St Stephen's Anglican Church, Toodyay on:
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St Stephen's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed
The architectural style of the church could be described as restrained Gothic with its pointed arched window and door surrounds. There are tall lancet windows to the north and south, with buttresses dividing the north and south façades into evenly spaced bays. The highly pitched roof is today covered by corrugated iron.
A flooded gum (''
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
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
on Stirling Terrace, , Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It was one of the earliest significant public buildings constructed in the town then named Newcastle.
History
The church was built by George Henry Hasell, assisted by stonemason Esau Wetherall and a shingle splitter with the surname MacKnoe. On 9 May 1862 Matthew Hale, in his role as Lord Bishop of theAnglican Diocese of Perth
The Anglican Diocese of Perth is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The constitution of the Diocese of Perth was passed and adopted in 1872 at the first synod held in Western Australia. In 1914, the Province of Western ...
, consecrated the church and it opened for services. The first minister was Charles Harper.
A separate bell tower made of bush timber was later constructed and this remains on site. The bell was dedicated in December 1910 by Charles Riley, Bishop of Perth. The bell was made by Fred Metters & Co., Perth and donated by Charles Maxwell Lukin.
On 20 June 1915 a memorial service was held at St Stephen's for William Henry (Bill) Strahan who had been killed in the ANZAC action at Gallipoli during World War I. Strahan was the first Toodyay casualty of the war. Widespread grief saw a large attendance (about 195 people) at his funeral—roughly 1/5 of the district's population.
The shingled roof was replaced with corrugated iron in the mid 1940s.
On 18 March 1948 the sanctuary of St Stephen's church was consecrated by Archbishop Robert Moline
Robert William Haines Moline (20 October 18898 August 1979) was an Anglican bishop.
Moline was born at Sudbury, Suffolk (where his father was Rector) and educated at The King's School, Canterbury and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Decorated for ...
, as a memorial to Charles Augustus Lee Steere and Roderick Yelverton Lee Steere, who lost their lives in World War II. The extension was designed by architect F.G.B. Hawkins and built by contractor Mr. Hawkins with bricks from the demolished Nunyle Agricultural Hall.
Description
The architectural style of the church could be described as restrained Gothic with its pointed arched window and door surrounds. There are tall lancet windows to the north and south, with buttresses dividing the north and south façades into evenly spaced bays. The highly pitched roof is today covered by corrugated iron.
A flooded gum (''Eucalyptus rudis
''Eucalyptus rudis'', commonly known as flooded gum or moitch, is a species of small to medium-sized tree endemic to coastal areas near Perth, Western Australia. The Noongar names for the tree are colaille, gooloorto, koolert and moitch. This tr ...
''), said to be over 400 years old, towers over the church. The trimming of the upper branches of the tree, giving it a somewhat lopsided appearance, was to prevent it striking overhead power lines which have since been run underground. Although the removal of the tree has been threatened in the past by development it is now regarded as an icon with its historical significance well appreciated.
See also
* List of Anglican churches in Western Australia * List of heritage places in the Shire of ToodyayReferences
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Saint, Anglican Church, Toodyay Toodyay Toodyay Buildings and structures in Toodyay, Western Australia Heritage places in Toodyay, Western Australia Stirling Terrace, Toodyay Victorian architecture in Western Australia 19th-century Anglican church buildings in Australia 1861 establishments in Australia Churches completed in 1862 Victorian church buildings in Australia