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St Michael's Memorial Church
270 High Street ASHBURTON, BOROONDARA CITY
St Michael's Memorial Church
270 High Street ASHBURTON, BOROONDARA CITY
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Statement of Significance
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St Michael's Memorial Church - Physical Description 1
The church is a modern brick Romanesque Revival styled church oriented north-south. The front
facade is symmetrical, with two square towers studded with impressed brick crosses, flanking a
central gabled form. A large, tall, round-arched window with painted white metal frames and orange
glass panes rises above a square, blue-painted timber doorway. A statue of Saint Michael slaying
the dragon stands above the doorway. A contemporary metal frame and glass canopy projects
above the doorway over the entrance. The canopy, while contemporary in design and materiality, is
sympathetic in form. The shape of the canopy with its central high point and its projecting wings
echoes the pitch of the central gable and its relationship with the two towers on either side. The
church gable is crowned by a white painted timber Celtic cross.
Decorative elements include the pattern of indented brick crosses on each tower, corbelled course
along the side elevations, and brick pattern on the rounded apse. The corbel table along the side
elevations under the roof are a modern, simplified interpretation of a corbel table. Simple brick
patterns similarly decorate the tympanum under the arched windows to the transept. The central
facade’s arched window is set within a simplified brick archivolt. The ornamental brickwork above
the Sacristy door suggests a dripstone moulding. The external window sills are an accentuated
stylisation of Norman window sills.
Internally, the church consists of a narthex, nave, transept, sanctuary and altar, with a rounded but
flat roofed apse. The interior breaks with the traditional basilica form by excluding side aisles or
chapels. Instead, the interior is remarkably open and dominated by rows of five tall arched stainedglass
windows on each side. The altar and sanctuary, originally located in the apse, have been
brought forward into the transept and set upon a rounded raised floor. A baptistery is located within
the eastern tower, while a lobby and stair into the gallery is located in the west tower.
Confessionals are located to the west of the nave. Secondary entrances are located off the
transepts. Large single arched windows illuminate the transept on east and west. Rows of three
arched windows illuminate the sanctuary. Rows of three tall narrow rectangular windows illuminate
the apse, which is set within a recess separated from the Sanctuary by a large arch. A crucifix is
set within the apse. The overall effect is strikingly simple, relying on material and form over
ornamentation. The concave ceiling is rendered light cream, the smooth texture contrasting with the
cream brick walls. The windows along the nave are set within shallow recesses formed by brick
pilasters and gently arched brick soffits. Stations of the Cross adorn the walls of the nave between
the stained-glass windows. The timber seating is arranged in straight rows up to the transept,
where portable seating may be arranged around the elevated sanctuary and altar.
The interior of the church has developed over time, with the most notable alteration occurring in
1975 to the sanctuary following the Vatican II reforms. A curved timber panelled wall with side altar
and statuette of the Virgin Mary screens the new entry from the priest’s sacristy into the sanctuary.
The gallery above the narthex is lined in timber, its square and gentle arch forms mirroring the
pattern of the pilasters and soffits that frame the nave windows. The organ is set in timber panelling
within the eastern transept. The organ replaced another side altar in the east transept some time
before 1975. The stained glass and statue of Saint Michael were added some time after the
opening of the church, but in locations envisioned in the original plans, which saw a statue located
over the doorway. The stained-glass windows are modern in their composition and style, while the
statue adopts a more traditional sculptural style.
The priest’s sacristy is entered via a stair and extends westwards. Another row of five arched
windows pierce the southern elevation of the sacristy. The original side stairs and concrete spheres
on either side of the main entrance have been removed and replaced with disabled access ramps.
The long conical scroll-shaped lights that originally hung from the ceiling have been removed.
The composition of the church exterior and interior forms a cohesive design of stripped back,
simplified Romanesque using distinctly modern materials and patterns. The repeated use of brick
decorative elements emphasises the material. The quoin-like ‘tooth’ pattern that edges the
transitions between the nave and apse, and the ceiling and apse, creates an interesting contrast
between this textured materiality, and the contrasting smooth, light materiality of the apse and
original sanctuary. The timber panels used in Petherbridge’s 1975 alterations to the sanctuary and
transept repeat the same rectangular pattern. Semicircular arches are characteristic of
Romanesque architecture. Other characteristics evident in the church are the use of massive walls
with limited or small openings, such as in the apse and in the towers. The overall mass of the
building, without buttresses, is typically Romanesque. The use of piers or pilasters between arches,
occurring on the interior; the ceiling is reminiscent of the barrel-vaulted ceiling. John East described
St Michael’s Memorial Church, Ashburton as ‘an example of the style which might be called Post-
Romanesque. The massing, the large arch of the facade with its stepped "mouldings," and the
residual brick corbel table on the side elevations all clearly suggest Romanesque influence in a
design which is otherwise very much of its time’ (East 2016:121).
The church grounds are defined on the north and west by an original cream brick fence. The steps
on the boundary have white painted metal balustrades. The landing to the front steps is ‘pointed’
outwards to the street. Contemporary landscaping surrounds the church, including a metal
sculpture beside the church, and a car park to the rear. A Memorial Garden has been planted
beside the church, with plaques memorialising deceased parishioners adorning the church wall
near the sacristy door.
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32 Hortense StreetBoroondara City
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452 Warrigal RoadBoroondara City
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76 Dent StreetBoroondara City
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