CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

History:

The Congregational Church building was built in 1920.

The Richmond Congregational Church was established in 1853; the tenders were called for builders for the first church building on 11 October of that year. The foundation stone for the present church was laid by T H A Lambert, to commemorate the diamond jubilee of the church, 1860-1920, although the official diamond jubilee was celebrated on 14 September 1913. In 1872 records lists both a church and hall in the complex. The first church building contained a Fincham organ, installed 4 June 1871, which had previously been used in the Melbourne Town Hall.

Following the creation of the Uniting Church in 1977, the Richmond Congregational Church continued as such, not joining the local Presbyterian and Methodist churches; the church now serves a predominantly Samoan congregation.

The history of the hall is unknown, but it appears to date from the 19th century.

Description:

The former Congregational Church is a small Gothic Revival style building constructed of red brick with rendered dressings, and a gabled corrugated iron roof. The small skillion-roofed narthex of the church, facing Burnley Street, is flanked by squat turrets, square in plan, with crenellated rendered parapets and staged red brick buttresses. The entrance door is located within a pointed arched opening, with pointed arched windows on each side. A circular louvered vent is located within the gable end. The relatively plain side elevations have pointed arched windows between staged red brick buttresses, and dentillated brick cornice. The low clinker brick front and side fences appear to be a later addition.

At the rear of the site, facing Kent Street, is a large weatherboard hall with a gabled corrugated galvanised steel roof. A small gabled entrance porch projects on the north side, and has the remnants of decorative barge boards on the gable end. The upper walls of the porch are clad in notched weatherboards; the remainder are plain. Window openings have pointed arches and multi-paned sashes, and bars have been fitted at a later date.

Significance:

The former Congregational Church at Burnley Street, Richmond, is of local architectural and historical significance. The building is a modest example of the crenulated Gothic Revival style, and an important heritage element in Burnley Street. The site has been continuously occupied by a church since 1853.

Group

Religion

Category

Church