St James Anglican Church 17 Tank Street Morpeth NSW 2321 Statement of Heritage Impact Issue B | 27 March 2018 Nominated Architect: Linda Babic, NSW ARB 6869, AIA PO Box 1078, Hamilton NSW 2303 ABN: 13 969 355 650 T | 0412 993 813 E | [email protected] W | heritas.com.au
St James Anglican Church Statement of Heritage Impact
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
This report represents an assessment of heritage impact for proposed alterations to the existing façade and internal porch of St James Anglican Church, 17 Tank Street, Morpeth. It was prepared by Linda Babic, B.Arch., M.Herit.Cons. for the Anglican Parish of Morpeth.
The subject property lies within the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area, and is an individually listed item of local significance under Schedule 5 of the Maitland Local Environmental Plan 2011 (LEP). The site is within the St James Group, which includes an adjacent rectory, and a hall on the opposite street corner.
1.2 Methodology
This report has been undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter (2000), and more specifically the guidelines for Statements of Heritage Impact as issued by the NSW Heritage Office (1996 & 2001). These guidelines note that a Statement of Heritage Impact should address the following issues:
• Why the item is of heritage significance. • What impact the proposed work will have on that significance. • What measures are proposed to mitigate negative impacts.
1.3 Limitations and Constraints
The drawings describing the proposed works are DA drawings only and as such do not fully detail the proposed works.
1.4 The Development Proposal
The proposal is for modifications to the colour palette of the front tower façade. Alterations will also occur on the interior expanse of the porch as wall and floor surfaces are repainted and new timber joinery is installed. The existing dado rail will be removed and the wall in which it was fixed will be repaired. Damaged floor tiles on the porch will also be removed and replaced. Refer to attached drawings.
1.5 Document Status
The current status and history of this document is described in the following table.
Issue Date Notes/Revisions Issue A 20 November 2017 issued for OEH s60 Issue B 27 March 2018 OEH amendments
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2 History1
2.1 Morpeth - a brief overview
Once covered in dense rainforest the Morpeth area was probably occupied by the Gringgai clan of the Wanaruah indigenous peoples who called it 'Illalaung'. It is known that the Wanaruah had trade and ceremonial links with the Kamilaroi people. They favoured goannas as a food source, covering larger animals in hot ashes and stuffing them with grass. They also adopted burning off practices as the new shoots which emerged after fire attracted kangaroos which they surrounded and killed with clubs and spears (du-rane) barbed with sharp stones.
The first Europeans in the area were the party of Lt Col. Paterson who undertook an exploration of the Hunter River in 1801. Paterson named the locality Green Hills.
The land here was granted in 1821 to Lt Edward Close, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, as a reward for service as Engineer of Public Works at Newcastle.
The years from 1827-1830 saw Green Hills developing as a river port. However, the locality developed quickly after the arrival, in 1831, of the first paddle steamer (the Sophia Jane). It was soon a regular, along with the William IV, the first Australian-made, ocean-going paddle steamer. In 1832 the first proper wharf was erected and the first two inns were licensed. A proper road to Maitland was built by convict labour in 1833.
Close subdivided the land with the first batch of allotments sold in 1834. A private town was established which, at this time, took the name Morpeth which was originally the name of a town near Newcastle in England.
Morpeth became the major port of the Hunter Valley and surrounding districts between 1832 and 1890 with a regular steamer service operating to Maitland, up to Paterson and down to Newcastle. An important trade, cultural, commercial and religious centre, much of the Hunter Valley's produce passed through its wharves en route to Newcastle and Sydney while most persons and goods headed from those centres into the valley and beyond also set foot on its wharves.
Lt Close set up the first school in 1836, the year both Anglican and Catholic services commenced. A Catholic Church was built in 1836. The first post office opened in 1838. A steam mill was built in 1840 and a soap works in 1844.
In the 1840s Caleb Soul, of Soul-Pattison pharmaceuticals, manufactured talcum powder and William Arnott, later of Arnott's biscuits, had a bakery here. Their businesses were both located on the river side of Swan St, between Tank and Northumberland streets.
The first national school opened in 1862, the year the population peaked at 1830. There were ten hotels in the town when it became a municipality in 1866.
2.1 St James Anglican Church - a brief overview
At the top of the High Street is St James Anglican Church. The church represents the fulfilment of a vow made by Edward Close at the Battle of Albuera in 1811, during the Peninsular War, that he would build a house of worship if his life were spared.
The foundation stone was laid in 1837 and the initial design was presumably Close's. It was consecrated in 1840. Only the tower remains of the original building.
