Category Presbyterian

Mar 18 2012

03-09-1879: Presbyterian Union Memorial Church, Curzon Street, North Melbourne.

The North Melbourne Presbyterian Church was initially founded in 1854 and the congregation used a temporary iron building until a new bluestone church was erected, the foundation of which was laid by Sir Henry Barkly on Friday the 8th of April 1859[1].

In less than twenty years the church was deemed too small for the growing congregation and plans were afoot to build a new one. The local Brunswick architect Evander McIver was selected as the preferred designer and it was officially opened on Sunday 31st August 1879[2]

Diagonally opposite the church was the Ferguson & Urie stained glass workshops, and it was this firm that the architect Evander McIver chose to create the entire cycle of stained glass windows for the church. As at 2012 the original stained glass workshops building still exists as number 42 Curzon Street but only the facade of the workshop is recogniseable.

Above the Apse of the Union Memorial church is a stained glass wheel window with an outer border of red and blue with a flower separating the alternating colours . The central roundel depicts the motto of the church of Scotland, the “Burning Bush” with the text “nec tamen consumebatur” (‘Yet it was not consumed’). The outer eight lobes surrounding the Burning Bush depict the four reformers and founders of the Presbyterian Church, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and Alexander Henderson. Each is separated by a roundel with the a geometric trefoil design in the centre. Flanking the wheel window are two single light lancet shaped windows depicting on the left  “The Good Shepperd” and on the right, “Suffer Little Children”.

The Church is closed for renovation as at 2012 and the windows are in storage. The Elm street Hall, located at the rear of the church, is the original church and was removed and re-erected a short distance to the rear to make way for the new 1879 church.

Chancel window Photographs by Adam Cawood (2004) with permission from the Congregation of Mark the Evangelist. Taken for the Sesquicentenary in 2004.

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As early as 1871 the old Presbyterian Church was the target of vandals and the article below provides an account of the damage to its stained glass windows. Whether the windows in this original church were made by Ferguson & Urie is not known but the Ferguson & Urie stained glass workshop was only across the street facing the church from circa 1860.

The Queenslander, Brisbane, QLD, Saturday 16th September 1871, page 9.

“THE MELBOURNE Age, in a recent issue, reports the following monstrous outrage:—”Last evening, whilst Divine service was being conducted in the Presbyterian Union Church, Hotham, a stone was launched with considerable violence through one of the large stained glass windows in the midst of the congregation. The Rev. A. D. Kinninmont, who was at the time delivering his discourse, remarked that during his thirty years’ experience as a minister of the gospel he never before witnessed an act like this in a civilised community. The church officer and one of the managers immediately made their exit, where they beheld about a dozen half grown men, who scampered away in every direction.”

In 1879 the new Church has been erected and, as expected, the Ferguson & Urie company provided all the glazing for the church.

The Argus, Melbourne, Wednesday 3rd September 1879, page 3.

“NEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HOTHAM.”

“The new Union Presbyterian Church at Hotham, which was opened for public worship for the first time on Sunday last, forms a prominent and handsome feature in architecture of the town…”.

 “… The church is well lighted from sides and front, with large windows filled with cathedral glass and stained margins, while there are three very handsome memorial windows at the rear end of the church, which are perhaps the most striking features of the edifice. The centre one is a large circular window, alternately filled with floras, and containing the medallions of the reformers, Martin Luther, John Knox, John Calvin, and Alexander Henderson. Another of the stained glass windows has representation of “Christ blessing little children,” with the companion text, “He carrieth His lambs in His arms, and folds them in His bosom …”.

 “…Messrs. Ferguson and Urie executed all the glazing…”

The Argus, Melbourne, Wednesday 15th January 1879, page 6

“UNION MEMORIAL CHURCH, NORTH MELBOURNE.

