due to movement of the foundations, which proved inadequate for the soil conditions. It soon became unsafe and it was decided to replace it with a timber church rather than undertake repairs. The next church was designed by architect
Willoughby Powell Willoughby Powell was an architect in Queensland, Australia. Some of his works are now heritage-listed. Early life Willoughby Powell was born in England. Architectural career Powell trained as an architect in Cheltenham, England. In 1872 he ...
, opened on 5 November 1876 by
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
Matthew Hale and consecrated in 1878. The church, a rectangular timber building sheltered by a shingled roof and set on stumps, faced Cunningham Street. In the early 1920s, during a period of economic expansion in Queensland, the congregation decided to replace this church with a brick building and the foundation stone for the third church on this site was laid in August 1922. The 1876 church was moved and extensively modified to serve as a parish hall and Sunday school. Furniture, fittings,
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
and ornaments were transferred to the new church. Stained glass windows taken from the 1876 church and installed in the 1922 church include one now in the
baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
depicting
St Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the patroness of music and musicians, i ...
(donated in 1901 in memory of Mrs Geizel) and the Mulholland Memorial window, a representation of the Transfiguration, now at the east end of the church. Both were to the design of EA Milford, a prominent Sydney churchman. The new church was designed by architect HJ (Harry) Marks. He was one of a remarkable family firm of architects that had a lasting effect on the appearance of Toowoomba, being responsible for a large number of public, private and commercial buildings. James Marks arrived in Queensland in 1866 and first set up in practice in Dalby, moving to Toowoomba in 1874. He entered into partnership as James Marks and Son with his eldest son Harry, who joined his father's practice in 1903, and
Reginald Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...
who joined in 1910. Charles Marks, James' grandson, also worked as an architect in Toowoomba. Harry Marks was particularly interested in providing good ventilation and natural lighting and these are features of buildings designed by him. In order to prevent a recurrence of the foundation problems that ruined the first church, the Dalby site was excavated to a depth of when a bed of solid yellow clay was discovered. The
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 ...
were put in with
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
built on arches. The building contract was let to J and F Muller of Toowoomba at an estimated cost of £4123. Memorial windows (Geizel and Mulholland windows),
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
,
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
and lectern and much of the furniture were transferred from the old building to the new one. The building of the church was funded from a building fund formed by gifts of money and land by Mr Osborne, to whose memory a stained glass window is installed in the
sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
. Other gifts included a silver communion plate (Mr and Mrs Drury), candlesticks (
Cecil Plains Cecil Plains is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Cecil Plains had a population of 429 people. Geography Cecil Plains is in the Darling Downs, west of the state capital, Brisba ...
parish) and a sanctuary lamp (Mr and Mrs Fortescue - in memory of their son, killed in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
). The foundation stone was laid in August 1922 by the
Australian Governor-General The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Baron Forster of
Lepe Lepe is a Spanish town in the province of Huelva, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is near the Portugal, Portuguese border. According to the 2009 census, the city has a population of 25,886 inhabitants ...
, and Archbishop
Gerald Sharp Gerald Sharp (27 October 1865 – 30 August 1933) was an English-born Anglican clergyman, Archbishop of Brisbane 1921–1933. Early life Sharp was born at Childer Thornton, George P. Shaw,Sharp, Gerald (1865–1933), '' Australian Dictionary ...
dedicated the new church on 19 August 1923. Decorative red cedar panelling donated by Mr CG Knowles was installed to dado height in the
sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
and
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
by 1931. The church was consecrated on 11 August 1935 by Archbishop
William Wand John William Charles Wand, (25 January 1885 – 16 August 1977) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia before returning to England to become the Bishop of Bath and Wells before becoming the Bishop of Lond ...
. The Frank Knight Memorial Hall is a brick extension constructed in the 1960s to provide more seating for congregations and a parish hall. The northwest end of the hall accommodates a rectangular room with seating. Part of the south wall of the church, from the
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
to the east wall, was removed to connect this wing directly with the church. Recent work to the church includes the installation of six split-system air conditioning units in January 2005 and the installation of four new stained glass windows in April 2008.


