Uniting Church,York, Western Australia

The Uniting Church and the former chapel are significant early buildings of York, Western Australia.

Uniting Church and chapel
Former namesWesleyan Church
General information
AddressGrey Street
Town or cityYork, Western Australia
Construction started1888
Completed1888
Design and construction
ArchitectAlfred McBain Bonython
Main contractorPringle and Moscrip
References
York municipal inventory

Chapel

The first pastor in York was Rev John Smithies, who also established the Gerald Mission.[1] While he was in York, tenders were called for construction of the "Wesleyan chapel" on 29 March 1853. Tenders were administered by John Henry Monger Snr,[2], publican and storekeeper, who lived in Faversham House next door to the north, a former engineer who must have been the building's designer.

Monger's call for tenders stated:

Tenders for Building the Wesleyan Chapel in York

TENDERS will be received by Mr J H Monger, York, on the 18th April, at 10 o’clock in the forenoon, either separately or jointly, from any person or persons who may be willing to perform the undermentioned work, viz: - To have a good sound stone foundation 18 inches thick, level from the highest part of the ground, the remainder of the wall to be brick, 9 inch work, 40 feet long, 22 feet wide, 10 feet high, good arches over the windows and doors, also the windows and doors and frames for both the sashes to be hung with weights and pullies, the doors to be panelled. Also the Roof, to be boarded and shingled with three pair of principals and ring posts and one purline. All materials to be found on the ground. For the Roofing, the price to be stated in words and figures, per square, doors and windows ditto, per foot, the brickwork ditto, per yard.

York, March 29, 1853.

Local residents subscribed £200 to fund the construction and the government also assisted. [3]

Monger himself was the successful tenderer.[4] Good progress on the chapel was reported in August 1853. [5] Funding for roofing was being solicited in November 1853. [6] George Wansbrough and his brother John (who were Wesleyans) [7] worked on the roof.[8] One local complained that ticket-of-leave men were not available to be employed in construction of the chapel. [9] [lower-alpha 1]

The chapel was opened on 5 April 1854 by the Rev. William Lowe to a crowd of more than 120 people. [10][11] The cost of the chapel was £317/12/4.[12] This chapel was the second church in York. [13]

Originally there was a gallery in the chapel but this was later removed.[14][15]

A harmonium was purchased for the chapel in 1859.[16]

Attendees paid pew rents, 5 shillings for a whole seat and 1 shilling for an individual. The cost of upkeep of the chapel was recorded in 1868 as being £15/19/-, of which candles for illumination constituted a large proportion. The chapel keeper (warden) was paid 1 shilling per week for his services.[17]

Monger's design is harmonic, simple and symmetrical, being Victorian Georgian style (not including the later portico).[18]

Church

After Reverend Thomas Bird arrived in August 1878, [19] he saw that the chapel was too small and started plans for a new church and to use the old one for the Sunday School, and social and business meetings. [20][21] In 1885, the trustees and the Rev William Lowe held a meeting to discuss plans for building the church. The “Wesleyan body generally responded to the demand upon their resources” and by March 1888 most of the money had reportedly been raised.[22]

Tenders were called and the successful tender was from Pringle and Moscrip of Perth and Adelaide for £945.[23] The foundation stone was laid by Mrs J H Monger on 25 April 1888. [24] The foundation stone “is a most beautiful specimen of Sydney free stone, and will be carved during the coming week by Mr Pringle, one of the contractors, by whom it is presented”.[25]

"Every preparation was made by the obliging contractor for the ceremony on Wednesday. The scaffolding was adorned with bunting hours before the company assembled. Stones were removed and planks placed for the comfort of those taking part in the service.” A “hermetically sealed” bottle containing a list of parishioners and some silver and copper coins common in the colony, was placed under the foundation stone by Joseph Pyke, and Mr Pringle presented Mrs Monger with a silver trowel.[26] On the evening of the laying of the foundation stone, there was a promenade concert in the Oddfellows’ Hall. “The best musical talent that the district affords has been secured” and “with one or two exceptions” this concert was declared a success and raised £17 for the building fund.[27] [28] [29]

The cost of the Church was reputed to be £1,000 and in May 1888 there were concerns that only £400 had been raised. [30] In fact, only £236 had been raised, all of the donors to that time being listed in an advertisement the following month, the largest of them being John Henry Monger (£59) who was paying in instalments. Donations continued to be published and the total crept to £345. [31] [lower-alpha 2]

Stone for the church was donated and carted to the site by adherents. [32]

By June, it was reported that construction of the Church was fast reaching completion and would be finished by the first Sunday in August 1888. [33]

Opening of the Church

The last two services for the Chapel were held by the Rev Thomas Bird and the Rev William Lowe on 19 August. The Rev Thomas Bird held the opening service in the new Church on Wednesday 22 August 1888 at 3:45 pm. [34]

The local newspaper, the Eastern Districts Chronicle reported:

The Church is a valuable addition to the many imposing edifices erected here, and the internal arrangements are finished in a workmanlike manner, redounding greatly to the credit of Messrs. Pringle and Moscrip, as contractors. Its acoustic properties are of the highest order as was plainly evidenced at the services on Wednesday last. A great many people attended from Perth. Northern, Newcastle, Beverley, and other towns, and the whole congregation numbered quite 300 souls. [35]

Architecture

The architect of the church was Alfred McBain Bonython who had come from Adelaide and Melbourne and was living in Perth designing buildings for the Shenton family. He was only 23 at the time. He also designed the Wesleyan Methodist churches in Fremantle and Albany. [36]

The church is in Victorian Academic Gothic style. [37] Gothic features include:

