St John's Ashfield

About

St John the Baptist Anglican Church is an active Anglican church located between Alt and Bland Streets, Ashfield, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1840, on land donated by Elizabeth Underwood, the church building is the oldest authenticated surviving building in Ashfield, having been built at the time when subdivision increased the population density sufficiently to turn Ashfield into a town. It was also the first church built along the Parramatta Road which linked the early colonial towns of Sydney and Parramatta. The earliest remaining parts of the building are one of the first Sydney designs by the colonial architect Edmund Blacket, who later became renowned for his ecclesiastical architecture. The expansive church grounds contain a cemetery dating back to 1845 that contains the remains of many notable Ashfield residents. Australia's only memorial to Australian Air Force Cadets occupies a prominent position near the entrance to the church. The St John's site has been listed on the Local Environment Plan Heritage Schedule, and the Register of the National Trust of Australia. St John's is one of three churches, along with St Albans, Five Dock, and St Oswald...

St John's was the first church to be established along Parramatta Road between the colonial towns of Sydney and Parramatta (then known as Rose Hill), during a time of rapid church building when many of the oldest churches in Sydney were erected. Since 1810 the Parish of Ashfield had extended from Balmain to Strathfield, and from Enfield to the Parramatta River, and in 1840 this was formalized into an ecclesiastical district.

Elizabeth Underwood William Bland The first portion of grounds, an area of 1 acre, 2 roods, and 36 perches (a total of 0.698 ha), was provided as a gift by the local landowner Elizabeth Underwood who was subdividing "Ashfield Park". The Bishop of Australia, William Grant Broughton added urgency by expressing his "intention of having a Place of Worship erected immediately, on the allotment of land appropriated for that purpose". Another benefactor was William Bland, a doctor and politician who had been sent to the colony having been convicted of manslaughter after pistol duel which left his opponent mortally wounded, and after whom Bland street is named. He gave a donation of £200 and land. Fellow local medical practitioner, James Bowman, contributed a "similarly munificent donation". By mid-1839 the funds received were thought to be sufficient to commence building. The exact location was determined in February 1840, and appeals continued to fund a building of sufficient size for the surrounding population.

The church was founded on 9 September 1840. The service on that day was read by the first rector, Joseph Kidd Walpole, who had come to the district from Christ Church, Kelso, and had begun to plan the church building. W. G. Broughton made an address at the ceremony. The anniversary sermon was preached by Robert Allwood.

This Foundation Stone of a church dedicated to the honor and worship of Almighty God! and to be denominated 'The Church of St. John the Baptist' was laid the 9th day of September, 1840. By the Right Reverend Father in God William Lord Bishop of Australia in the Fourth Year of the reign of Queen Victoria. Sir George Gipps, Knight. Governor. Rev. Joseph Kidd Walpole, Minister. Among those that are born of women there is not a greater Prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is last in the Kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke vii, 28.

Building work on the church began in 1841, but construction came to a standstill due to construction problems and insufficient subscriptions. The following year the colonial architect Edmund Blacket, as one of his first assignments after arriving in Sydney, was requested to inspect the church's walls, then still under construction. As a result of his report, the walls were demolished and re-erected, although continued funding problems, and the transfer of J. K. Walpole to Windsor caused further delays. The church was licensed for operation on 1 October 1843. Much of the interior woodwork was carved by the third rector, Frederick Wilkinson. The roof was strengthened in around 1845 by the installation of timber support columns. On 16 August 1845, at a cost of £100 the church purchased an additional 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) of land from Elizabeth Underwood (who remained a parishioner until her death, and is buried in a prominent grave within the church cemetery). The church was eventually consecrated on 19 August 1845.

After 29 years, as the Bishop of Sydney Frederic Barker put it "the population of Sydney had invaded these sylvan shades", so an expansion was required. Blacket designed the current stone transept and chancel, to transform the church into a cruciform plan. These were built during the period 1874–1875 at a cost of around £150 – raised without the help of grants from the government or the English societies. The foundation stone of the addition was laid by Barker on 24 October 1874, and included a copy of Australian Churchman and The Sydney Morning Herald. At the time this addition accommodated an extra 250 seats, bringing the total capacity to 446.

Construction of the choir vestry and a wooden porch outside the western door were completed in 1885, and dedicated by Bishop Alfred Barry. This work was overseen by the Blacket brothers, who had followed the trade of their late father.

Arthur Blacket then designed the west tower. The eight-bell peal was ordered from England after a generous bequest by one of the " Melanesian boys", David Marguay, and subsequent fundraising. The tower was then quickly constructed at a cost of around £250 in memory of the recently deceased rector James Christian Corlette, and dedicated as The Corlette Memorial Tower on 1 November 1901. The memorial bells proved depressing amongst the local populace, and were rearranged in 1904, with louvres added to the previously open arches. This was apparently ineffective, as the bells were removed within a few years.

Prior to the installation of a pipe organ, a seraphine and then a harmonium were used for musical accompaniment. The first organ was installed above the gallery at the western end of the church by William Davidson at the request of the rector J. C. Corlette, and was transferred to the south transept in about 1879, where it remained until 1882 when it was sold to St Bartholomew's, Pyrmont, and later St Luke's, Northmead.

The 1883 Hill and Son organ, including 844 pipes, costing a total of £550, was installed in 1884, and located in the north-east corner of the transept. It is still in use, with original pipework, making it faithful to the original tones. The organ was refurbished and rebuilt in 1950, 1975, and 2008.

The 1950 change from mechanical to electrical action was motivated by removing the increasingly noisy pedals and trackers. This refurbishment also included detachment of the console (to the other side of the transept), and replacement of the bellows with a "pressure equaliser". The façade pipes were sprayed to a dull gold colour, covering over the original diapering, described disparagingly at the time as "all over the pipes without much rhyme or reason; fleurs-de-lys in profusion, dots, bands, triangles in all the colours of the rainbow rioted in confusion". This work was carried out by R. A. and D. A. Wiltshire.

By 1975 the organ had become unplayable, and a reconversion to mechanical action was undertaken. The console was moved back to the organ side of the transept, with the action going backward under the floor into the organ. This necessitated removal of floor joists and foundation piers, but the unsupported floor caused further problems long term, and during the 2008 rebuild it was re-electrified.

Between 2006 and 2008 Sydney firm "John W Parker – Pipe Organ Builders" refurbished the organ, returning the soundboard action to electric, providing a new roll-top 'detached' console, and an entirely new wind supply and bellows. The swell box which had been discarded in the 1975 rebuild was reinstated, and the pedal Bourdon 16' stop was extended to 8' pitch. Octave couplers were provided in Sub and Octave pitches on the Swell also. All manual pipework was washed, cleaned and regulated to original Hill standards and tonality.

The church had a significant choral history, with significant events often celebrated with a full choir, sometimes accompanied by an orchestra. In the late 19th century the St John's choir participated in regional choir festivals.

A small hall for Sunday school was erected in 1865 by the generosity of L. H. Smythe. By 1895 the hall had fallen into disrepair, and the needs of the children had outgrown it. The current Parish Hall was planned to replace it. The memorial stone for the replacement building was laid by the Primate of Australia, William Saumarez Smith in inclement weather on 2 February 1895. The architect was E. A. Scott, and his building design was of a "domestic style... with a highly decorated front". It cost £625 10 s, was complete within three months, and seated up to 400. However, by 1903, the Sunday school had once again outgrown the space available, and an additional infants classroom was built nearby. This is now called the Small Hall, and is used as a classroom for the St John's Preschool.

A rectory was first provided for the rector J. C. Corlette and his large family in 1879. A block of land, located on what is now the corner of Rectory Avenue and Alt Street, was purchased for £444, and the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Barker in 1880. This original rectory was sold in 1922 for £1800. The current rectory, on the main grounds of the church, was founded by Archbishop John Charles Wright in the same year, during the rectorship of William George Hilliard, and built at a cost of £2500.

Gravel pathways lined with Phoenix canariensis palms, the lawn in front of the church, and the stone churchyard fence were also constructed in the 1920s. The Alt Street wall was erected in 1922, and dedicated to the previous rector Alfred Yarnold. The Bland Street wall was dedicated in 1927 by Archdeacon Davies, and commemorates one of the key contributors, R. A. Forsaith.

The cemetery, which had been in existence since soon after the foundation of the church (the first interment was Frederick Underwood, Elizabeth's 11-month-old grandson, on 1 May 1845), was consecrated by the Archbishop of Sydney, Howard West Kilvinton Mowll, on 8 September 1934. By this stage it reportedly already contained the remains of 1,396 people. He was asked by the rector of the time to "set apart the area, containing 4 acres and 4 perches (1.63 ha), as a burial-place for the bodies of Christian people living in and about Ashfield".

Australia's only memorial to Australian Air Force Cadets occupies a prominent position on the grounds, and a memorial service attended by the Cadets has been held annually since it was opened by the State Governor Lieutenant General John Northcott in 1946. It was built by Squadron Leader Arthur Whitehurst who had commanded a squadron at Ashfield during the period 1941–1946, and whose son Douglas Arthur Whitehurst had died in action in World War II.