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Former Presbyterian Church & Organ

Other Name St George's Uniting Church Location 4 Chapel Street,, ST KILDA EAST VIC 3183 - Property No B5519 File Number B5519 Level State

[1/1] B5519 St George's Uniting

Statement of Significance

Church Statement of Significance: A brick Presbyterian Church of 1877-80 by the architect Albert Purchas, with a strikingly tall (33.5 metre) banded bell tower and triangular epitrochoidal rose window, and with an ample internal volume on a T plan, with an aisleless nave with raked floor and broad transepts, a shallow sanctuary and no chancel, representing a Protestant reduction of the ideas of British architects like Pearson and Butterfield, enhanced by the almost sheer internal surfaces of bichrome brick in gentle red and cream, and the stained glass, of which the earlier non-figurative windows by Ferguson & Urie are particularly fine. Included in the classification is the T C Lewis organ of 1881, which is in harmony with its architectural setting.
Church Classified: 20/09/1984
Organ Statement of Significance: Built by the noted London organbuilder Thomas C Lewis in 1881 as a two-manual organ of 16 stops, this instrument was rebuilt with tubular-pneumatic action and enlarged to three manuals in 1935 by Melbourne organbuilder Fredrick Taylor, retaining the Lewis tonal scheme and pipework on the great, swell and pedal divisions. One of five Lewis organs exported to Australia, it is of significance for its bold and brilliant voicing, a characteristic of its builder's work, and its ornately diapered facade pipes.
Organ Classified 04/05/1989.