The congregation attending the Presbyterian Church in Curzon street, Hotham, the foundation stone of which was laid by Sir Henry Barkly in April, 1859 having for some time past felt the need of a larger and more commodious building, determined upon raising the necessary funds for the erection of a new church. Their efforts happily proved successful, and the memorial stone of the new church was laid yesterday afternoon by Mr. James MacBain, M.L.A, in the presence of a large number of spectators. The proceedings were commenced by the suiting of five verses of a metrical version of the 102nd Psalm. The Rev John Clark of Williamstown, then read a chapter from the Book of Kings, descriptive of the manner in which the Temple of Solomon was built. Prayer was offered by the Rev John Cooper of Coburg, and a hymn was sung, after which Dr Gilchrist presented Mr MacBain with an elegantly chased silver trowel, bearing the usual inscription, and a mallet similarly inscribed, and formally requested him to lay the stone. The stone having been declared to be well and truly laid, Mr. MacBain delivered an address congratulating the congregation on the courage they bad displayed in undertaking to build such a large church, which would, when erected, be at the same time an ornament to the town of Hotham, and a credit to the denomination. He was entitled to say that the Presbyterian Church of Victoria had always been a missionary church, and he hoped and believed that the pastor of the church the, the Rev. Dr. Gilchrist, would always be inspired by a missionary spirit. The Presbyterian Church had further claims on public support inasmuch as it had always been identified with educational progress, and had taken a foremost place in the struggle for civil and religious freedom. In the building of this church there would be some difficulties to be met with but he could not doubt that they would be overcome when he saw the crowd that had assembled to witness this ceremony and remembered what had been done towards establishing a college for theological students affiliated to the University. At the conclusion of his address another hymn was sung and a collection vas made in aid of the building fund.
The new church will occupy the same site as the old one which has been pulled down, viz., at the corner of Curzon and Elm streets with frontage to both.  The Early English style of architecture, has been adopted and when finished it will present an elegant and imposing appearance. The principal front of the building is towards Curzon street with a tower and spire at the angle 150ft high. The gable is in height 63ft,, having for its principal feature a large four light traceried window filled with cathedral glass and stained margins, with the main entrance door underneath and a lancet on each side of the door for lighting the main vestibule or corridor. In addition to the main entrance two separate exit doors are to be provided for the galleries, one in the tower, which contains a staircase at the end of the corridor, and the other in a porch, which also contains a staircase at the other end of the corridor. Two exit doors are also provided at the rear of the building, The interior of the church is divided widthways in three parts by columns of iron, which run up to carry the roof, and also support the side and end galleries. The roof over the side galleries and also centre roof are to be boarded and panelled, with deal, varnished. The front of the galleries, choir, stair and platform are to be of light ironwork on a deal base. The church will be 70ft long in the clear by 49ft. wide (exclusive of the area of gallery allotted for the choir and which is placed on the plan immediately behind the platform with, with a stair leading to one of the exit doors at the rear of the church), well lighted with windows in both sides and front filled with cathedral glass and stained margins and at the rear with a large circular window, filled with stained glass. A vestry is also provided contiguous to the platform. The height of the ceiling in the centre is 42ft., and to the side compartments 30ft. The sittings in area will accommodate 560, and in the galleries 350, making a total of 910. The materials for construction are of the best Brunswick bricks faced with the best black and white dressings on a concrete and bluestone foundations. Mr. J. Thurgood, of Hotham is the contractor for the building at the sum of £5,819, and Mr. Evander McIver of Brunswick is the architect. The new church will bear the same name as the old one, viz., the Union Memorial Church, which was built to commemorate the union of the different branches of the Presbyterian Church in the colony. The materials of the old buildings are being utilised in the erection of a commodious schoolhouse at the rear of the church. In the evening a tea meeting was held in the Hotham town hall which was largely attended. General satisfaction was expressed at the excellent manner in which purveying arrangements were carried out by Mr. Thurgood of Swanston-street. The tables being cleared, a public meeting was held at winch the Rev Dr Gilchrist presided and delivered an address Addresses were also delivered by Mr. James MacBain, Mr. Laurens, Mr. Cook, Rev. Duncan Fraser, Mr. Hutchison (mayor of Hotham), and the Rev. J. M. Abernethy. Some choice selections of music were rendered by the church choir”.

