St Mark's Church of England and Parish Hall - Corner Burke and Canterbury Roads, Camberwell

            St Mark's Church of England is a smart rendered brick church which stands proudly on a prominent block on the corner of the busy thoroughfares of Burke and Canterbury Roads in the leafy inner eastern suburb of Camberwell.  Next to it stands a pretty red brick Arts and Crafts parish hall.

St Mark's Parish was first established in 1912, as ribbon housing estates and developments were established along the Burke Road tramline.  In 1914, a church hall, designed by Louis Reginald Williams and Alexander North, was built to be used for all church services and any parish activities on a temporary basis.  The temporary accommodation lasted for fourteen years, until St Mark's Church of England was built between 1927 and 1928, to the design specifications of noted local architect Rodney Howard Alsop.  Mr. Alsop was a significant and prolific contributor to the Arts and Crafts movement in Australia. St Mark's Church of England is an interesting building as it has been designed in rather imposing Gothic design, and yet it is heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, no doubt as a result of the architect's passion for the design movement.  The foundation stone was laid in 1927 and the building opened in July of the following year. During the post Great War era, there was a war memorial movement that influenced architectural design throughout Australia.  The movement was at its peak in the 1920s, so a key feature of the planning of St Mark's Church of England was the inclusion of a war memorial within the church building. This was achieved by way of a chapel which was dedicated to the memory of the men of the parish who died during the Great War (1914 - 1918).  St Mark's Church of England was completed during the one construction period and the building has never been altered architecturally since. The design of St Mark's includes an elegant broach spire, and use of stucco rendering and minimal ornamentation. There are interesting internal aspects, including the octagonal baptistery and the placing of the square chancel behind the altar. 

St Mark's Church of England also features the largest collection of stained glass windows created by the husband and wife artistic team of Christian and Napier Waller outside of the National War Memorial in Canberra. The collection of stained glass at St Mark's dates from the 1930s through to the mid Twentieth Century. Napier Waller's "The Transfiguration", which was installed in 1952, is considered by many to be one of his best stained glass works.

The original parish hall is very domestic in style, and is built from red bricks with stone banding.  The building's belfry with its wooden detailing and squat design is typical of the Arts and Crafts movement, as are the stained glass windows of muted blue, green and yellow glass.  Louis Williams loved designing in the Arts and Crafts style, and was equally enthusiastic about Gothic architecture, so the hall features a small amount of detailed gothic detailing which seems somewhat at odds to the rest of the building’s uncluttered design.

Rodney Howard Alsop (1881-1932) was born at Kew, then an affluent borough just outside Melbourne.  He was the eighth child of John Alsop, a trustee-manager to the State Savings Bank of Victoria, and his wife Anne.  Rodney showed great artistic capabilities as a young child.  Poor health as a child meant he had periods of convalescence which allowed him to develop these skills still further.  As a young teenager he worked on Saturday mornings for the Melbourne architects firm of Hyndman and Bates, which helped develop his passion for architecture.  In 1899 to he went with his family on a tour of Europe where he learned about English church and domestic architecture. On his return to Melbourne in 1901 he was articled with Hyndman and Bates and in 1906, after admission to the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects, he entered into an architectural partnership with F. L. Klingender, with Rodney as the true designer.  In the early 1920s he joined architects Kingsley Henderson and Marcus Martin to form a practice that created the distinctive Temperance and General Mutual Life offices in several major cities. From September 1924 until 1931, when he joined A. Bramwell Smith, he practiced alone.  Mr. Alsop was better known for his domestic architecture designs and those of Footscray Park and in 1932 his design of the Winthrop Hall in the Hackett Buildings at the University of Western Australia was awarded the bronze medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects. St Mark's Church of England is his only known church design.  Mr. Alsop was also a respected designer of furniture and shared a skill in landscape design with his wife Dorothy Hope, daughter of Sir Nicholas Lockyer, whom he had married in June 1912 at Toorak.  The pair only ever had one child, who died in 1915.  Mr. Alsop died suddenly in 1932 as a result of bronchitis and asthma, an ailment he had suffered all his life.

