Blampied – St Josephs - Catholic - Victoria - 1869

While out for a drive to the village of Daylesford we passed this gorgeous church, of course Bucko knew we had to turn around so I could take a few photograph.  The building is simply stunning. 

"A prominently-sited bluestone church allegedly designed by E Shephardson, a school teacher at Eganstown, near Daylesford and built between 1869 and 1874. The design derives from St Peter's Daylesford, but with the introduction of different window tracery and a double-gabled sacristy. The building comprises a five-bay nave, chancel and sacristy and has a spacious interior with several stained glass windows."

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Reference: Victorian Heritage site

Malmsbury - St Johns - Anglican – Victoria 1866

This beautiful old church sits on a rise in the small town of  Malmsbury in Victoria, on one of our excursions when in Ballarat, we found this church. 

The first sod for foundations was turned for construction in Oct 1861 and in Nov 1861 the foundation stone was laid. It was officially opened in Jan 1866 (and baptisms and marriage conducted in it) but not completed until Nov 1873.

A common theme with many of the older churches is the large grounds around the buildings, I suppose well used in the days of the horse and buggy.  Often the land has been sold off, however, the members of this church have not done so.  Today, worshipers arrive at what once would have been the back entrance, up on the hill.  The main gates are down a slope from the church.  I have included photographs of the tiles of dedication by the people who donated the gate.  This church is actually across the road from the other Malmsbury church (For Sale), that I have previously posted.  Enjoy.

The following information was sourced from the Australian Heritage Database. Place ID: 101614

St Johns Church is finely detailed, a local landmark, a church that goes back to the first two decades of settlement at Malmsbury and the first four decades in Victoria, and has an arcaded side chapel arrangement that is apparently unique in Victoria. The building has a special physical, historic and social role in the town, which it has served for 130 years. The history of construction over two decades illustrates the small size of the Malmsbury community and there is an important comparison to be made with the nearby Kyneton's St. Paul's Church of England constructed in 1855-1857, both historically and physically. St. John's remains the last operating church in the town. The interior is conventionally planned apart from the arcaded north wall of the main body, which gives access to the north side chapel/s; this structure, which is similar to an aisle, is apparently unique. Where such a structure was part of a nineteenth century church it was planned as aisles on both sides and gave access to the chancel or the transepts. In Malmsbury's case, the side section has access only into the adjoining nave, the vestry being in the east end of the side section. The parishioners had trouble raising enough funds to plaster the interior and complete the church; this is illustrated by the unplastered interior of the tower. The building is well detailed and enhanced by its elevated site overlooking the town. The adjacent bluestone and red brick rectory is next to the church and enhances it.

St. John's Malmsbury comprises a rectangular gable roofed nave of four bays and a chancel. Along the north side is an aisle-like structure, also with a gable roof and distinguished by three gables in its middle. The eastern end is the vestry, which has a flat roofed, parapeted porch. The walls are coursed local rusticated bluestone with cement dressings. The roofs are slate clad. The spire is cement rendered and the lantern is faced with crude he lantern is faced with crude pilasters. The central main entrance is finely detailed.

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Maldon – Holy Trinity - Anglican – Victoria - 1861

Maldon is a small town in Victoria which is known for many old (for Australia), buildings.  This Anglican church was open, so I went in, such a gorgeous wee church.

Holy Trinity Church of England, High Street, Maldon, forms part of the important historic townscape of the former gold-mining town of Maldon, one of the most notable in Victoria. Holy Trinity Church is a landmark in the town, has historical associations and is architecturally of note. The church is the largest building in the town constructed in local stone and is notable also for its interior fittings. Gothic Revival in style, Holy Trinity is very typical in both design and detailing.

This is a stone church erected in 1861 to the designs of architect D R Drape. Various additions include the vestry (1862), gallery (1862), transepts (1860s), chancel (1886), porch (1889) and iron palisade fence (1880s/90s). Construction is in local stone with Harcourt granite dressings. Features of the design are the bell-cote, windows, gable details, buttresses and internally the organ and stained glass are distinctive.

