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Presbyterian Church & Organ

Location 580 Glenferrie Road,, HAWTHORN VIC 3122 - Property No B5596 File Number B5596 Level Regional

[1/1] B5596 Presbyterian Church

Statement of Significance

Church:
A church of a very advanced Romanesque style built in 1891-2 to the competition-winning design of George Allan and the unusually rigorous requirements of the minister Thomas Nisbet. The polygonal plan is in the tradition of acoustically designed preaching churches, the exterior of red and brown brickwork included moulded brick colonettes, an arcaded cement corbel table (adumbrating the blood and bandage style of later years) and a gable decorated with terra cotta tile in relief in the American manner. The proposed corner tower, though never built, would have been a most dramatic feature in the tradition of Street and Burges.
Classified 'Regional': 05/03/1987

Organ:
A three-manual organ of 26 stops built in 1892 by Fincham & Hobday and completed this century by the Hawthorn organbuilder Fred Taylor who added an enclosed choir organ of seven stops and introduced tubular-pneumatic action and a detached drawknob console in place of the original mechanical action . The instrument has remained intact and incorporates a case of original design, probably the work of George Allen, the architect of the building, and is a rare surviving example of Taylor's work.
Classified 'State': 20/03/1991