Louis Reginald Williams (1890 – 1980) was born in Hobart, Tasmania and attended school at Queen’s College.   His father was a furniture manufacturer, and the family was very religious. Louis’ interest in churches guided him into choosing a career in architecture.  He was trained by architect Alexander North, with whom Louis eventually formed a joint partnership when they moved to mainland Australia and set up an architectural firm, Williams and North, in Little Collins Street in Melbourne.  Although Louis was commissioned to design commercial buildings and houses, it is for his ecclesiastical buildings that he is best known.  He worked mostly in either traditional Gothic or Arts and Crafts styles.  Not only was he concerned about the exteriors of his churches, but the interiors as well, and he maintained a group of skilled craftsmen whom he trusted to create his designs for furniture and fittings to harmonise with the buildings he created. He also advised on stained glass, lighting and even mosaic tiling, and no detail was too small for Louis.  He designed churches throughout Australia for the Church of England, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists and the Christian Scientists.  His career lasted for nearly sixty-five years until he was in his mid eighties.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Melbourne / Auburn (show map)

Taken on: September 15, 2014

Tags:

St Mark's

St Mark's Church of England

St Mark's Camberwell

Camberwell Church of England

Camberwell Anglican Church

Church of England

Anglican Church

Burke Rd

Burke Road

meeting house

hall

church hall

place of worship

Sunday School

religion

religious building

religious

Melbourne

Camberwell

Melbourne architecture

Victoria

Australia

suburban

suburbs

Melbourne suburbs

1914

1910s

bricks

stone

brick and stone

stone tracery

tracery

Arts and Crafts

Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts and Crafts church

Arts and Crafts architecture

Arts and Crafts building

belfry

bell tower

Arts and Crafts style

date plaque

architecturally designed

Louis Reginald Williams

Louis Williams

L R Williams

architecture

Twentieth Century

20th Century

building

window

roof

door

entrance

stained glass

stained glass window

reed brick

clinker brick

Gothic

Gothic detail

Gothic architecture

Gothic church

rendered brick

1927

1928

1920s

20s

Rodney Howard Alsop

Rodney Alsop « less

Sets appears in: • Moderne Melbourne 1915 - 21st Century • St Mark's Church of England more » • Australian Churches and Synagogues « less

Groups appears in: • Architecture • Melbourne more » • Hallowed Ground • Buildings/Architecture • Sanctuary • Melbourne and Beyond • Historical places • Igreja • Church Groups Directory • Architecture and Buildings • Churches, Chapels, Domes, Mosques, Temples, Shrines and Monaster • Gothic Art & Architecture • Houses of God • Kirchen / CHURCHES • architectural photography • Architecture and Forms • Spaces of worship • Places of Worship • australian flickr {2 pictures a day} • Trove: Australia in Pictures • History is All Around Us • Historic Australia 1901-1945 • Traveller's World • Architecture Photography • Victoria, Australia • Old Churches • churchcrawling • victoria australia • * Religion * • Buildings and Sculptures • historical churches • Melbourne Architecture • Favorite Architecture Pictures • IMAGE`S OF BUILDINGS - OLD AND NEW • Historical buildings • Historical Buildings and Landmarks (No Limits) • Historic Church Buildings • Architecture of Days Gone By • Churche's of the World • My Australia • Castles and Churches • Architecture Directory • Churches from around the world (now curated) • Church Photography • church and graveyards • Churches and Steeples • Great Architecture • ANTICANDO!!!(P2/Aw3)Please,only Subject ANCIENT • Churches & Cathedrals - Australia & New Zealand • "History & Antiquities (Post 5 - Award 3)" • The Best of Australia and New Zealand • Australian Architecture • Historical and architectural gems • 100 Year-Old Buildings • Great Buildings • Australian Churches and Places of Worship • Architecture from 1900 to 1999 • Melbourne, it's my city • They Dont Make Them Like They Used To • Edwardian Architecture • Architectural Beauty ! • Buildings & Architecture • Architecture of Modern Movement 1880-1940 • Visual Delight • Anglican • Churches of the World • chiese campestri • Buildings - Around the World • WONDERFUL WORLD OF BUILDINGS / ARCHITECTURE (P1 / A1 ) • Buildings and Architecture International • World Architecture • School of Digital Photography • Kirchen, Klöster und Kapellen • Architecture 101—Gothic Revival, Brutalism, and Postmodernism • Artistic Perspectives • ****BEAUTIFUL FLICKR COMPOSITION**** • RELIGIONEN, KULTUREN UND TRADITIONEN:"GOTT UND WIR MENSCHEN!" • Gebäude/Buildings • Holy Buildings • Melbourne - One City, Many Photos • Houses of the Holy • RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS • 1914 • Churches ! • Australia's Heritage Buildings • Artistic & Historical Beauties - P1/C3 • Magic of Photography • Beautiful Buildings and Bridges ( POST 1 AWARD 1 ) « less

Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	80
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Show full info

Stats: 11,071 views / 4 comments