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Former St Andrews Presbyterian Church - Port Fairy Historic Area

Other Name Old St Andrews Location 33 Albert Street,, PORT FAIRY VIC 3284 - Property No B0338 File Number B0338 Level State

[1/2] B0338 Former St Andrews [2/2] B0338 Old St Andrews

Statement of Significance

A naive but charming classical church built in 1854 of coursed squared basalt, with pediment and entablatures to windows and entrance. In 1871 the whole building was cement rendered, the facade being decorated with fluted Ionic pilasters; the capitals of each incorporating a band of Anthemion ornament, apparently modelled on those of the north porch of the Erechtheion at Athens.
The old St Andrew's Presbyterian Church was erected by T Fairbairn in 1854 to replace an earlier Church of 1843. The building is currently disused.
St Andrew's Presbyterian Church is a rectangular building with only the principal facade being adorned. There are four stylised Ionic piers enframing the two windows and central door and there is a gabled pediment above. A recessed panel within the gable indicates the erection of the building in 1854 and the door and window heads are other disinctive details. Architecturally, this former Church is one of the most distinctive buildings in Port Fairy and its design is both unusual and imporant. Several of the very earliest Churches erected in Victoria were designed in this manner and this one is possibly the only surviving example. The design is reminiscent of building designed in England in the first decades of the 1800's and this structure reflects Classical Revival design of this period, a wide range of sources within the style being apparent in the building.
Classified: 'Regional' 02/11/1989
Revised: 03/08/1998
Part of Port Fairy Historic Area Classified: 02/03/1981.