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WESLEYAN CHURCH RESERVE (FORMER)

Location

10A HYDE STREET, FOOTSCRAY VIC 3011

File Number

HE/09/3010-06

Level

Heritage Inventory Site

Statement of Significance

The ‘Wesleyan Church Reserve’ at 10A Hyde Street Footscray was first occupied for church purposes in 1869, when a bluestone church and ‘Sunday school’ were constructed on vacant land, granted to the church by the Port Phillip government. In 1888, a two-storey brick ‘parsonage’, with outbuildings and grounds, was constructed within the reserve; the existing bluestone church was modified and enlarged; and the Sunday school was relocated to the southeast part of the reserve. The site was continuously occupied for church purposes from 1869 until c.1953.

The bluestone church is preserved as an extant structure; its exterior and immediate surrounds essentially reflect the 1888 built form, and as such hold ‘architectural’ and ‘aesthetic’ significance at a local level. While the remaining structures associated with the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century occupation of the site are not preserved as standing structures, there is ‘moderate potential’ for archaeological features and deposits to be preserved at the site. Any preserved archaeological features and/or deposits will likely be associated with the nineteenth to early-twentieth century occupation of the site for church purposes, and are likely to be in a condition that could contribute to an understanding of the site’s historic occupation. The site has strong historic associations with the establishment and growth of the Wesleyan Church at a local level; and has ‘social’ significance as place where people gathered for religious ceremonies, religious education and social events.

Group