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REFORMED CHURCH OF GEELONG

Other Name

FORMER NEWTOWN METHODIST CHURCH

Location

233 PAKINGTON STREET GEELONG WEST, GREATER GEELONG CITY

File Number

601047

Level

Registered

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FORMER NEWTOWN METHODIST
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FORMER NEWTOWN METHODIST
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FORMER NEWTOWN METHODIST
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1 former newtown methodist
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h01145 plan h1145

Statement of Significance

The Reformed Church of Geelong was built in 1876 as the Newtown Methodist Church to a design by the prominent Geelong architectural firm of Davidson and Henderson. The elaborately detailed church is constructed of Waurn Ponds limestone with Barrabool sandstone as rock faced ashlar and built on the bluestone foundations of the previous church. In 1891 the church underwent internal alterations and a pipe organ was installed. Stained glass windows and doors were added in 1947. In 1954 the interior was again altered with an enlargement of the choir stall and a new sanctuary. The building has been used by the Geelong Reformed Church since 1965.

The Geelong Reformed Church is of architectural and historical significance to the state of Victoria.

The church is of considerable architectural importance as an extraordinary example of a Gothic style church. Details such as the form of the finials, the curved decorations of the porch and the decorated frieze of the string course reflect the influence of French architectural writer Viollet-le-Duc on the work of the architects Davidson and Henderson. The church is also architecturally significant for the fine craftsmanship and decoration it demonstrates in its decorative use of stone, the elaborately detailed front facade, the finely crafted timber ceiling and the stained glass windows.

The Reformed Church of Geelong is of historical interest for its associations with the Methodist Church in Victoria. The church was built after the Methodists had moved away from John Wesley's original concept of the church as a "plain and decent" preaching-house to an acceptance of more elaborate and substantial Gothic style structures. Nevertheless, the nonconformist tradition is reflected in the building's hall-like spatial composition and its emphasis on the pulpit, choir stall and pipe organ.

Group

Religion