Description

Geographically, the building is aligned on a northwest-southeast axis but this description treats this axis as the west-east liturgical axis, e.g. the northwest elevation is regarded as the west for liturgical purposes. St John's Church stands prominently to the corner of Cunningham and Drayton Streets, Dalby and is set within extensive grounds. An elegant composition in the
Gothic revival 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 ...
idiom, the building is sheltered by a steeply pitched roof clad with fibrous cement shingles and the buttresses and external walls are of brown facebrick embellished with white cement copings and mouldings.
Cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...
in plan, the
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
accommodates a clergy
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
and a choir vestry and the west end a
baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
flanked by entrance porches. The nave is lit by lancet windows five of
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
and one of coloured glass to the north and two of stained glass and two of coloured glass to the south. Both vestries are lit by lancet windows of coloured glass. Circular lights are over the external entrances to the vestries and oval lights decorate the internal doorways from these spaces the light over the south entrance now without its coloured glass. Internally, these windows are embellished with plain hood moulds. The east end accommodates the Mulholland memorial window, a fine stained glass window comprising three vertical arched panels crowned with three diamond-shaped lights depicting the Transfiguration. The Geizel memorial window, depicting
St Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the patroness of music and musicians, i ...
, lights the baptistery. The
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
walls are plastered down to dado height beneath which is red face brick. The ceiling is lined with battened fibrous cement sheeting with a narrow decorative panel running along the underside of the ridge. Large curved timber
brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
spring from oversized corbels to support the roof beams. The
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
, with decorative timber panelling to the sides, stands on a raised platform within the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...
which is lined to dado height with decorative cedar panelling. The church accommodates fine furniture including cedar pews and
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
from the 1876 church, chairs, kneelers and
lecterns A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...
. Other liturgical items include a silver communion plate, candlesticks,
sanctuary lamp file:Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies.jpg, Malta - Mosta - Rotunda in 57 ies. A sanctuary lamp, chancel lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many Jewish and Christianity, C ...
and
processional cross A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to ...
. A wing accommodating more seating opens to the south from the sanctuary. This is part of the Frank Knight Memorial Hall, a rectangular brick extension to the south of the church. This extension is not of cultural heritage significance. The shrubs, trees, rectory, parish office and bell tower within the church grounds are not of cultural heritage significance. The property is bounded to Drayton and Cunningham streets by a low brick fence with decorative metal entrance gates. These elements are not of cultural heritage significance.


Heritage listing

St John's Anglican Church was listed on the
Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...
on 14 August 2008 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The site of St John's Anglican Church is important for its association with the early development of Dalby and of the Anglican Church in Queensland, being associated with a group of four early Anglican parishes established on the Darling Downs during the 1850s and 1860s and dedicated to the evangelists - St Matthew's at Drayton, St Mark's at Warwick, St Luke's at Toowoomba and St John's at Dalby. Important as part of a continuing tradition of Anglican worship on the Darling Downs, St John's Church (1922-1923) is the third church building for the parish of St John on this site. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. St John's Church is a fine example of a church in the Gothic revival idiom comprising a number of elements typical of this style including a steeply pitched roof, pointed arches, external buttressing to walls, decorative mouldings, lancet windows and fine stained glass. A number of fixtures and fittings gifted to the church from parishioners reflect the importance of the church to the parish including memorial stained glass windows, church furniture and liturgical items. Designed by leading Toowoomba architect Harry Marks, one of a family of prominent Queensland architects, St John's Church is a fine example of his ecclesiastical work. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. Sited prominently in an open grassed setting on a corner in the heart of Dalby, the elegant, well-composed St John's Church, with its steeply pitched roof, fine brickwork and decorative embellishments, is a striking presence in the streetscape of Dalby. With fine stained glass windows, well-crafted furniture, decorative timber panelling and handsome timber roof brackets, the interior of the church provides a contemplative setting for religious observances.


See also

* St Matthew's at Drayton * St Mark's at
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
* St Luke's at Toowoomba


References


Attribution


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns Anglican Church Dalby Queensland Heritage Register Dalby, Queensland Harry Marks buildings Anglican churches in Queensland Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register