Assembly Hall and Presbyterian Church of Victoria offices, organ, 156-160 Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Assembly Hall and Presbyterian Church of Victoria offices, organ, 156-160 Collins Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 102153 1
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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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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ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:.VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H0418http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/723Extent of RegistrationNo. 418. Assembly Hall, 156-160 Collins Street, Melbourne. [Victoria Government Gazette No.84 October 12, 1977 p.3178]Statement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The Assembly Hall at 156-160 Collins Street Melbourne was designed by Henry H. Kemp for the Presbyterian Church, and built by Swanson Bros. in 1914-15 on the site of the old Scots Church manse. The four storey structure (the fourth storey was added c.1935) accommodates a hall with gallery, seating 900, offices and a bookshop. The street facade, return, and tower are faced in rock- faced sandstone with dressed stone mouldings.How is it significant?The Assembly Hall is of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The Assembly Hall is of architectural significance as a late example of Gothic Revival architecture. The careful attention paid by the architect to style, materials and massing has resulted in a building which harmonises with the neighbouring church and which is an integral part of the Collins Street streetscape. The Gothic theme continues inside the building, most interestingly in the foyer, stair and hall.The Assembly Hall is of architectural significance as an example of HH Kemp's work. Kemp was noted for his arts-and-crafts-inspired Queen Anne or Federation style houses, so the Gothic style employed in the Assembly Hall is less common for him (although he was well trained in the style, as evidenced by this building and his 1887 Stage 2 of the Working Men's College). But it shows his determination to ensure the sympathetic integration of his building with the Scots Church nextdoor.The Assembly Hall is of historical significance for its associations with the Presbyterian Church, its substantial character and prestigious address reflecting the fact that the Victorian branch was the largest, wealthiest and most influential branch of the Presbyterian Church in Australia..Year Construction Started 1914Architectural Style Victorian Period (1851-1901) Gothic RevivalHeritage Act Categories Registered placeMunicipality MELBOURNE CITY.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDY:BUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 78,pp2;MURPHY ARCHITECTS, JOHN AND PHYLLIS 1976. HISTORIC BUILDINGS STUDY OF PART OF THE C.B.D. MELBOURNE : { AREA 1} WITH MURPHY, JOCK, FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL.7.2 156-160 Collins Street - Assembly Hall.Construction Date 1914/1915Architect H.H. KempBuilder Swanson Bros.An earlier attempt to build an Assembly Hall for the Presbyterian Church failed in the building crash of the late 1880's or early 1890's. Active on this first committee were the well-known 'landboomers' Jas. Balfour, J.M. Davies and Jas Munro. The second attempt was successful and Henry H. Kemp, an English trained architect who arrived in Victoria in 1886 and former partner in the firm Oakden, Addison and Kemp, was commissioned to design the building. The total cost in 1915 was ₤33,159-17-2 including f5,000.00 for purchase of the land. A fourth storey was added in 1935. 1 The Assembly Hall was skilfully designed in Gothic Revival style to blend with the Scots Church beside it. The stone facings, quality of detail and the elegant portal all contribute towards the overall harmony of the two buildings. The Commission of the Assembly reported in May 1913 : "The Hall, which will be slightly above the level of the street, with Moderators' and Clerks' rooms' attached, will hold about 900 people, and in addition to a slight basement, which will probably be occupied by the P.W.M.U., and three stories in front which will be used by tenants and reached by a life, there will be a full suite of rooms above the Hall for Church offices and Committee rooms, and also for writing rooms and caretakers' quarters".21. Kellaway, C, National Trust of Australia (Vie) files 1976.2. `Old Brown Books’, Presbyterian Church, May 1913, C IV (48)also CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 4329 (9.1913).National Trust of Australia (Vic)Hall Statement of Significance:Designed by architect H. H. Kemp in traditional gothic revival style and blending well with the adjacent Scotts Church, this 4-storey solid masonry structure with bluestone base, rough sandstone facade and ashlar quoins and mouldings was built by Swanston Bros. on the site of the old church Manse in 1915 for the Presbyterian Church. The Assembly Hall's association with the history of the Presbyterian development within Victoria is particularly noteworthy.Classified: 22/07/1976Organ Statement of Significance:A three-manual organ of 19 speaking stops built in 1905 by George Fincham & Son for Netherley, the residence of W G Sharp in Albert Park, and enlarged by the firm in 1910. Installed in its present location in 1920, the instrument remains intact and retains its original pipework, action and console. It is of particular interest for its symphonic tonal design and the oak console, the largest pneumatic example of its date in Victoria to survive, equipped with free combination pistons and stopkeys after the style of Hope-Jones.Classified: 16/02/1994Of state significance..HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSBuilt for the Presbyterian Church as a meeting hall and offices in 1914, the Assembly Hall is of significance for its Gothic Revival style, deliberately chosen by the architect Henry Kemp to blend with the adjacent Scots Church..NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925)Thursday 5 January 1911 - Page 17https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/175609525THE ASSEMBLY HALL. COLLINS STREET,Shortlyto be Demolished to make room for a block of buildings, including a. Large hall capable of seating 2250 people.The old hall dates back to March. 