The Argus, Melbourne, Vic, Monday 27th September 1954, page 13.

“This was born in a hotel”
By Jim Usher

NORTH MELBOURNE Presbyterian Union Memorial Church, 100 years old yesterday, was born in an hotel. It followed a meeting of 29 Scotsmen in the old Ayrshire Hotel in Chetwynd st. Two publicans, seven stonemasons and a waiter were among the founders. And yesterday more than 700 people attended the 11 a.m. centenary service. There were few seats left in the huge stately church. Worshippers heard Sir Dallas Brooks, Governor, and Mr. Shepherd, Education Minister, read the lessons. The Right Rev. F. W. Rolland, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, said in his sermon that people should never forget the church was a vital part of their daily life. The present church, built in 1879 in a gothic style, has a spire 135 ft. high. An upstair balcony inside the church – and unusual feature of the building – held more than a quarter of yesterday’s congregation. The original church – a sturdy brick building – still stands and is used as a Sunday school. The present church is a memorial to the uniting of the Presbyterian Church in Victoria. It was the first act of “The United Presbyterian Church of Victoria,” which was formed from three sections of the Church – The Church of Scotland, The Free Church and the united Presbyterian Church.”

Related posts:

03-03-1888: St Andrew’s, Brunswick, (F&U window to the memory of Evander McIvor’s wife, Mary)

Foot Notes:

[1] The Argus, Melbourne, Vic, Saturday 9th April 1859, page 5.

[2] The Argus, Melbourne, Wednesday 3rd September 1879, page 3.

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Mar 16 2012

06-12-1876: Scots’ Church, Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria.

This article covers the two largest stained glass windows in Scots Church, Collins Street, Melbourne. Both windows were made by the North Melbourne stained glass firm, Ferguson & Urie.

The window facing Collins Street depicts the “The Eight Episodes from the Gospels” and was donated by Sir Samuel Wilson in 1876. The window in the liturgical south transept, facing Russell street, depicts “The Last Supper” and was donated by John Wilson (brother of Sir Samuel) in 1879.

The Argus, Melbourne, 6th December 1876, page 5.

 “The large window in front of Scots’ Church, Collins-street, has just been filled in with stained glass. The window is in four compartments, with Gothic tracery over each of them. Each compartment is filled in with two Scripture illustrations, with canopies and ornaments in accordance with the style of architecture. The subjects in the first compartment are “Christ Preaching to the Multitude from the Ship”, and the parable of “The Sower”. In the second compartment “Christ Rebuking the Pharisees”, and “The Pharisee and the Publican in the Temple”; in the third “Christ at Meat in the Pharisee’s House”, and the parable of “The Lost Sheep”; and in the fourth, “Christ Weeping over Jerusalem”, and the parable of “The Un-just Steward”, The tracery is filled in with angels bearing scrolls. The subjects illustrated were suggested by the Rev. C. Strong, the minister of the church and in the style of decoration was under the superintendence of Messrs. Reed and Barnes, architects. The work was executed by Messrs Ferguson and Urie, Collins-street, at the cost of £500, to the order of Sir Samuel Wilson, and bears the following inscription at the bottom of the window:- “Presented to Scots’ Church by the Hon. Sir Samuel Wilson, A D, 1876”

Riverine Herald, Echuca, Vic, Tuesday 19th December 1876, page 3.

“A magnificent new stained glass window has been completed to the order of Sir Samuel Wilson, and fitted in the front of Scots’ Church Collins street. It is a beautiful work of art, the design being appropriate, and the execution exquisite.”

The second largest window in Scots church, “The Last Supper”, in the south transept, was also the work of Ferguson & Urie and was donated by Samuel Wilson’s elder brother, John Wilson, in 1879.

Photos taken 12th December 2010;

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THE EIGHT EPISODES FROM THE GOSPELS:

The west window is known as “The Eight Episodes from the Gospels” and has its own individual National Trust Classification granted in November 1992. It was donated by Sir Samuel Wilson and installed in 1876 at a cost of £450 (this differs from the newspaper articles reported cost of £500).

At the very top of the tracery is a trefoil with the cross and crown depicted. On the lower left and right off that are floating angels with ribbons of text that read:

‘HOSANNA | HALLALUIAH’

Further down are two quatrefoils depicting angels with ribbons of text that read:

‘THY KINGDOM COME | THY WILL BE DONE’

The text at the bottom of the window reads:

‘THIS WINDOW WAS PRESENTED | TO THE SCOTS CHURCH BY THE | HONBLE SIR SAMUEL WILSON | ANNO DOMINI 1876.’

The scenes, chapters, and verses displayed on the window are; from top left to right and bottom left to right are:

1:  (Matt 13-2) Jesus teaching the people from a boat.
2:  (Luke 11-37) Jesus teaching the people.
3:  (Luke 7–37) A woman wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair.
4:  (Luke 19-41) Jesus weeping over the City of Jerusalem.
5:  (Matthew 13–3) The parable of the Sower.
6:  (Luke 18–10) The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.
7:  (Luke 15 -3) The parable of the Shepherd with Lost Sheep.
8:  (Luke 19-20) The parable of the Talents (or Minas).

THE LAST SUPPER WINDOW:

The Last Supper window is the second largest window in the church and was gifted by John Wilson. Esq, J. P of Woodlands (brother of Sir Samuel), it cost of £350 and was installed in the South Transept in 1879.

There were some reservations about who should be commissioned to create the window. Mrs Judith Kilmartin from Scots Church kindly provided this information 7th February 2011:

An excerpt from the Scots’ Church Board of Management Minutes of 9th August 1878 reads:-“The subject of the gift of a stained glass window for the East (South) Transept promised by Mr John Wilson came up for discussion and fear was expressed lest its execution should be trusted to inferior makers.  Eventually, Mr B??  moved that the Board convey to the Trustees the expression that the manufacture of this window should be entrusted to some leading English firm”.

Obviously the trustees ignored the advice of the board and the work was subsequently entrusted to the local Melbourne firm Ferguson & Urie who had previously done the magnificent eight episodes from the gospels window in 1876. Why the board were considering an English firm to create the window will probably remain a mystery forever!

Text on the Last Supper window reads:

In the upper three trefoils. above the main five lights, are three trefoils with emblems representing Faith, Hope and Charity. Below that are two quatrefoils with an angel in each holding a ribbon banner with the text:

‘THIS IS MY COMMANDMENT | THAT WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER’

The main three lights read:

‘THIS IS MY BODY | WHICH IS GIVEN FOR YOU | THIS DO IN | REMEMBRANCE OF ME’

‘THIS WINDOW WAS PRESENTED | TO THE SCOTS CHURCH | BY JOHN WILSON ESQ J.P | OF WOODLANDS’

Sir Samuel Wilson’s mansion “Longerenong” (Crouch & Wilson 1862), and John Wilson’s mansion “Woodlands” (Crouch & Wilson 1867), both also contain magnificent secular stained glass windows created by Ferguson & Urie.

Related posts:

1868: John Wilson’s ‘Woodlands’ at Ararat

External links:

Biography: Sir Samuel Wilson (1832-1895)

Death Notice: John Wilson (1813-1888)

Wikipedia: Scots’ Church Melbourne

National Trust: Scots’ Church Melbourne

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Feb 20 2012

13-08-1867: James Urie visits Tasmania on Ferguson and Urie business.

In August 1867, James Urie of the Melbourne stained glass firm ‘Ferguson & Urie’, traveled to Tasmania with a portfolio of the companies designs for ecclesiastical and secular stained glass. As of May 2013, over twenty-five Tasmanian buildings have been identified as having one or more extant stained glass windows by the firm. The newspaper article below contains a gold mine of clues for Ferguson & Urie windows erected in Tasmania and in Victoria and I have included my comments as to what have found on each clue.

The Mercury, Hobart Tasmania, Tuesday 13th August 1867, page 5.

 “STAINED WINDOWS – A few days since we stated that Mr. Urie of the firm of Ferguson, Urie, and Lyon, glass stainers, &c, Melbourne, was on a professional visit to Hobart Town. This gentleman is now in Launceston, and we were much gratified yesterday by inspecting a large portfolio of designs for church and other windows which his firm has executed or has in hand. Amongst the most elegant we may mention the chancel window of St. George’s Church, Queenscliff, the subject being taken from the Litany, whilst the side lights represent the twelve Apostles and the west window other emblems; chancel window of St. Peter’s, Wooloomooloo (Sydney), embracing nine events in the life of St. Peter; Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Geelong; St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Collingwood; St. Patrick’s Church, Duneed; the Melbourne Convent; the Presbyterian Churches at West Melbourne and Ballan; the Wesleyan Churches at Daylesford and Kent Town (S. Australia). They have also erected some very elegant memorial windows including one for the late Prince Consort at Kew; Rev. R. W. Needham, at Mount Gambier; Dr. Peck, at Sale; Judge Pohlman’s wife, and wife of Mr Stoddart both in Melbourne. We have already referred to Dr. Moore’s at New Norfolk, and the two windows in St. John’s, Launceston. One of the most elegant windows is in the house of Mr. George Stevenson, at Toorak; it represents the four seasons with figures of Art, Science, Agriculture, and Commerce, with Faith and Hope, coat of arms, and crest. This window cost £250. This firm also supplied a staircase window for the new mansion of the Hon. R. Q. Kermode at Mona Vale, but it has been decided to substitute one much more elaborate. They are also to fit up two windows for the new Wesleyan Church of this town – one at either end, which will be very handsome. Several private homes in this town, and a large number in Victoria, have been ornamented in this way, and no doubt the practice will extend when it is known how skilfully the art is carried out by Messrs. Ferguson & Co.”

Notes:

1. Queenscliff, Victoria, St Georges, All windows extant.
Related posts: 22-02-1864 > 29-01-1866 > 12-02-1881 > 07-04-1882 > 30-12-1893

2. Wooloomooloo, Sydney, NSW, St Peter’s (Darlinghurst), now part of Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School.
Related posts: 1867: St Peter’s Anglican Church, Woolloomooloo, Sydney, New South Wales.

3. Geelong, Victoria, St Peter & Paul Catholic. Three light principal east window.
Related post: 13-08-1867: St Peter & St Paul, Geelong, Victoria.

4. Collingwood, Melbourne, Roman Catholic (St Joseph’s) destroyed by fire in 2007.
See: 1863: St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Collingwood, Victoria.

5. Duneed, Victoria, St Patrick’s (Mt Moriac) foundation laid in 1858. Ferguson & Urie east window erected in 1866 but was destroyed my a massive hail storm in 1887. The church was rebuilt in 1950’s and sold at auction in February 2017..

6. Melbourne, Victoria, the “Melbourne Convent”. This is likely to be the “Convent of Our Immaculate Lady of Mercy” in Nicholson street Fitzroy. My correspondence with the Convent has revealed nothing.

7. West Melbourne, Presbyterian. Dismantled in 1935 and re-erected as St Andrews at Box Hill in 1936. It contains the original F&U windows except for one which went to the Camberwell Church on Riversdale Road.
Related posts: 27-04-1935

8. Ballan, Victoria, Presbyterian (St Paul’s). All windows are extant.
Related posts: > 22-07-1866 > 28-07-1866 > 13-08-1867

9. Daylesford, Victoria, Wesleyan. Only small ‘stock’ windows in the porch exist in poor condition. See photos <here>

10. Kent Town, South Australia, Wesleyan. Nothing further known.
Related posts: 26-10-1864

11. Kew, Melbourne. The Prince Consort window at Holy Trinity is extant and recently restored.
Related posts: 08-06-1881

12. Mount Gambier, Christ Church, Rev Needham memorial window and others are extant.
Related posts: 02-11-1867

13. Sale, Victoria, St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. Dr. Peck memorial window is extant.
Related post: 29-01-1867

14. Melbourne, Pohlman and Stoddart memorial windows.
Nothing found in regards to the Pohlman window but the Stoddart window exists.
Related post: South Yarra Presbyterian 1867

Pohlman:

Judge Robert Williams Pohlman (1811-1877): Biography | Obit 1877 | Funeral | Obit 1878 His funeral was in St Stephen’s in Richmond and he was buried in the Melbourne General Cemetery on the 8th Dec 1877. He was married twice. His second wife, Mercy Clifton Bachelor died of an embolism at age 26 on the 21st January 1876 only a couple of weeks after giving birth to a stillborn daughter on the 5th of January 1876. He only had one daughter to his second wife named Annie who married Navy Commander Frederick Owen Pike at St John’s in Toorak on the 27th December 1893.

This would mean that the stained glass window would have been a memorial to his first wife “Eliza” who died at Richmond on the 11th Feb 1856.

Stoddart/Stodart:

This is James Dickson Stodart (c1825-1867), Mayor of Prahran 1864/65 and councilor 1858/59-1859/60, 1863/64-1864/65.

Arrived from Edinburgh in 1853. Was later a financial agent for Cornish & Bruce railway contractors. See: Yarra Presbyterian 1867

An active member of the Scotch Presbyterian Church in Punt Road South Yarra, where his memorial stained glass window resides.

He died on Wednesday 12th June 1867. The window has been found at the South Yarra Presbyterian Church See: http://wp.me/p28nLD-2I3.

15. New Norfolk, Tasmania, St Matthew’s, Dr. Moore memorial window is extant.
Related posts: 04-03-1882

16. Launceston, St John’s: The window is extant but no longer in its original position. The canopy glass above the main three lights no longer exists but an original design for the window shows that it contained the descending Dove and the symbols for Alpha and Omega.
Full details see  post: 25-09-1866

17. George Stevenson’s house at Toorak was named “Trawalla” and is located at 22 Lascelles Avenue Toorak. Window is extant.

18. Ross, Tasmania, Kermode’s Mona Vale Mansion. This window still exists. Images are shown in various historical books written in the last 30 years.

19. Launceston, Wesleyan, (Pilgrims Uniting), window facing Patterson street is extant but nothing seen in the opposite end. Gavin Merrington from Hobart has confirmed that a wheel window exists above the organ loft.

Also see: 07-08-1867: Decorative Art. James Urie sojourning in Tasmania.

Other related posts: 03-03-1868 , 29-01-1866, 20-06-1867, 29-04-1864,

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Feb 18 2012

02-05-1867: Presbyterian Church, William Street, West Melbourne

The Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser, Thursday 2nd May 1867, page 2.

“NEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN MELBOURNE.”

“The new West Melbourne Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Lonsdale and William-streets, says the Herald, was opened yesterday[…]”

“… There are fourteen large beautifully stained glass windows, which, in addition to the ordinary devices, contain short texts of Scripture, in English, and towards the top of each is a stained glass ventilator, bearing severally as a design the rose, the thistle, the shamrock, and the burning bush, the emblem of the Church of Scotland. The windows, which are all the work of Messrs. Ferguson and Urie, of this city, cost £700.”

The West Melbourne Church was dismantled in 1935 and re-erected as St Andrew’s at Box Hill.
For a complete slideshow of the Ferguson & Urie windows, see: 27-04-1935: St. Andrew’s, Box Hill.

West Melbourne Presbyterian Church 1870-75

West Melbourne Presbyterian Church 1870-75 (in-line image to State Library NSW)

Related posts: 29-04-1867 > 02-05-1867>  27-04-1935 > 09-09-1935 > 16-12-1935 > 01-02-1936

Feb 18 2012

29-04-1867: Presbyterian Church, William Street, West Melbourne, Victoria.

The Presbyterian Church, William Street, West Melbourne was opened for public service on Sunday 28th April 1867.

The Argus, Melbourne, Monday 29th April 1867, page 5.

 The new Presbyterian Church, William-street, West Melbourne, was opened for public service yesterday. The sermon in the morning was preached by the Rev. A. Robertson, the pastor; in the afternoon, by the Rev. J. Dare; and in the evening, by the Rev. Dr. Cairns. On each occasion the church was crowded. The building is of the later English Gothic, known as the Tudor style, and is constructed of bluestone, with freestone and pressed cement dressings. Inside it measures eighty-four feet by fifty-four feet, and it is forty-five feet high. It is arranged in amphitheater form, all of the seats being curved in shape, the curves of all being shrunk from one centre, and each rising above the one before it. The arrangement is commodious and effective. The seats afford sitting accommodation for 750 persons. The roof is one of open-timbered construction. The building is found well adapted for giving the fullest effect to the voice of the speaker.  It is lighted by seven large windows on each side, and these are glassed with stained glass. The beauty of the design and harmony of the colouring render these admirable specimens of the art. They are the work of Messrs Ferguson and Urie, to whom the colony is indebted for many artistic productions of the same kind. By night the building will be lighted from the ceiling by three powerful sunlight reflectors, the brilliancy of which will dispense with the need of pulpit lights. The architects for the church are Messrs. Smith and Watts, the contractors Messrs. Corben, Wilson, and Rankine. It is only the body of the edifice that has been erected, and the plan includes the erection of a tower at the end towards William-street, and vestry-rooms at the other. The part which has been built cost about £7,000; the estimated cost of the entire building is upwards of £12,000. The church commences its career with most favourable prospects, as upwards of 500 of the sittings have been already let. It may be added that on Tuesday evening a tea-meeting will be held in the old building (now to be used as a school-house), in celebration of the opening. The amount of the collections during yesterday was £114 18s 10d.

WEST MELBOURNE Presbyterian Church 01a

The West Melbourne Presbyterian Church was pulled down circa 1936 and re-erected stone by stone as St Andrews Church at Box Hill. Eleven of the original 14 nave windows were re-installed in the Box Hill church in the nave, one was donated to the Camberwell Presbyterian Church, and the remainder re-fashioned to fit other parts of the Box Hill Church. As a fund raising venture the decided to allow parishioners, at a nominal cost, to have new memorial dedications placed in the lower edge of the Ferguson & Urie stained glass windows.

The entire cycle of windows were crafted by Ferguson & Urie and when the Box Hill Church was being built, the church devised a fund raising exercise, that included the addition of new memorial dedications  in the lower portions of the original stained glass windows. From an historical point of view this has confused many historians as to who could have made the windows as the memorial dedications had dates indicated much later than the Ferguson & Urie company existence.

The full cycle of stained glass windows can be see on the article about St Andrews Church at Box Hill.

Related posts: 29-04-1867 > 02-05-1867>  27-04-1935 > 09-09-1935 > 16-12-1935 > 01-02-1936

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Feb 14 2012

23-10-1863: St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Evansdale, Tasmania, Australia.

The Mercury, Hobart, Friday 23rd October 1863, page 3.

“Two very handsome stained glass windows have recently been placed in the Evandale, Presbyterian church, one on either side of the pulpit. They cost £125 and are a great ornament to the interior of the building.”

The two windows mentioned here are certainly to be by Ferguson & Urie but not yet officially attributed. Images exist in some copyright publications by Professor Miles Lewis.