St Matthew's Church, Guildford Explained

St Matthew's Anglican Church, Guildford
Coordinates:-31.8983°N 115.97°W
Location:Stirling Square,, Western Australia
Country:Australia
Denomination:Anglican
Founded Date: / 1860
Dedication:St Matthew
Consecrated Date:15 October 1873
Status:Church
Functional Status:Active
Architect:Frederick Sherwood
Years Built:1860 / 1873
Materials:Brick, terracotta tiles
Parish:Guildford
Diocese:Perth
Province:Western Australia
Minister:Rev Katrina Holgate
Embedded:
Embed:yes
Designation1:State Register of Heritage Places
Designation1 Offname:St Matthews Church
Designation1 Type:State Registered Place
Designation1 Criteria:11.1., 11.2., 11.4., 12.2., 12.3, 12.4., 12.5.
Designation1 Date:20 October 1995
Designation1 Partof:Guildford Historic Town

St Matthew's Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church in Stirling Square,, Western Australia. The church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Perth.[1]

Saint Matthew's was the first church to be built in the Swan parish. It was a small octagonal mud-brick church, hastily built on land donated by Governor James Stirling on his Woodbridge estate, next to where Guildford Grammar School now stands.

First structure

Governor Stirling laid the foundation stone on 6 September 1836,[2] and it was opened a few months later before it was finished. It was not completed until 1839 and was consecrated on 23 November 1848.[3] It was later demolished but the graveyard still remains. St Matthew's became the separate parish of Guildford in 1854.

Second structure

The second St Matthew's was built on the present site in Stirling Square and was consecrated by Bishop Hale on 21 September 1860.[4]

That brick building with a roof of shingles was destroyed in a hurricane on 12 March 1872 during a baptism. No-one was hurt but only the harmonium and a few books could be saved.[5]

Parishioners immediately started a rebuilding programme and the present church of St Matthew was opened on 9 June 1873,[6] [7] and consecrated on 15 October 1873.[8] A second-hand pipe organ was installed in 1875. This organ had been built for St. John's Church, Fremantle, but became redundant when they purchased a larger instrument.

A much larger pipe organ was installed in the church in 1911, replacing the earlier organ by R C Clifton. This new organ was built by the Adelaide builder J. E. Dodd. The organ has encountered many re-buildings over the years, but has been kept in remarkable condition. In 2004 the organ was fully rebuilt and now features a state of the art transmission system.

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parish – Guildford . Anglican Church – Diocese of Perth . 4 March 2013.
  2. News: THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL. . . WA . 10 September 1836 . 18 March 2013 . 760 . National Library of Australia.
  3. News: Ecclesiastical Intelligence. . The Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News. WA . 25 November 1848 . 18 March 2013 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
  4. News: Summary for the Mail. . The Perth Gazette and Independent Journal of Politics and News. WA . 21 September 1860 . 18 March 2013 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  5. News: GUILDFORD. . . Perth . 13 March 1872 . 18 March 2013 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  6. News: GUILDFORD, June 10. . . Perth . 11 June 1873 . 18 March 2013 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
  7. News: HEADS OF INTELLIGENCE. . . Perth . 18 June 1873 . 18 March 2013 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
  8. News: GUILDFORD October 20. . . Perth . 22 October 1873 . 18 March 2013 . 2 . National Library of Australia.

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