Holy Trinity Church of England, High Street, Maldon, is in good condition and is very largely intact. 

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Reference: http://www.environment.gov.au/    Place ID: 4236

Maldon – Presbyterian - Victoria (Circa 1870s)

 

On a visit to the small town of Maldon in Victoria we came across this church, I think it is so very pretty.
I was not able to get any closer to find out more information on  it,  as rain was starting to fall. 

Malmsbury VIC - Church For Sale

This lovely old church has a For Sale sign on it, I felt so sad, I hope the person who buys it loves it.  So many facets of life have taken place in this church, Christenings, Weddings, and Funeral, Joy and Sadness.  I don’t know the age of this previous church, but at a guess I would say  it would be circa of  1860s.

Bendigo – White Hills Uniting Church - Victoria - 1853

While on our first trip into the city, we passed these two buildings, so, of course I had to stop and take a picture or two.  I was not able to find any sign which told me anything about the church or hall, however, here they are. 

The cream building is now the church hall, however it may have been the church before the red brick one as built.  As Bendigo has a rather large timber church in the CBD, maybe the timber hall was the church, built before all that gold hit the town!  Who knows?  

 

Bendigo - View Hill Fellowship - Victoria - C1890 - 1920

This wee church sits on a small hill in the city of Bendigo. 

The sign reads “ View Hill Fellowship – House of True Light. Anglican Diocese of Bendigo. Previously All Saints Old Cathedral.A congregation of  the Church of Bendigo.”

I was not able to determine the date this church was built, however, as the style is similar to many of the older buildings around Bendigo I would hazard a guess at Circa 1890 – 1920s.  It appears the church is now used by the Chinese people of Bendigo.  I was particularly taken with the windows which have an Asian influence in the colour they are painted.

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Clunes – St Pauls Anglican Church - 1871 Victoria

After arriving in Clunes and finding out the Information Centre was closed until Thursday, we drove around the corner and along the road in search of  the church.  The entry road to the church is at the rear,  along a path next to the old church hall, past a huge tree, and there St Pauls, an Anglican church built in 1871,  sits in all it’s wonderful old bluestone glory;  high up on the hill, overlooking the town of Clunes.  The church looks forlorn, and stuck to a plain white board was a notice detailing the church session time, each Sunday at 8am.   No foundation stone or plaque could be found explaining when the church was built.  Often we find a small plaque (placed by members of the Congregation or town Historical society), attached to old churches or halls the we are interested in, that sheds light on the who, what, when, where and why of a building.

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The Church Hall is built in a very unusual style ; it is large and made of timber weatherboard, painted cream with a small bell tower, (bell in situ), and vertically installed rectangular shaped windows, which are painted green.  A huge tree with a very large, recently broken limb, still partially attached to the main trunk ,shades the old hall.  No details of how old the Church Hall is, could be found.

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Carisbrook – Uniting Church - Victoria (circa late 18oos)

Another church in the town of Carisbrook, is the Uniting Church, which may have been a member of the Presbyterian ministry before becoming a member of the Uniting Church in the later years of last century. 

Carisbrook is a small town north west of Ballarat, on the  (B180) Pyrenees Highway, between Castlemaine and Maryborough.

 

Carisbrook - St Pauls Anglican Church - 1866 - Victoria

  

Today we decided to go back along the road we took  when we travelled from Bendigo to Ballarat, last Wednesday.  As we had decided to use the GPS to direct us to Ballarat, we actually ended up taking the wrong road, yes, those who have a GPS know all about getting lost! 

Yep, we ended up being lost; however, that was not a bad thing as we passed a few churches along the way, hence today's return trip.    We wanted to actually stop and look at the churches, go into them if we could, and to certainly take a few photographs.  So, here is the first of them.

This church is in Carisbrook, a small town north west of Ballarat, on the  (B180) Pyrenees Highway, between Castlemaine and Maryborough.