St Andrews Uniting Church and Manse
28-30 Wallace Street, MEREDITH VIC 3333 - Property No 39990011
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
The former St Andrews Presbyterian, now Uniting Church is located at 28-30 Wallace Street (Midland Highway), Meredith on the south side of the township. It is the second church on the site. The first timber church, built in 1869 but since demolished, become a hall in 1923 when the new church was built. The foundation stone of the new church was laid by Mrs. J. L. Matheson of nearby Moranghurk Homestead. It was designed in a conservative Gothic Revival style, adopting a simple nave form and using red brick and cement render with other materials and details typical of the period. The architects were Laird and Buchan of Geelong, a well-established firm although not known for designing ecclesiastical buildings, which by that time already had branches in other states. The building is substantially intact and retains an excellent degree of integrity. The adjacent timber manse is the second, the first having burnt down in 1893, but was brought in from another site. It has been much modified and now has only a low degree of integrity. The church is complimented by mature plantings of Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress) and Pinus radiata (Monterey or Radiata Pines)
How is it Significant?
The former St Andrews Presbyterian, now Uniting Church is of historical, social and architectural significance to the Golden Plains Shire and the township of Meredith.
Why is it Significant?
The former St Andrews Presbyterian, now Uniting Church is of historical significance for its role in providing the first permanent place of worship for the district's Presbyterians, the main branch of the denomination, from 1869.
The Church has social significance as a representation of the collective aspirations of the local congregation of the Presbyterians, and subsequently the Uniting Church, to establish a place of worship for the larger Presbyterian denomination. This is reinforced by the presence of the former manse, representing the (intermittent) home of various ministers.
The Church has architectural significance as a rare example of the ecclesiastical work of Laird and Buchan, the very important Geelong-based firm of architects. It is also of architectural significance for such a restrained expression of the Gothic Revival, once eschewed by the Presbyterians, and its use of the nave rather than auditorium form.
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St Andrews Uniting Church and Manse - Intactness
The 1923 church is completely intact. The manse is only partly intact having been relocated twice.
St Andrews Uniting Church and Manse - Integrity
The 1923 church retains an excellent degree of integrity. The manse has a very low degree of integrity.
St Andrews Uniting Church and Manse - Historical Australian Themes
The Australian Heritage Commission devised the Australian Historic Themes in 2001. The following themes have influenced the historical development of the Former Free Presbyterian Church.
8 Developing Australia's Cultural Life
8.6 Worshipping
8.6.1 Worshipping together
8.6.2 Maintaining religious traditions and ceremonies
8.6.4 Making places for worship
8.14 Living in the county and rural settlements
St Andrews Uniting Church and Manse - Physical Description 1
The present Gothic Revival church sits in a large allotment on the south-west corner of Wallace and Wilson Streets, Meredith. It is built of pressed red bricks with unpainted cement render details. The roof, pitched at 45 degrees, is corrugated iron and there is a ventilator along the full length of the ridge. The church has four bays with single lancet windows divided by simple buttresses. The main gable has a pair of lancet windows. The glazing throughout is plain tinted glass and leadlight. The front porch has a side timber door under a flat triangular arch of header bricks. There are three narrow windows in the front wall of the porch and the flat roof is hidden by a low parapet. There is a vestry at the rear. The building is very conservative, being stripped of decoration and assuming a simple, flat-floored nave rather than an auditorium form. The Presbyterians had once eschewed the Gothic style and nave form because of their associations with Catholic denominations. The manse, located to the immediate south of the church, is a simple, single-storey timber building with a verandah on two sides and paired double hung sash windows. Much of the fabric appears to date from the time of its relocation. There are perimeter plantings around the site of Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress) and Pinus Radiata (Monterey or Radiata Pines).
St Andrews Uniting Church and Manse - Physical Description 2
Extent of Registration: The Former St Andrew's Presbyterian, now Uniting Church, to the extent of the whole of the church and the manse, but excluding the interiors, the mature Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress) and Pinus Radiata (Monterey or Radiata Pines) and the whole of the land being allotment Lot 2A Section 17, Township of Meredith.
Heritage Study and Grading
Golden Plains - Golden Plains Shire Heritage Study Phase 2
Author: Heritage Matters P/L
Year: 2009
Grading: Local
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MARYBOROUGH TOWN HALLVictorian Heritage Register H2152
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SubstationGolden Plains Shire
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St Josephs Catholic ChurchGolden Plains Shire
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