St Paul's Anglican Church and Emu Plains General Cemetery

Item details


Name of item:	St Paul's Anglican Church and Emu Plains General Cemetery
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Religion
Category:	Church

Boundary:

Opposite Short Street

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Land bounded by Short, Mundy and Nixon Streets and Great Western Railway	Emu Plains	Penrith			Alternate Address

Statement of significance:


	Located in the highest natural point of the town reserve and on part of the prison quarters of the government farm of 1819, St. Paul’s Anglican Church was completed in 1848. It is a landmark in the local area and the site represents a continuum of European site occupation dating to Governor Macquarie. The church demonstrates the onset of village development at Emu Plains following the dedication of the government town plan in the 1830s and the provision of religious (Anglican) services and pre-civil registration. The church is the earliest of the extant churches in Emu Plains and the only example to include a cemetery. It is a good example of its era and its elevated and landscaped setting provides a local landmark that demonstrates the original rural nature of the locality. The church and cemetery comprises numerous memorials that are unique records of former members of the local community given the loss of parish records in the rectory fire of 1929. The cemetery contains several individual monuments of very high quality and retains formal landscape design with its tree lined avenues.
	Date significance updated: 28 Feb 05
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description

Physical description:

The item is the church, cemetery and grounds of St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Nixon Street. The complex is sited on a low hill that provides commanding views over the surrounding river plains. The church is an early Victorian Gothic-Revival building constructed in stone comprising a nave, chancel, vestry and porches. The gabled roof has a bell-turret on the west gable with a brass bell. The roof is part covered in slates tiles and more recent corrugated galvanised steel. The stone tracery windows contain decorative and figurative stained glass. Some windows have been fitted with aluminium frames and etched glass. The cemetery retains a formal plan in its original section located to the east of the church with gravestones formally laid out on either side of a broad grassed path and is planted with poplars, white cedars and pines. The grave memorial of the Ryan family is prominent in the collection of older grave stones. More recent burials are located on the open sides of the hill. The church site also includes a pair of weatherboard c.1950s classroom blocks, and a c.1990s brick hall. The buildings are set within stands of jacaranda trees and other mature landscape plantings concentrated along the southern boundary including radiata pine, poplar, white cedar, pepper, and brush box.

History

Historical notes:

Following closure of the government’s Agricultural Establishment at Emu Plains, Surveyor General Thomas Mitchell laid out a town plain in 1832 setting aside church reserves. The Anglican reserve being the favoured high spot that had been earlier used for convict barracks and kitchen garden dating from 1819. The Anglican church of St. Paul at Emu Plains was completed around 1848. A bushfire in 1929 burnt down the rectory and many parish records were lost. The gravestone inscriptions therefore provide valuable historical evidence. The cemetery incorporates the churchyard of St. Paul’s Anglican Church with the original section of the cemetery being located to the east of the church. In 1967 the cemetery came under the administrative control of Penrith City Council. The cemetery includes the gravesite of James ‘Toby’ and Mary Ryan.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	Rural villages-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship	Rural villages-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Birth and Death-Activities associated with the initial stages of human life and the bearing of children, and with the final stages of human life and disposal of the dead.	Recognition of past events-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The church demonstrates the onset of village development at Emu Plains following the dedication of the government town plan in the 1830s. The siting of the church reserve demonstrates a continuum of European settlement since 1819 and provides a tangible reference point for the location of the government farm.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The church complex is attractively set atop a low rise that has been landscaped to provide shelter and views, and includes a cemetery. These elements reflect the original rural nature of the locality. The church is good example of its era which with its elevated setting provides a local landmark.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The church is the earliest of the extant churches in Emu Plains and the only example to include cemetery. The church and cemetery comprises numerous memorials that are unique records of former members of the local community.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The church was erected in Emu Plains over the nineteenth century and early part of the twentieth century and demonstrate the pattern of a village settlement at this important location at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
Integrity/Intactness:	High
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number
Local Environmental Plan	Penrith Local Environmental Plan 2010	78	22 Sep 10
Local Environmental Plan	St. Pauls Anglican Church	EP-24	20 Dec 91	180
Heritage study		2260078	01 Nov 07
Heritage study	St Pauls Anglican Church	EP-24	01 Apr 87

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Guidelines used
	0	EP-24		No
Penrith Heritage Study Review	2005	EP-24	Paul Davies Pty. Ltd.	Yes
Penrith Cemeteries: Conservation Plans	1989		Don Godden and Associates Pty Ltd	Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Stickley, C.	1984	The Old Charm of Penrith

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2260078

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