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ST LAURENCE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH
Other NameLeongatha Catholic Church Location27 OGILVY STREET, LEONGATHA, SOUTH GIPPSLAND SHIRE LevelRecommended for Heritage Overlay |
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
St. Laurence’s Catholic Church complex comprising the church, presbytery, school and convent, at 27-37 Ogilvy Street, Leongatha, is significant.
St. Laurence’s Church, designed by Charles I. Rice and opened on 16 November 1913, is a rendered brick Spanish baroque-styled building with a gabled terracotta roof. The church is a simple gable with no aisles, and the nave is lit by semi-circular arched windows with tracery in each bay, which is defined externally by piers with capitals. Other contributory features include:
- Symmetrical front façade, split into three parts with half-round capped outer piers and inner piers with scrolls against the raised pediment, which is capped with a cross mounted on a projecting pedestal.
- Segmental three part central window with wide architrave and heavy hood moulding and brackets, which is flanked by oculi windows.
- The tall louvred lantern surmounted by a cupola on the ridge.
- The memorial to Dean Coyne within the forecourt.
- Original cast iron fencing surrounding the building with rendered piers, basalt base and wrought iron gates
- Internally, there a segmental barrel vault ceiling, panelled with strong arches at the caps of pilasters defining each window bay. The piers have ionic capitals below a string course defining a wide blocking course with a Baroque capital bearing a shield and flanked by elaborate scrolls. Across the south end of the nave, one bay deep is a balcony carried on a pair of cast iron columns, which has an ogee balustrade. The whole is decorated with elaborate painted cast plaster decoration including swags, scrolls and shields
The Presbytery, constructed in 1904, is a Federation brick bungalow constructed of red brick with glazed terracotta tiled hipped roof that extends to form a three-sided verandah. This building has an original projecting hip with a larger hip added in the late Interwar/early Post-war period, single double hung windows and rendered string courses, that are now painted. The presbytery also has symmetrically arranged chimneys with double moulded caps and tabs and turned verandah posts with neckmoulds and front scroll brackets supporting bracketed eaves, standing on low brick pads.
The convent, designed and constructed by F.W. Morris in 1914, is a timber Federation Bungalow with a hip roof that extends to form the contiguous return verandah, and a minor projecting side gable. This building has a jettied and bracketed half-timbered side gable, one rear chimney with corbelled cap and turned verandah posts with fret brackets. The main panelled door is set into a wide central case with multi-pane sidelights and highlights and the building has symmetrical paired double hung windows to the front elevation, single windows in other elevations and paired tall windows to the side gable.
The school, constructed by Swanson Brothers and opened in March 1957, is a postwar building constructed of red brick with a hipped glazed tile roof that extends forward to create a low front wall with a band of multi-pane timber windows punctuated by flat rendered pilasters, and is terminated by the rendered parapeted section that defines the entry. This has a capped parapet with a fluted band and there is a tower element at the west end, which stands proud of the wall, and has a stepped and pointed pediment surmounted by a cross, and an inset pointed arch panel above a narrow six-pane fluted glass window with a semi-circular hood and the foundation stone below. Beside this are two banks of six pane windows, set into the walls with panels below, and ‘Saint Laurence’s Memorial School’ in raised letters above. At the side is a small flat roofed porch.
The convent, designed and constructed by F.W. Morris in 1914, is a timber Federation Bungalow with a hip roof that extends to form the contiguous return verandah, and a minor projecting side gable. This building has a jettied and bracketed half-timbered side gable, one rear chimney with corbelled cap and turned verandah posts with fret brackets. The main panelled door is set into a wide central case with multi-pane sidelights and highlights and the building has symmetrical paired double hung windows to the front elevation, single windows in other elevations and paired tall windows to the side gable.
The school, constructed by Swanson Brothers and opened in March 1957, is a postwar building constructed of red brick with a hipped glazed tile roof that extends forward to create a low front wall with a band of multi-pane timber windows punctuated by flat rendered pilasters, and is terminated by the rendered parapeted section that defines the entry. This has a capped parapet with a fluted band and there is a tower element at the west end, which stands proud of the wall, and has a stepped and pointed pediment surmounted by a cross, and an inset pointed arch panel above a narrow six-pane fluted glass window with a semi-circular hood and the foundation stone below. Beside this are two banks of six pane windows, set into the walls with panels below, and ‘Saint Laurence’s Memorial School’ in raised letters above. At the side is a small flat roofed porch.
Non-original alterations and additions and other buildings on the site are not of heritage significance.
How is it significant?
St. Laurence's Catholic Church complex is of local historic, aesthetic and social significance to South Gippsland Shire.
Why is it significant?
Historically, the complex demonstrates the development of St. Laurence's after it was elevated to a Parish in 1901 under the leadership of Dean Coyne, who is commemorated by the memorial at the front of the church. This scale of this complex demonstrates the status of Leongatha as a regional hub within South Gippsland. (Criterion A)
It is significant as a representative Catholic Parish centre based around a place of worship, with an associated residence, convent and school. The convent and school demonstrate the importance of education to the Catholic Church and the expansion of catholic education in the early to mid-twentieth century. (Criterion D)
Aesthetically, the church is significant for the unusual blend of Romanesque and Anglo-Dutch/Spanish Baroque architectural detailing, and for elaborate plaster decorated interior, which is of an exceptional standard and of a scale that is rare within the Shire. It is complemented by the finely detailed front fence and memorial. The presbytery and convent are fine examples of Federation bungalows with characteristic form and detailing including the dominant hipped roofs extending to form return verandahs with original details. The finely chimneys to the presbytery are also of note. The school has distinctive form and detailing including the stepped tower feature and the fluted band to the parapet, while the dominant tiled hip roof visually related to the adjoining presbytery and convent. Collectively, the four buildings form a distinctive landmark grouping. (Criterion E)
St. Laurence's has social value for its strong and enduring associations with the local community through its use as a church, school and parish centre, which has been a focal point of the local congregations for over 100 years. (Criterion G)
It is significant as a representative Catholic Parish centre based around a place of worship, with an associated residence, convent and school. The convent and school demonstrate the importance of education to the Catholic Church and the expansion of catholic education in the early to mid-twentieth century. (Criterion D)
Aesthetically, the church is significant for the unusual blend of Romanesque and Anglo-Dutch/Spanish Baroque architectural detailing, and for elaborate plaster decorated interior, which is of an exceptional standard and of a scale that is rare within the Shire. It is complemented by the finely detailed front fence and memorial. The presbytery and convent are fine examples of Federation bungalows with characteristic form and detailing including the dominant hipped roofs extending to form return verandahs with original details. The finely chimneys to the presbytery are also of note. The school has distinctive form and detailing including the stepped tower feature and the fluted band to the parapet, while the dominant tiled hip roof visually related to the adjoining presbytery and convent. Collectively, the four buildings form a distinctive landmark grouping. (Criterion E)
St. Laurence's has social value for its strong and enduring associations with the local community through its use as a church, school and parish centre, which has been a focal point of the local congregations for over 100 years. (Criterion G)
Group
Religion
Category
Church