1 The background of Morpeth and of St James Anglican Church given here is taken directly from information provided by the Parish of Morpeth. A full history of the church, rectory and parish hall is currently being prepared by Hunter History Consultants as part of a Conservation Management Plan, being prepared by Heritas.
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There is a memorial window to Close in the eastern wing, commissioned and funded in 1872 by the community in recognition of his services and largesse.
Noted architect Edmund Blacket was employed in 1862 to extend the east end by the addition of a chancel and sanctuary. He inserted new cedar pews which still remain and he designed both a distinguished font and a stone pulpit. The latter, beautifully carved by D. Yeates of Maitland, is an exact replica of a pulpit built in 1280 for a Cistercian Abbey which had since become Beaulieu Parish Church where Bishop Tyrrell, who funded the extensions, had been rector.
In 1874 J. Horbury Hunt, colonial Australia's most original and interesting architect, was commissioned to rebuild the nave after a fire. Under instructions to alter the character of the building as little as possible he subordinated his personal creativity. His major contribution is a fine and beautifully crafted hammer beam roof.
Thus the tower was designed by Close, the chancel by Blacket and the nave by Horbury Hunt. And yet the building has a unified feel. The organ inside was built in 1877.
Edward Close and John Howe, the leader of the first overland expedition into the Hunter (from Windsor to the Singleton area), are buried in the nearby cemetery.
Standing outside the entryway of the church looking across Tank Street is a series of brush box trees planted in two rows in the early 1890s to form a walkway which connects the church to Closebourne House, (still standing), circa 1826 which became the residence of the various Bishops of Newcastle from 1848 to 1912.
The fort of Newcastle had begun to grow, and the Great Northern Railway, which reached Maitland in 1857, initially bypassed Morpeth. Although the railway was extended to the outskirts of town in 1864 and to the wharves in 1870, the river had begun to silt up. The completion of the rail link between Newcastle and Sydney in 1889 sealed the fate of the river trade and the fortunes of Morpeth.
Morpeth was formally amalgamated into the City of Maitland in 1969. It re-emerged in the late 1980s as a tourist attraction with the opening of small boutiques and gift shops.
The brick columbarium behind the eastern end of the church was constructed in 1972.
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3 Existing Fabric
3.1 Context
The church site is located on the western edge of the town development and faces the Closebourne House site. The immediate context is almost exclusively single storey residential development, however the commercial development of Swan Street is only one block north. Immediately to the north is the St James Parish Hall. The Morpeth cemetery is a short distance away to the south.
Figure 1 The two images above show the immediate context of the church. At left, looking west, residential lots can be observed. At right, looking north, views are concealed by the surrounding vegetation. source: Google Earth 2017 3.2 Existing Landscape
The landscape of the site is minimal, although several large trees in the grounds provide a tranquil setting for the stone church building. A few random shrub plantings dot the site, however there is a notable holly bush to the south of the chancel. The remainder of the grounds is turfed, with the eastern side of the lot remaining visually bounded by the Colorbond fence of the adjoining residential property.
Figure 2 This stitched image shows the High Street landscape with the church at left, between the gravel driveway and the chancel. source: Heritas 2011
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3.3 Architectural Style
The church is constructed in an Old Colonial Gothick Picturesque style, with its romantic silhouette, simple classical form with medieval detail, symmetrical façade, tower with battlemented parapet, pointed arch motifs and label moulds. The tower of St James gives weight to its presentation of this style, which was 'seen as a most acceptable alternative to classicism for buildings that sought to express religiosity and venerability.'2
3.4 Existing Fabric
The church is of sandstone ashlar construction, with faux slate roof tiles covering the gabled nave, chancel and vestry. Leadlight windows with stained glass and within lancet windows on three sides of the church depict various religious scenes. Small dormers high on the roof ventilate the vaulted ceiling space within the nave. The battlemented stone tower with bell at the western end of the nave confidently marks the church on the rise of the High Street behind the residential development of Morpeth.
Figure 3 A view of the front tower façade including the lancet window that will be repainted. source: Heritas 2017
Figure 4 A view showing existing hardwood timber entry that is proposed for repainting. source: Heritas 2011
2 Apperly, et al, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, p36.
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St James Anglican Church Statement of Heritage Impact
3.5 Condition
The condition of the existing tower façade and internal porch appears sound.
3.6 Archaeology
An archaeological report on the site has not been undertaken. As the modifications taking place are essentially cosmetic, further archaeological research is not deemed necessary.
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4 Existing Listings
St James Church is part of the St James’ Anglican Church Group, listed on the NSW State Heritage Register (SHR01979), listed under the NSW Heritage Act.
Maitland Local Environmental Plan 2011 includes the site within the boundary of the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area. The site is also listed as an item of State heritage significance under the same LEP.
