Detail of the Barkley Street Facade and Fence of the St Kilda Presbyterian Church - Corner Barkley Street and Alma Road, St Kilda

            Built on the crest of a hill in a prominent position overlooking St Kilda and the bay is the grand St Kilda Presbyterian Church.  Opened in 1886, the St Kilda Presbyterian church was designed by the architects firm of Wilson and Beswicke, a business founded in 1881 by Ralph Wilson and John Beswicke (1847 - 1925) when they became partners for a short period.  The church is constructed of bluestone with freestone dressings and designed in typical Victorian Gothic style.  The foundation stone, which may be found on the Alma Road facade, was laid by the Governor of Victoria Sir Henry Barkly on 27 January.  When it was built, the St Kilda Presbyterian Church was surrounded by large properties with grand mansions built upon them, so the congregation were largely very affluent and wished for a place of worship that reflected its stature not only in location atop a hill, but in size and grandeur.   

The exterior facades of the church on Barkley Street and Alma Road are dominated by a magnificent tower topped by an imposing tower.  The location of the church and the height of the tower made the spire a landmark for mariners sailing into Melbourne's port.  The tower features corner pinnacles and round spaces for the insertion of a clock, which never took place.  Common Victorian Gothic architectural features of the St Kilda Presbyterian Church include complex bar tracery over the windows, wall buttresses which identify structural bays, gabled roof vents, parapeted gables and excellent stone masonry across the entire structure.   

The St Kilda Presbyterian Church's interior is cool, spacious and lofty, with high ceilings of tongue and groove boards laid diagonally, and a large apse whose ceiling was once painted with golden star stenciling.  The bluestone walls are so thick that the sounds of the busy intersection of Barkley Street and Alma Road barely permeate the church's interior, and it is easy to forget that you are in such a noisy inner Melbourne suburb.  The cedar pews of the church are divided by two grand aisles which feature tall cast iron columns with Corinthian capitals.  At the rear of the building towards Alma Road there are twin porches and a narthex with a staircase that leads to the rear gallery where the choir sang from.  It apparently once housed an organ by William Anderson, but the space today is used as an office and Bible study area.  The current impressive Fincham and Hobday organ from 1892 sits in the north-east corner of the church.  It cost £1030.00 to acquire and install.  The church is flooded with light, even on an overcast day with a powerful thunder storm brewing (as the weather was on my visit).  The reason for such light is because of the very large Gothic windows, many of which are filled with quarry glass by Ferguson and Urie featuring geometric tracery with coloured borders.  The church also features stained glass windows designed by Ferguson and Urie, British stained glass artist Ernest Richard Suffling, Brooks, Robinson and Company Glass Merchants, Mathieson and Gibson of Melbourne and one by Australian stained glass artist Napier Waller.

Taken in: Australia / Victoria / Melbourne / St Kilda South (show map)

Taken on: July 18, 2009

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Sets appears in: • Victoriana • Marvelous Melbourne 1800 - 1914 more » • The St Kilda Presbyterian Church « less

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/8.0, 1/160 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 80 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
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
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