St Mary's Church is an Anglican church on Yule Avenue in the suburb of Middle Swan, Western Australia. St Mary's was built in 1868 on the site of an earlier church which had been built there in 1838.[1] The church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. The church and graveyard overlook the Swan River in the Swan Valley district.
| St Mary's Anglican Church, Middle Swan | |
|---|---|
 The church in 2006 | |
 | |
| 31°51′37″S 116°0′20″E / 31.86028°S 116.00556°E | |
| Location | Yule Avenue, Middle Swan, Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | St. Mary's Church |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1839 / 1868 |
| Dedication | St Mary |
| Consecrated | 10 May 1869 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | Richard Roach Jewell |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1868–1903 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Brick |
| Administration | |
| Province | Western Australia |
| Diocese | Perth |
| Parish | Swan |
| Clergy | |
| Deacon(s) | Rev Les Marshall |
| Official name | St Mary's Church and Graveyard |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 8 October 1996 |
| Part of | Swanleigh Precinct (14470) |
| Reference no. | 2496 |
The church can seat 150 people and is open by appointment only.[2]
History
editOn 5 August 1839 the foundation stone for the original church was laid, and opened fifteen months later by Governor John Hutt on 29 November 1840. It was built on land owned by the Church Mission Society and in memory of Lucy Yule, the wife of Magistrate T. N. Yule who died and was the first person buried on the site in 1838.
The land was believed to be the site of a landing during James Stirling's expedition in 1827. The church was built with an octagonal layout and could hold about 100 people. It was consecrated in 1848 and remained in use until 1869.
Rev. William Mitchell was the first Minister to attend the church.
A new (and the current) rectangular church was built in 1868–69 immediately adjacent to the old octagonal church.[3] It was designed by Richard Roach Jewell and consecrated by Bishop Matthew Hale on 10 March 1869.
The adjoining graveyard includes graves of many notable European settlers of the Swan River Colony from 1838.
References
editNotes
edit- ^ "St Mary's Anglican Church, Middle Swan, Western Australia". Medievalism in Australian Cultural Memory. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "St Mary's Church". Anglican Parish of Swan. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "St Mary's Church and Graveyard". Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
Bibliography
edit- Bourke, Michael J. (1987). On the Swan: A History of Swan District, Western Australia. Nedlands, WA: University of Western Australia Press for the Swan Shire Council. ISBN 0855642580.
- Page, Charles (2002). Saint Mary's Churchyard Middle Swan: A Review of Churchyard Occupants and Memorials. Middle Swan, WA: Parish of Swan. OCLC 224562490.
- Peterkin, A. Roy (1988). The Noisy Mansions: The story of Swanleigh 1868 - 1971 (2nd ed.). Midland, WA: Swanleigh Council. ISBN 1862521808.
- Wilson, Harold S. (1999). A History of the Anglican Parish of Swan. Bassendean, WA: Access Press. ISBN 0864451342.
External links
edit
Media related to St Mary's Church, Middle Swan at Wikimedia Commons
