St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney is a large

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 in Sydney's North Shore. It is located at the corner of Church and McLaren streets, close to the North Sydney central business district. The church is listed on the local government heritage register and is listed on the (now defunct)

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 first church called St Thomas' on the site, then named St Leonard's, was designed by

Conrad Martens Conrad Martens (21 March 1801 – 21 August 1878) was an English-born landscape painter active on HMS ''Beagle'' from 1833 to 1834. He arrived in Australia in 1835 and painted there until his death in 1878. Life and work Conrad Martens' f ...

and opened in 1846. Martens personally carved the

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

, which is still in use. In the later years of the first

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

's time at St Thomas', the Anglican architect

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 ...

was recommended to design a larger church; it opened in 1884 in the Victorian Academic Gothic style. The graveyard holds the remains of many famous colonialists, including

Edward Wollstonecraft Edward Wollstonecraft (, ; 1783 7 December 1832) was a successful businessman in early colonial Australia, settling in what is now Sydney. He was the nephew of the early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and cousin to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the ...

. In 1938 a plaque commemorating the founders was unveiled at the church by New South Wales Governor,

Lord Wakehurst Baron Wakehurst, of Ardingly in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 29 June 1934 for the Conservative politician Gerald Loder, fifth son of Sir Robert Loder, 1st Baronet (see Loder Baronets ...

. Early members of the church included

Alexander Berry Alexander Berry (30 November 1781 – 17 September 1873) was a Scottish-born surgeon, merchant and explorer who was given in 1822 a land grant of 10,000 acres (40 km2) and 100 convicts to establish the first European settlement on the sout ...

, William Miller, Thomas Walker, Oswald Bloxsome,

James Milson James Milson (25 November 1783 – 25 October 1872) was an early settler on the North Shore of Sydney, Australia. He was born on 25 November 1783 at Grantham, Lincolnshire, England and died at the age of 88 on 25 October 1872 at Milsons Poi ...

, Colonel

George Barney Lieutenant Colonel George Barney (19 May 1792 – 16 April 1862) was a military engineer of the Corps of Royal Engineers and became Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of North Australia. Early life George Barney was born in Wolverhampton, Staf ...

, George Lavender, John Blue, and William Shairp. Rectors include

George Charles Bode George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

??–1880;

Stephen Henry Childe Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

1880–1913;

Horace Crotty Horace Crotty (9 October 1886 – 16 January 1952) was the Anglican Bishop of Bathurst in Australia from 1928 to 1936. Crotty was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, where he was a resident at Trinity College ...

1913–1919;

Harold Napier Baker Harold Napier Baker (c. 1877 – 4 July 1950), often referred to as Canon Baker, was an Anglican priest, for many years rector of St Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney, Australia. Life Baker was born in Masulipatam, Southern India, where his f ...

1919–1945;

William John Siddens William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

1945–1970

Service times

There are three Sunday services at St Thomas'. There is a service at 8:00am (traditional), 10:00am (family service) and 5:00pm (informal).

Church by the Bridge

Church by the Bridge The Bridge Church (Kirribilli) is the Kirribilli location of The Bridge Church, meeting at an Anglican church at 7–9 Broughton Street, Kirribilli, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Bridge Church (Kirribilli) m ...

is a

church plant Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

of St Thomas', North Sydney. It is located in Broughton Street,

Kirribilli Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. One of the city's most established and affluent neighbourhoods, it is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administere ...

, and offers a contemporary, Bible-based service which meets at 8am, 9.30am, 5:00pm and 6:45pm each Sunday and 5:30pm each Saturday evening, followed by supper.

References

External links

St Thomas' Anglican Church website

Church by the Bridge website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas' Anglican Church, North Sydney Anglican church buildings in Sydney Religious organizations established in 1846 Thomas's 1846 establishments in Australia Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia Anglican Diocese of Sydney Edmund Blacket buildings in Sydney Edmund Blacket church buildings North Sydney, New South Wales New South Wales places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate

History

Service times

Church by the Bridge

See also

References

External links