St Stephen's Church (including original interiors)

Item details


Name of item:	St Stephen's Church (including original interiors)
Other name/s:	(address also referred to as 203-211 Mowbray Road)
Type of item:	Conservation Area
Group/Collection:	Religion
Category:	Church
Primary address:	Cnr Mowbray Road and Sydney Street, Willoughby, NSW 2068
Parish:	Willoughby
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Willoughby

Boundary:

is lot size: The heritage listing applies to the whole property and any element which contributes to the heritage significance of this item. This may also include floor plan layout, internal detailing and/or fittings and fixtures, external setting including pathways, existing hard surfaces, gardens, fencing, landscape features and trees.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Cnr Mowbray Road and Sydney Street	Willoughby	Willoughby	Willoughby	Cumberland	Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The Church has aesthetic and historic value as a good example of the work of important Colonial architects Edmund and Arthur Blacket and as a large and distinguished example of the Gothic Revival style, that is rare in the Local Government Area. Situated on the corner of Sydney Street and Mowbray Road, the church provides a strong visual focus. The history of the church reaches back into the earliest days of the municipality.
	Date significance updated: 04 Mar 04
	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


Designer/Maker:	Edmund and Arthur Blacket
Builder/Maker:	Alexander Simpson
Construction years:	1882-1884
Physical description:	A large Gothic Revival style church constructed in coursed rusticated sandstone with a steeply pitched slate roof and corbelled eaves. The aisles are separately roofed, and there are two small gabled porches. The facades feature dressed stone trims and buttresses and pointed arch windows. The southern façade features a rose window with four elongated lead light windows underneath. The interior features a diagonally boarded and trussed ceiling of Kauri pine, trefoil cutouts, and massive columns with decorated capitals supporting the arches of the clerestory walls. The pews are of polished kauri pine. There is a large carved stone font designed by Sir Gilbert Scott and some carved tracery on the columns. The pulpit was carved by parishioner and cabinet maker Ernest Mills. Fine stained glass windows enliven the southern end. The church hall is of dark face brick with a tiled roof and shingled gable end and incorporates the end walls of the original church building.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Archaeological potential: unknown
	Date condition updated:21 Jun 13


Current use:	Church purposes
Former use:	Church purposes

History

Historical notes:

St Stephen's stands on part of a 600 acre estate belonging to William Lithgow and first subdivided in 1854. A block of land fronting Mowbray Road, near Sydney Street was donated to the church by resident / owner Francis Stack in 1871. The foundation stone of the first church on the site, St Stephen's Chapel-of-Ease, was laid in 1871. By the early 1880s, the chapel was no longer able to accommodate the growing congregation and it was decided to build a new church. Land adjacent to the chapel was purchased from Francis Stack. Architect Edmund Blacket was employed to design the church and after his death in 1883 his son Arthur, completed the design, (including a tower on the south-east corner which was never built because of lack of funds). Edmund Blacket was a Diocesan Architect and had been Colonial Architect for five years. Most of his ecclesiastical designs were in the Gothic Revival style. The church was built by Alexander Simpson, master mason and builder who also built the Suspension Bridge at Northbridge and North Sydney Post Office. The stone was quarried locally. The foundation stone was laid in 1882, and the first stage of the church was dedicated in 1884. At that time only the nave with a porch on either side had been completed. The site was enlarged in 1887 when Rev Daniel Murphy purchased land on which the rectory now stands, and eight years later when he bought another two blocks upon which two tennis courts were constructed. An iron and stone fence purchased in 1908 from Willoughby Council (which was dismantling them from parks and gardens) survives on the site. A church hall incorporating the end walls of the original church was opened in 1920 and enlarged in 1957. The north end of the church which replaced a temporary chancel and choir built in 1904, was completed in 1960.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship	Religious and Spiritual Purposes-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	This building has local historical significance as one of the very first Churches built in Willoughby, and its association with a period of early growth in the area.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	St Stephens has aesthetic significance as a strong focal point on a busy corner. Its distinctive architectural features make it an excellent example of a Victorian Gothic-Revival Church.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	This building has a high level of social significance for the Anglican community in Willoughby for its ongoing use as a place of public worship.
Integrity/Intactness:	Intact and maintains a high degree of integrity.
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	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Willoughby Local Environmental Plan 2012	I209	31 Jan 13
Local Environmental Plan	WLocal Environmental Plan 1995, Schedule 7	1995	17 Nov 95	141	7950
Within a conservation area on an LEP	Willoughby Local Environmental Plan 2012	C 11	31 Jan 13
Within a conservation area on an LEP	WLocal Environmental Plan 1995

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Willoughby Heritage Study	1989	104	Jonathon Falk & Rodney Jensen		No
Chatswood Area Heritage Study	1982		Kass and Kelly		No
Inventory of Possible LEP Items	1993		Willoughby City Council		No
Register of War Memorials in New South Wales	0			Rachel Fallowfield & Carol Russell: year recorded 2007	No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written		1983	National Trust of Australia (NSW) Listing Proposal
Written			St. Stephen's Willoughby: Written and published to commemorate one hundred years of service and witness of St. Stephen's Church of England Willoughby
Written	A Guide to Sydney Architecture	1997	Graham Jahn
Written	Esther Leslie and Jean Michaelides	1988	Willoughby - The Suburb and its People

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

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2660163

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