  • Steeply pitched roof
  • Parapeted gable
  • Excellent stone masonry
  • Wall buttresses
  • Lancet windows
  • Porch with Gothic arch (a later addition)[38]
  • Label moulds

Organ

A fund was raised by Mrs Florence Monger in 1895 for the purchase of an organ constructed by Alfred Monk of London. [39][40] The organ is only one of two Alfred Monk organs in Australia and is considered the best 19th century organ in Western Australia "in both the warmth of its tone and brilliance of sound and in capability to fill the sanctuary with sound". [41]

Originally, the organ had to be hand-pumped. An organ pumper recollected:

The organ pumper was very important. If the musician and the person pumping the organ were on good terms, the pumper would use long even strokes of the pump lever to provide a nice even flow of music and when the musician was using FF which means full volume one would have to watch the level indicator and increase the speed of stroke but still keep it very even to compensate for the volume of air being used to produce the volume of sound.[42]

The names of a number of the organ pumpers are scratched in the back of the organ case.

In 1925, an electric blower was installed. [43]

The organ was restored in 1981-2 by FJ Larner & Co and was cleaned and maintained in June 2001.

The gallery in the church was originally intended to be used by the choir but the installation of the pipe organ meant that the choir assembled at the front of the church.[44]

Bell

The bell of the church was cast at the London foundry of John Warner & Sons in 1905. The bell is 510mm in diameter and weighs approximately 91kg. The bell was donated by Mr Thomas Harkness (who lived in Suburban Road) with the condition that it be run a half hour before the morning and evening services for a short time and then for a full five minutes before each service commenced, presumably to give Harkness time to get to church by horse and buggy. Originally the bell was mounted on a wooden tower at the back of the chapel. When that became unsafe it was replace by a metal tower. In November 2010, the bell was erected in the present tower which was paid for by public subscription. [45]

Notes
  1. The complaint also related to the Castle Hotel for which ticket-of-leave convicts were eventually used, so it is possible the same happened with the Wesleyan Chapel.
  2. In 1889, seat rents brought in sufficient to increase the building fund donations to £500: Eastern Districts Chronicle, 13 April 1889, p.4. In 1892, the Trustees of the church land allowed a street to be cut through block D in front of the church for a price of £500: Eastern Districts Chronicle, 15 October 1892, p.5.
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References
  1. Collins, Doris, The Establishment of Methodism in York, Barladong, No 3, 2002, The York Society, pp.14.
  2. Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 1 April 1853, p.2.
  3. Collins, Doris, The Establishment of Methodism in York, Barladong, No 3, 2002, The York Society, pp.11-19.
  4. Collins, Doris, and Morrell, Fred, Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.
  5. Inquirer 17 August 1853, p.2.
  6. Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 4 November 1853, p.2.
  7. Rica Erickson, Dictionary of Western Australians, re George and John Wansbrough.
  8. George Wansbrough returned from his apprenticeship in Perth to assist his brother in cutting the roof of the Wesleyan chapel: Heritage Conservation Plan for Bridge House, p.9.
  9. Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 18 February 1853, p.2.
  10. Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 24 March 1854, p.2.
  11. Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News 21 April 1854, p.2.
  12. Collins, Doris, The Establishment of Methodism in York, Barladong, No 3, 2002, The York Society, pp.11-19.
  13. A.M. Clack and Jenni McColl: York Sketchbook, p. 24.
  14. Collins, Doris, The Establishment of Methodism in York, Barladong, No 3, 2002, The York Society, pp.11-19.
  15. The gallery was still there in 1888: Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.4.
  16. The Inquirer and Commercial News 29 June 1859, p.2.
  17. Collins, Doris, and Morrell, Fred, Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.
  18. Richard Apperly, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present, Angus & Robertson, 1989, pp.24-27 and 42-45.
  19. Rica Erickson, Dictionary of Western Australians, re Rev.Thomas Bird.
  20. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 17 March 1888, p.7.
  21. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.4.
  22. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 17 March 1888, p.7.
  23. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 25 August 1888, p.4.
  24. York Chronicle, 4 September 1952; foundation stone.
  25. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 14 April 1888, p.5.
  26. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.4.
  27. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 21 April 1888, p.4.
  28. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 21 April 1888, p.5.
  29. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.7.
  30. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 26 April 1888, p.2; Eastern Districts Chronicle, 25 August 1888, p.5.
  31. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 2 June 1888, p.6; 9 June 1888, p.5; 16 June 1888, p.6; 23 June 1888, p.5; 7 July 1888, p.5; 11 August 1888, p.5.
  32. Collins, Doris, The Establishment of Methodism in York, Barladong, No 3, 2002, The York Society, pp.11-19.
  33. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 23 June 1888, p.5.
  34. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 18 August 1888, p.4.
  35. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 25 August 1888, p.4.
  36. Eastern Districts Chronicle, 28 April 1888, p.4; and refer to Architects of South Australia.
  37. Richard Apperly, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present, Angus & Robertson, 1989, pp.46-49.
  38. Heritage Council notes.
  39. Minutes of Parish meeting June 1895.
  40. Collins, Doris, and Morrell, Fred, Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.
  41. Russell, Duncan, in Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.
  42. Collins, Doris, and Morrell, Fred, Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.
  43. Collins, Doris, The Establishment of Methodism in York, Barladong, No 3, 2002, The York Society, pp.11-19.
  44. Collins, Doris, and Morrell, Fred, Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.
  45. Collins, Doris, and Morrell, Fred, Wesley Uniting Church York, A Brief history, 1852-2018, Uniting Church York, 2018.

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