ESSENDON CHURCH OF CHRIST
52 BUCKLEY STREET, ESSENDON, MOONEE VALLEY CITY
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
Essendon Church of Christ at 52 Buckley Street, Essendon, is significant. The red brick church of 1924-25 was designed by local architect Victor G Cook in the Decorated Gothic style. The church has a simple rectangular plan and is constructed in red brick with unpainted cement-render dressings. The front porch has gabled bays flanking a recessed entry.
VG Cook was the son of Essendon "pioneers" Robert and Martha Cook. He started his career as an engineer in the 1910s, and by the 1920s had a thriving practice, designing the Essendon South Methodist Sunday School, the New Ascot Theatre on Union Road, the Southern Cross Theatre in Essendon and the Broadmeadows Shire Hall.
The 1967 Kindergarten at the rear is not of significance.
How is it significant?
Essendon Church of Christ is of local historical, social and architectural significance to the City of Moonee Ponds.
Why is it significant?
It is historically and socially significant as the centre of Church of Christ worship in the area since 1915 (on this site since 1925). (Criteria A & G)
It is architecturally significant for its high level of intactness and for the Decorated Gothic detail which is particularly fine for a church of this size. Elements of note include the unpainted render detailing, particularly the tracery windows and the parapet above the entry, the two semi-hexagonal piers which extend above the gable as pinnacles with blind lancet arches around them, and the mild-steel balustrades with a lancet-design to the front steps. (Criterion E)
It is also of historical interest for its association with local architect Vincent G Cook.
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ESSENDON CHURCH OF CHRIST - Physical Description 1
The Essendon Church of Christ stands in a residential-sized lot, mid-block on the northern side of Buckley Street between Forbes and Hoddle streets. The church stands at the front of the site with a narrow hard landscaped forecourt matching the setback of the adjacent residential properties to Buckley Street. The 1967 flat-roofed kindergarten and hall building is located at the rear of the narrow site and is largely hidden behind the church.
The 1924-25 Essendon Church of Christ is a simple Decorated Gothic design, with traditional parapeted gables and fine window tracery. The church has a simple rectangular plan and is constructed in red brick with unpainted cement-render dressings. The body of the church contains a three-light traceried window set between two semi-hexagonal piers which extend above the gable as pinnacles with blind lancet arches around them.
The porch has an inset central entry below a segmental arch and a stylised stepped concrete rendered parapet. On either side is a bay with a parapeted gable, each containing a two-light traceried window with cement-render dressings, and engaged buttresses to the corners. The porch is accessed by five concrete steps flanked with mild-steel balustrades with a lancet-design. Behind the (non-original) metal gate, the porch is finished with a varnished lining-board ceiling with the original ledged double doors.
The side elevations are divided by engaged buttresses into five bays, each with a single lancet window with cement-render hood moulds terminating in decorative bosses.Heritage Study and Grading
Moonee Valley - Moonee Valley Heritage Study
Author: Context Pty Ltd, 2015
Year: 2015
Grading: LocalMoonee Valley - City of Moonee Valley Stage 1 Heritage Gap Study
Author: Context PL
Year: 2013
Grading:
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