Category Uniting

Mar 28 2012

05-03-1882: Presbyterian (Uniting) Church, 603 Toorak Rd. Toorak, Victoria.

Mary Ormond (nee Greeves), the wife of the Hon Francis Ormond, died at “Ognez”, Toorak, on the 6th of July 1881 and she was buried at the Geelong Eastern cemetery. In early 1882 Francis commissioned the Ferguson & Urie stained glass company of North Melbourne to create her memorial stained glass window to be erected in the liturgical west wall of the Toorak Presbyterian Church.

The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil, Melbourne. Saturday 25th March 1882, page 91.

“A VERY handsome memorial window has just been placed in the Toorak Presbyterian Church. The donor is the Hon. Francis Ormond, and it has been erected in memory of his late wife. Occupying as it does the gable of the church, it enhances the appearance of the whole interior. The whole work has been carried out with great taste by Messrs. Ferguson and Urie, of Collins-street.”

Photos taken 1st November 2010.

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The window depicts the following biblical representations and text:

First light:
Pictorial representation: “HE HAD COMPASSION ON HIM” (Luke 10:33)
Quatrefoil with text: “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” (John 8:12)
Pictoral representation of Jairu’s daughter being raised from the dead with text: “DAMSEL I SAY UNTO THEE RISE” (Mark 5: 41)

Centre Light:
Depiction of the Good Shepherd with text: “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD” (John 10:11)
Quatrefoil with Text: “THE GOOD SHEPHERD GIVETH HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP” (John 10:11)

Third Light:
Pictorial representation with text “I WAS SICK & YE VISITED ME” (Matthew 25:36)
Quatrefoil with text: “I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE” (John 14:6)
Pictorial representation: “MARY HATH CHOSEN THAT GOOD PART” (Luke 10:42)

The memorial text across the bottom of all three lights reads:
“IN LOVING MEMORY OF | MARY WIFE OF FRANCIS ORMOND | OF BORRINALLOAK DIED 6th JULY 1881”

External Links:

Biography: Francis Ormond (1829-1889) ( Includes some detail about his first wife Mary).

This window was restored by Geoffrey Wallace Stained Glass Studio of Caulfield North in 2000.

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Mar 18 2012

08-03-1879: St John’s Church, Williamstown, Victoria.

Williamstown Chronicle, Saturday 8th March 1879, page 2.

“The stained glass window to the memory of the late Mr. J. Reid has been placed just opposite the family pew in St John’s Church. It is from the works of Messrs Ferguson & Urie and is a very handsome specimen of the art. We have been requested to state that donations promised and to be made can be paid to the Town Clerk, the mayor, or the Rev. Mr. Scott”.

The window described in the article no longer exists. There are a lot of original windows with plain yellow/amber  diamond quarries and single colour borders by Ferguson & Urie.

There are two small stained glass quatrefoils and a trefoil by Ferguson & Urie in the west and east ends.  At first glance the two quatrefoils above the main west windows look to be the typical Alpha and Omega symbols in rich purple, blue, ruby and yellow but on closer inspection the text symbols are actually “AD” and “1876” which is the year the church was constructed by Crouch & Wilson. The trefoil  window is above a single light near the stairs that lead to the organ loft at the east end.

Photos dated 20th Nov 2011 and 7th Apr 2012.

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(Post updated updated 7th Apr 2012)

Feb 12 2012

22-11-1861: St Margaret’s Eltham, Church Archives

St Margaret’s Eltham, Church Archives, 22nd November 1861.

St Margaret’s Church at Eltham has a letter in their archives from the Ferguson and Urie stained glass company dated the 22 November 1861, addressed to the Church Committee on the progress of the window. It mentions specifically the production of imitation ancient glass for the small end window as being the first in the colony. The window was reported to have cost £1 (one pound). This is the oldest extant stained glass window by the firm and whilst there were reports that this may have been done by James Urie and James Ferguson, this is highly unlikely. The artist John Lamb Lyon (1835-1916) joined the firm officially in late 1861 as a result of his encounter with Ferguson & Urie at the . This is definitely his work and would be amongst the earliest windows made at the Ferguson & Urie workshops in Curzon Street North Melbourne.  The Artist David Relph Drape (1821-1882) officially joined the firm on the 8th November 1863.

Advertiser, Hurstbridge, Friday 22 July 1932, page 2.

‘Early History of the Church of St. Margaret’.

St Margaret’s Church Eltham awarded contracts for building the church and Ferguson & Urie were awarded the contract for windows and varnishing seats at £41.

( The reference to varnishing seats I believe to be incorrect).

ABOUT ST MARGARET’S:

The foundation stone for St Margaret’s was laid on the 4th of April 1861 and was built by George Stebbings to the designs of architect Nathaniel Billing. The Church was opened and dedicated on the 12 December 1861 and consecrated by the Rt.Rev. Bishop Thornton of Ballarat on the 16th of May 1876.

In 2000, St Margaret’s received a grant of $12,000 from Heritage Victoria  to restore all the windows in the church and during the renovations, a Dossal erected behind the altar in 1935, was removed to reveal the historic Ferguson & Urie stained glass window which no one had seen for over 65 years.

As at 2012, the Ferguson & Urie window at St Mararet’s, Eltham, is the earliest known extant stained glass window by the company.

Photos taken 2nd January 2011.

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St Margaret’s Eltham [summary 20110117]

Short link to this page: http://wp.me/p28nLD-21

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