The Scots Church, 140-154 Collins Street & 77-95 Russell Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Total copies: 1
Title:
The Scots Church, 140-154 Collins Street & 77-95 Russell Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 108533
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________DATE: 1874-;ASSOCIATIONS: Presbyterian Church;DESIGNER: Reed & Barnes;BUILDER: Mitchell, DavidPeriod: Early VictorianMaterials: Barabool Hills sandstone.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0005see https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/722Statement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The Rev. James Forbes who arrived from Scotland to minister in the colony held his first service on 3 February, 1838. Rev. Forbes' first church was a temporary wooden building at the west end of Collins Street whilst the congregation applied for an official grant of land. Two acres on the present site were obtained in 1839 and a school was subsequently built. This school also served as a church on Sundays until a proper church building, seating five hundred was built in January 1841. The present Scots church erected to the designs by Reed and Barnes replaced this building on the site. The foundation stone was laid on 1 April, 1873, and the building opened 29 November 1874. David Mitchell, who was the father of the famous Australian soprano-Dame Nellie Melba, at one stage, a chorister in the Choir, built the church. Scots Church is built in the Gothic Revival style. Bluestone was used for the foundations, Barrabool Hills Freestone from Geelong for the superstructure and cream-coloured Kakanui Stone from New Zealand for the dressings. Features of the interior include the basalt aisle columns, rich timber fittings, stained glass windows and carved organ casework. In the last century, the apse was dominated by a stone pulpit and reredos erected as a memorial to Rev. Irving Hetherington (Minister: 1847-1875) and his assistant Rev. Peter Menzies (Minister: 1868-1874). It was Rev. Menzies in particular who played a major part in the design of this church and in the encouragement of the music in the services. In 1928 the pulpit and the lower part of the apse were altered and the current design adopted. Since then, in progressive stages, the original Tasmanian Blackwood panelling has been extended to surround the entire nave, and in the late 1930s the current vestries were added. Following a severe storm in 1963, the top of the spire had been extensively damaged by lightening and lowered by 40 feet. However, in 1989 the exterior stonework was restored, and the spire rebuilt to its original height, regaining its traditionally important position in the Melbourne skyline.How is it significant?Scots Church is of social, historical, aesthetic and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?Scots Church is of social and historical significance as a focal point for the Presbyterian Church in Victoria and as the site of the original Scots church constructed in 1841. The church is associated with notable churchmen, particularly the Rev. James Forbes who held his first service on 3 February 1838. Scots church is important for its association with David Mitchell who constructed the church, was a prominent Melbourne builder, and whose daughter (later Dame Nellie Melba) sang in the choir.Scots Church is of aesthetic and architectural significance for its prominent siting and importance in the Melbourne townscape. The church is a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture of the decorated mode, which is unusual amongst Presbyterian Church buildings. The Church is an important design of the prolific Melbourne architects Reed and Barnes who operated as a partnership between 1862 and 1883. Scots Church is important for its elaborate and diverse range of stained glass windows throughout the church. Of particular note are those by Ferguson & Urie; Vanderpoorten of Brussels and F.X. Zettler of Munic. The carved cedar casework around the organ is important as part of the original church design of Reed and Barnes. It survives as the original portion of Melbourne's largest church organ at the time of its construction in 1874..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 78, p2; FST 1.4.73;_________________________________________VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-1755Land acquired by Presbyterians, 3rd sale, 13 Sept. 1838. First church on site completed 1841.1866 - church, stables & ministers house shown on this & adjoining block.Present church completed 1873-74..Heritage Inventory Significance:SOURCE: REGISTER OF THE NATIONAL ESTATE CITATION:SITUATED ON LAND GRANTED TO THE PRESBYTERIANS IN 1839, THE PRESENT CHURCH SUCCEEDED AN EARLIER BUILDING ERECTED IN 1841-2 TO DESIGNS OF S. JACKSON AND ENLARGED IN 1859 BY C. WEBB. BUILT IN 1873-4 BY DAVID MITCHELL, TO DESIGNS BY ARCHITECTS JOSEPH REED & BARNES, THE PRESENT GOTHIC REVIVAL CHURCH IS BUILT OF STONE FROM THE BARRABOOL HILLS AND KAKANUI (NEW ZEALAND). FEATURES OF THE INTERIOR INCLUDE THE BASALT AISLE COLUMNS, RICH TIMBER FITTINGS AND STAINED GLASS. A NEW PINNACLE REPLACED THE ORIGINAL SPIRE DESTROYED BY LIGHTNING IN THE 1930S. THE CHURCH IS ASSOCIATED WITH NOTABLE CHURCHMEN, PARTICULARLY THE REV. JAMES FORBES, AND HAS BEEN THE VENUE FOR HISTORIC OCCASIONS. DAVID MITCHELL AND DAME NELLIE MELBA SANG IN THE CHOIR._________________________________________HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSStatement of SignificanceOne of the finest Gothic Revival designs of Reed and Barnes, the church was constructed in 