The church site is classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).
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5 Significance Assessment
The NSW heritage assessment guidelines broadly encompass four possible values of heritage significance: 1. historical significance, 2. aesthetic significance, 3. research/technical significance, and 4. social significance.
These four values are encompassed into a list of seven more detailed assessment criteria which specifically address key areas of possible significance. An item will be considered to be of significance if it meets one or more of the following criteria.
The St James Church falls within the boundary of the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area, which retains heritage values as given by Maitland City Council and stated in their Development Control Plan 2011. These values are stated here in the following Statement of Significance.
The site has been previously assessed for heritage value, with details within its listing on the NSW Heritage Branch website, and re-stated here.
Historical Significance Criterion (a) An item is important in the course, or pattern, of NSW’s (or the local area’s) cultural or natural history.
• The establishment of St James Church predates the major releases of land for subdivision in the 1840s. • The establishment of the church in 1837 demonstrates how it served a rural community and smaller population. • The church is believed to be one of the earliest extant stone churches in the Hunter Valley.
Criterion (b) An item has strong or special association with the life or work of a person, or group of persons, of importance in NSW’s (or the local area’s) cultural or natural history.
• The place is associated with Lt Edward Close. • The place is associated with prominent NSW architects John Horbury Hunt and Edmund Blacket.
Aesthetic Significance Criterion (c) An item is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or high degree of creative or technical achievement in NSW (or the local area).
• The church is an exceptional example of a small colonial period country church in the English manner using restrained Gothick style. • The church is an exceptional example of the early work of architect John Horbury Hunt, with the roof exhibiting first class craftsmanship. • The place is highly significant for its landmark value in the townscape marking both the southern and western entries to Morpeth.
Social Significance Criterion (d) An item has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in NSW (or the local area) for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
• The place is important for its continuity of religious and social functions for more than 150 years.
Research/Technical Significance Criterion (e) An item has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of NSW’s (or the local area’s) cultural or natural history.
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• The place may contain relics associated with early use of the site. However, the land will remain undisturbed during the alteration process.
Rarity Criterion (f) An item possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of NSW’s (or the local area’s) cultural or natural history.
• The church can be considered rare.
Representativeness Criterion (g) An item is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of NSW’s (or the local area’s) cultural or natural places, or cultural or natural environments.
• Despite the varying ages of its components, the church is considered to be a representative example of its style.
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6 Statement of Significance
The Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area is significant on many levels, and is described by Maitland City Council as follows.
Morpeth is of state significance a) for its role as a major river port town in the European settlement and development of the Hunter region in the 19th century b) for demonstrating a high degree of technical/creative achievement as a privately founded town whose layout is a skilful adaptation of the standards for government towns to the circumstances of the site, and the requirements of its founder, who lived alongside and whose family continued to own much land in the town and its surrounding area until 1920 c) as a town with a large collection of buildings and works from the 19th century, many pre 1868, which provides comprehensive evidence or architectural standards and building techniques which are now relatively rare in the state d) as a town with extensive archaeological evidence with potential to yield information that will contributes to an understanding of NSW’s cultural history; in particular of the river port and associated works and structures
Morpeth is of regional significance a) for its uncommon evidence of the impacts of European settlement on the natural character of the landscape: activities of early settlement where a factor in floods that made major changes to the course of the Hunter River at Morpeth, leaving large offcuts and lagoons b) for its strong and special association with its local community which has shown its appreciation of Morpeth’s history, heritage and character, including its scenic qualities and the relationship between a riverside town and the surrounding rural area c) for demonstrating the range and variety of dwelling types occurring in towns from 1830s to the present, with intact dwellings, mostly detached and single storey, from every period of its development d) as an uncommon example of a town whose road layout and extent has changed little since the mid 19th century and has developed and maintained a clear edge and distinctive form in its rural setting
Morpeth is of local significance a) as a town that demonstrates its history through tangible evidence in its current built form b) as a major tourist destination, creating greater public awareness of the heritage significance of the Maitland area generally3
The St James Anglican Church is significant as a major contributing item within the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area and southern and western townscape, as well as in its own right. The church has a strong association with two prominent and prolific NSW architects - John Horbury Hunt and Edmund Blacket - and is believed to be one of the few remaining stone churches of its age and style in the Hunter Valley. The church represents the earliest development in Morpeth, dating from 1840, and has a strong connection with the founder of the private town of Morpeth, E.C. Close. The building demonstrates and reinforces the original town planning layout of Morpeth, particularly in relation to Closebourne and the avenue of brush box trees to the west. The early fabric of the stone church provides evidence of the State-listed values of the town, possessing architectural standards and building techniques which are now relatively rare in the State. The tower section is believed to be the only existing Australian construction to the design of the church donor Lieutenant EC Close (attrib.).
