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Former Wesleyan Church And Manse
21 -23 Highbury Grove KEW, Boroondara City
Glenferrie Road Precinct, Kew

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Boroondara City
City of Kew Urban Conservation Study 1988
City of Kew Urban Conservation Study 1988
City of Kew Urban Conservation Study 1988
City of Kew Urban Conservation Study 1988
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Statement of Significance

The former Wesleyan Church and Manse are of significance as a pair of substantially intact ecclesiastical builsings of the late nineteenth century, that while not stylistically related, are both good examples of the work of leading architects of the time and are designed in sympathy to each other.
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    • Physical Description 1

      Former Wesleyan Church And Manse - Physical Description 1

      In December 1874 a timber church building was erected on this site for worship by Kew's Wesleyan community [5 ]. With the growth of the congregation the foundation stone of a larger church building was laid by the Hon. James MacBain on April 1887 [6 ]. With seating accommodation for over 350 persons, the building cost £4,000 [7 ]. The Rev. Francis Robert Wilson was the Minister of the church at that stage [8 ] and it was several years later, in 1891, that the two-storey brick parsonage was ready for his occupation [9 ]. The initial N.A.V. for the manse was £120 [10]

      The church has a well balanced composition with a gabled form offset by a spire set to one corner. It is built in polychromatic brickwork, however is quite subdued in its application compared with other buildings of the period. The manse, although only two years later, is far more adventurous in its architecture. It was designed by Kemp, who also built 'Dalswraith' (q.v.), and although this building is in a far more simple form, it repeats the Old English vocabulary of that building. This is particularly apparent in the grouping of the windows and the decorative plaster panels under the gable unit; elements that were to become popular by the turn of the century.

      References --

      1 Rogers, D., A History of Kew, p.148

      2 Architects' Index, Universityof Melboume

      3 ibid.

      4 ibid.

      5 Rogers, loc.cit.

      6 ibid.

      7 ibid.

      8 ibid.

      9 City of Kew, Rate Books, 1891.

      10 ibid.

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Boroondara - City of Kew Urban Conservation Study

      Author: Pru Sanderson Design Pty Ltd
      Year: 1988
      Grading: A

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