1851. so that it has been in use for sixty years.Photo by Darge..The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Sat 22 Jun 1912 Page 7REBUILDING MELBOURNE.`In the place of the old Presbyterian Assembly hall in Collins street is being erected a new concert hall, which will stand on a site with a total area of 14,000 square feet. The main building in Collins-street will rise to the height of 115ft. The style is modern French Renaissance, and prominent features will be deeply bayed windows, oriels, and balconies. There will be a wide main entrance, and two smaller entrances on Collins-street, and four escape exits into Finders-lane. The total seating capacity of the hall, including the chorus seats and instrumentalists' area is 2,400. The auditorium will consist of a floor space for 1,000 seats and two… and a balcony, which will hold, exclusive of a north gallery, 1,050 seats, with ample gang way space. Every effort will be made to prevent reverberation and to give fall scope to the voice of performer and the seats are planned so that every person can obtain a full and unobstructed view of the platform. The air will be purified and heated to 65 degrees in the winter, while it will be cooled in the summer, and renewed every ten minutes by centrifugal fans worked by a motor in the basement. These fans will force the clean air through three large main ducts with branches into the building, and will extract the foul air by force into the open. All the small rooms will be heated by hot water radiators. The front of the concert hall to a depth back of 50ft. and a height of six floors, will be elevated to professional, and residential [missing text] building should be completed early next year and should supply a want which Mel- borne has long felt—a modem concert hall..The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954)Monday 8 February 1915 - Page 11https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154933203PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OFFICES.PALATIAL ACCOMMODATION.STRUCTURE COSTING £27,000.The fact that the handsome Assembly Hall and offices, now being erected in Collins street for the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, are Hearing completion makes some details concerning the structure interesting.The site was bought from the Scots' Church trustees by the Victorian church, one condition of purchase being that the new buildings should harmonise in. style and material with the adjacent Presbyterian 'cathedral.' That committed the church to the 13th century period of English Gothic architecture, and. the general outline and' most of the detail of the new building have been adapted accordingly. Scots' Church is faced with Warrnambool Hills stone, with dressings of Omaru (New Zealand) stone. The Barrabool quarries were reopened to provide walling for the new building. The dressings consist of the best Sydney freestone. The front portion of the building, now almost ready for occupation, contains a basement, slightly below street level, which will be managed by the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union as a refreshment room. Three stories, containing about 24 large and well-lit rooms, will be let to professional tenants. Every other part of the building will be used' by the church. The Assembly flail, which will be formally opened in May, is 84 feet long, 35 feet high, and 49 feet wide. It is reached through a fine archway from Collins-street. The stairway and vestibule approaching the hall are paved with Sicilian marble. The 'hall will accommodate about 700 people. It is lighted by Gothic tracery windows, and ceiled with dressed, unstained and unvarnished Californian pine. All the hall fittings are of best selected black wood. A special feature is a moderator's elaborately carved triple seat and desk, which occupy the centre of the further end of tide hall. They were presents from the family of the late Mr. James Balfour in his memory. Rooms for the moderator and the clerk, as well as members' writing and smoking rooms are provided at the rear. These rooms can be approached either through the hall or through an arched cloister from the front vestibule. Over this cloister is a balcony, where members can take the air in the intervals of debate. Over the hall are all the administrative offices of the church of Victoria, with separate rooms ' for departmental heads, and four large committee rooms. It may safely be asserted that no more complete church offices exist in Australia.The buildings have been designed and supervised by Mr. Henry H. Kemp, G.R.I.B.A.. architect, of 60 Queen-street, and have been erected by Messrs. Swan son Bros., at an expenditure of about £27,000.
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
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| Original | 102153 1 | 1 JPEG : 665 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |