St Mark's Church is an active

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. It is part of a significant local heritage group that includes the church, rectory, and adjacent cottage. The group forms part of a large collection of important to late 19th century buildings of considerable townscape, historic and cultural significance, including the former St Mark's Crescent School, St Mark's Cottage and Bishopscourt, formerly ''Greenoaks''.

History

Constructed between 1848 and 1880, St Mark's Church was designed by Colonial Architect to New South Wales,

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 Goulburn Cathedral (St. Saviour), St. Saviour's Cathedral, Goulbu ...

, in an early Victorian Rustic Gothic Revival style with nave, chancel, vestries, organ chamber, tower and spire; made of

Sydney sandstone Sydney sandstone, also known as the Hawkesbury sandstone, yellowblock, and yellow gold, is a sedimentary rock named after Sydney, and the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this sandstone is particularly common. It forms the bedrock f ...

with hardwood timber shingled roofs. The church was completed in 1854 with the spire, a gift from William Laidley, added later. In 1861 the church was extended to the west to include the porch and gallery. Prior to completion of this building, accommodation for worshippers in this section of the parish of Alexandria was provided by Thomas Ware Smart of Mona, who converted one of his cottages in Mona Lane in the Chapel of St Mark. In 1863 Wolliam Bradley of Lindesay built at his expense, the present vestries. St Mark's Church is one of the best known Anglican parish churches in Australia and has become a popular wedding venue hosting such famous weddings as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's first marriage and the fictional wedding in the film ''

Muriel's Wedding ''Muriel's Wedding'' is a 1994 comedy-drama film written and directed by P.J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Bill Hunter and Rachel Griffiths, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambition is to have a glamorous wedding ...

''. Social photographer Sam Hood captured many socialite weddings during the 1930s.

Leadership

Established under the patronage of Bishop

William Grant Broughton William Grant Broughton (22 May 178820 February 1853) was a British Anglican bishop. He was the first (and only) Bishop of Australia of the Church of England. The then Diocese of Australia has become the Anglican Church of Australia and is div ...

, the inaugural incumbent at St Marks' was the Reverend George Fairfowl Macarthur, who also served as the proprietor of St Mark's School which he conducted first at the rectory, then at Macquarie Fields and later at The Kings School, Parramatta. The current rector, since 2013, is the Reverend Michael Jensen, a son of a former Archbishop of Sydney,

the Most Reverend The Most Reverend (abbreviated as The Most Revd or The Most Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. It is a variant of the mor ...

Peter Jensen.

References

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on th
''St Marks Anglican church''
th
''Rectory of St Marks church''
and th
''St Marks Cottage - building, sandstone retaining walls''
all listed on 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 ...

" published by the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

unde
CC-BY 3.0 AU
licence (accessed on 19 March 2018). {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark's Church, Darling Point Anglican Diocese of Sydney New South Wales Heritage Database Churches completed in 1854 Anglican church buildings in Sydney Edmund Blacket buildings in Sydney 1854 establishments in Australia Edmund Blacket church buildings

Elton John Darling Point, New South Wales Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia

History

Leadership

See also

References

Attribution