The place is notable for its intact external form and fabric, and can be considered aesthetically and historically rare in a local context. The St James' group, including parish hall (former school) and rectory, is an intact group which further demonstrates the original development of the town.
3 Maitland Conservation and Design Guidelines DCP No.34, Maitland City Council.
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The St James Anglican Church (and group) is considered to be of high historical significance on a State level, with some exceptional items of movable heritage. The place is considered to be of high aesthetic, technical and social significance on a local level.
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7 Statement of Heritage Impact
This is the statement of heritage impact for: Alterations to the existing porch of St James Anglican Church, 17 Tank Street, Morpeth NSW 2321, with property description Part Lot 63, DP 755205.
Date: November 2017, amended March 2018.
Reference: The property is located within the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area, defined under the Maitland Local Environmental Plan 2011, and listed on the NSW State Heritage Register (01979).
The material upon which this statement has been based is the following architectural drawings prepared by Heritas Architecture. • St James Church, Tank Street, Morpeth 171057 C-01 – C-09, Issue B, Rev C
Prepared by: Heritas Architecture (Linda Babic, B.A., B.Arch., M.Herit.Cons.) PO Box 1078 Hamilton NSW 2303 (t) 0412 993 813
Prepared for: The Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, Parish of Morpeth.
The following aspects of the proposal respect or enhance the heritage significance of the item for the following reasons:
• The development does not impact upon the existing or future use of the church recognising it as a religious landmark.
• All original heritage features including windows, doors, stairs, and architraves will be preserved.
• Installation of a handrail in accordance with AS 1428.1 will provide access for elderly parishioners and visitors. As this rail will be positioned to the side of the entrance it will not detract from the traditional character of the church. It is suggested that the design will provide a welcoming form leading to the front entry. The structure will be fixed to ground surface where possible.
• The proposed colour scheme is sympathetic with the existing sandstone blockwork, floor tiling and stained glass.
• Inclusion of a bookshelf in the wall niche will highlight the upper level of the porch, whilst providing an engaging and provoking art installation.
• The new pendant lighting fixture provides a simple, elegant “halo” form within the space, that will not detract from the more ornate original fabric of stained glass windows and elaborate floor tiling.
• Installation of simple timber joinery will provide ample space for books and cleaning items to be stored. The size and placement respects the original ornate fabric within the space. Out of sight storage of pamphlets, books, vases, donation envelopes, etc will showcase the original porch fabric, and the space will then present as an entry, not a storage space.
• Two more recent timber backing boards for brass plaques will be removed and reconstructed to match the existing timber boards, and therefore create a sense of symmetry. This will conserve the plaques, while highlighting the information across the northern wall.
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• Damaged floor tiles will be repaired using an existing stockpile of original tiles, which ensures preservation of this important element of the entry porch.
• The removal of the c1970s/1980s timber sheet dado and future repair of the wall surface will return the porch to an earlier known presentation, while repairing (assumed) damage behind the dado. The installation of injection DPC, some decades ago, is assumed to correlate to the date of the dado installation, perhaps to cover wall damage.
• Repainting of the entry porch interior, in a slightly lighter colour matched to the floor tiles, will freshen the space and maintain the wall surfaces in good repair. The lighter colour will correlate with the intention of returning the space to a proper entry to the nave, and discouraging the use of the porch as a transition / storage area. To maintain consistency, the currently rendered area within the nave – essentially the porch wall area reflected – will also be repainted in the same colour. This will provide a lighter rear nave space at the font and organ.
• Repainting of some external elements - porch windows and entry door – is required for maintenance, however a new colour scheme is proposed to enhance the space. Colours have been chosen from the existing fabric. The proposed blue is also referencing ceremonial garments worn by bishops, and displayed in the stained glass windows of the porch.
The following aspects of the proposal could detrimentally impact on the heritage significance of the item:
• The installation of handrails has the potential to visually affect the front entry façade, however by using a simplified design in a modest colour, the impact is minimised. The provision of handrails for improved access is fundamental to the ongoing use of the space, and combined with the removable ramp currently is use, provides enhanced access for parishioners and visitors.
The following sympathetic solutions have been considered and discounted for the following reasons:
• None noted.
Summary
Based on the available documentary and extant physical evidence, the proposal for minor porch works to St James’ Church is considered sympathetic. The work will enhance the presentation of the church, and provide better access for users. The church grounds and the greater Heritage Conservation Area will be enhanced with a more formal presentation of the tower façade and updated internal porch area.
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