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St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church

Location

46 Otter Street, COLLINGWOOD VIC 3066 - Property No 120065

Level

Incl in HO area indiv sig

Statement of Significance

The following wording is from the Allom and Lovell Building Citation, 1998 for the property. Please note that this is a "Building Citation", not a "Statement of Significance". For further information refer to the Building Citation held by the City of Yarra.

History:

The foundation stone of St Joseph's Church, 46 Otter Street, Collingwood, was laid on 16 December 1860. Construction occurred in a number of stages between 1861 and 1891. The building was used as St Joseph's School until 1886, when the school building to the east of the site was constructed. At that time, the east aisle, designed by H E Tolhurst, was added. Tolhurst was an architect and surveyor for the City of Collingwood. A new chancel and sacristies, and a rose window over the high altar, were added by Brooks, Robinson & Co. The window was donated by Tolhurst. A window by Hughes Rogers & Co. was installed in the Lady Chapel soon afterwards.

The building contains stained glass windows by Ferguson & Urie, Rogers & Hughes, and William Montgomery. The organ in the rear gallery was possibly built by William Anderson of Melbourne.

Renovations were made to the confessionals and porch in 1967.

Description:

St Joseph's Church, 46 Otter Street, Collingwood, is a large Gothic Revival style church. Walls are of tuck pointed brickwork; the south elevation is rendered, and all the walls have been painted. The church comprises a gabled nave flanked by gabled aisles, clad in slate and with gabled parapet ends to the south elevation. The central gable end has a large traceried pointed arched window with stained glass above a series of four narrow lancet windows, flanked by staged buttresses. Each of the gable ends to the aisles have pointed arched windows. The side elevations also have pointed arched windows with simple tracery, located between buttresses. The tower to the north, square in plan, has a castellated parapet and has louvered pointed arched openings on each elevation.

The appearance of the building has been marred by the painting of the face brick surfaces.

Significance:

St Joseph's Church, Collingwood, is of local historical and architectural significance. It was the first Catholic Mission Church in Collingwood. Architecturally, the building is a large and substantially externally intact Gothic Revival ecclesiastical building, notable for its unusual castellated tower and high quality stained glass windows.

Group

Religion

Category

Church