1873-4 and together with the nearby Independent Church frame what is Melbourne's most elegant corner. It remains as a focus for the continuing Presbyterian Church in Victoria._________________________________________NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC)Statement of SignificanceChurch Statement of Significance:Scots Church is culturally significant at a state level. An essay in the Decorated mode of Gothic Revival architecture, this church is unusual in relation to other Presbyterian church buildings in Victoria. Designed by the prominent Melbourne architectural firm, Reed and Barnes and built in 1873-74, it has a spacious nave and sloping floor, transepts, apse, spire to the south west and an arcaded gallery in the main gable. The austere interior has fine timber fittings, particularly the cedar casework around the organ, designed by Reed and Barnes. The beautiful stained glass is of note, executed by Ferguson & Urie, of Melbourne, Vanderpoorten of Brussels and F.X. Zettler of Munich.Built on a site granted to Melbourne's original Church of Scotland congregation in 1839, the present Scots Church in 1874 replaced an earlier building that had (at its formation in 1859) come into the possession of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, which united the Church of Scotland, the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church. Scots Church in the late 1870s and early 1880s was home to a fashionable, distinguished and progressive congregation led initially by the Rev. Peter Menzies then by his more famous (if controversial) successor, the Rev. Charles Strong. The future Dame Nellie Melba, whose father David Mitchell built the church, sang in its choir. Scots Church has long been the principal Presbyterian Church in the City of Melbourne, and was historically a base for Scottish tradition and culture.Church Classified: 24/04/1989.Public Art:Ferguson & Urie Stained Glass West Window -'Eight Episodes from the Gospels' . Statement of Significance: This major work documents the early development of the art of stained glass in Australia. It is one of a highly distinctive group of windows dating to the 1860s-1870s which are of great historic importance from the point of view of early trade and studio production. The windows are also of an aesthetic quality comparable with the best imports of the time.Stained Glass Classified: 18/11/1992.Organ Case:Statement of Singificance:The most imposing organ case to survive from Joseph Reed's architectural partnership, whose designs included the instruments at the Exhibition Building and St Paul's Cathedral. The Scots' Church organ case is notable for its striking design, with elaborate Gothic carved detailing, incorporating three circular towers raised on massive corbels, rising from a buttressed and arcaded base. Constructed in 1874 by James McEwan in polished Australian cedar for the original Mackenzie, Lee & Kaye organ, it received in 1999 new tin facade pipes and side panels at the time of the installation of the new Rieger organ.Organ Classified: 'Local' 21/04/1993File Note: June 2010. Original organ in storage awaiting renovation and removal to Pipe Organ museum in China._________________________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0005see https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/722Physical DescriptionScots Church is built in the Academic Gothic style. Bluestone was used for the foundations, Barrabool Hills Freestone from Geelong for the superstructure and cream-coloured Kakanui Stone from New Zealand for the 'dressings'. The church, which is 120 feet long and 68 feet wide, seats 1,000 people in the nave. The 211-foot spire was restored to its original height in 1989. The spire was for many years the highest point in the city.stone from the Barabool Hills and Kakanui (New Zealand). Features of the interior include the basalt aisle columns, rich timber fittings and stained glass. It was designed by Reed and Barnes and built in 1873-74, with a spacious nave and sloping floor, transepts, apse, spire to the south-west, and an arcaded gallery in the main gable. The austere interior includes fine timber fittings and stained glass by local and overseas makers. In 1928 the pulpit and the lower part of the Apse were altered and the current design adopted. Since then, in progressive stages, the original Tasmanian Blackwood panelling has been extended to surround the entire nave, and in the late 1930s the current vestries were added in a style appropriate to the rest of the building.The church is bound on two sides by a cast iron palisade fence with a bluestone base. A war memorial to the Victorian Scottish Regiment who served in both world wars stand in front of the Collins Street elevationPhysical Conditions28/07/2008State of the Historic Environment survey report -Condition: Good. See Events. --------Scots Church is in excellent condition. In 1928 the pulpit and the lower part of the apse were altered and the current design adopted. Since then, in progressive stages, the original Tasmanian Blackwood panelling has been extended to surround the entire nave, and in the late 1930s the current vestries were added. In 1998 the organ was once again replaced and the cedar casework retained. Following a severe storm in 1963, the top of the spire was extensively damaged by. However, in 1989 the exterior stonework was restored, and the spire rebuilt to its original height._________________________________________
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108533 | 1 PDF : 776 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |