Former Presbyterian Church
143 Clyde Hill Road, RUSSELLS BRIDGE VIC 3331 - Property No 41400006
Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
The former Russell's Bridge Presbyterian Church is located at 143 Clyde Hill Road Russell's Bridge on allotment 1 TP810567 Parish of Wabdallah. The township takes its name from George Russell, pastoral pioneer and manager of the influential Clyde Company. The settlement is situated within a curve of the Moorabool River and stands on land originally occupied as the Wabdallah run, a small portion of the Clyde Company's vast pastoral holdings. A permanent crossing over the Moorabool River and the sale of the freehold land became the impetus for the development of the Russell's Bridge township. The Free Presbyterians, the small Gaelic-speaking branch of the denomination were present in Russell's Bridge from the beginning, with the Government Gazette advertising the first trustees 'of the ground set apart' for the Free Presbyterian Church in 1858. The first trustees included the Rev. Robert Flemming, Peter Cameron, Robert Longmoore and John Gillespie. A small timber church was constructed in a simple restrained Gothic Revival style in the early 1860s, by brothers William and Robert Sutherland, also responsible for the construction of the nearby Sutherland;s Creek Presbyterian Church. The foundation stone was laid at both churches by Robert Grey. A Sunday school was established in 1880. Presbyterian services were held at the church until its closure at the turn of the 21st century. The church was sold in 2002 and the present owners occupy the building as a private residence. The church has been much altered since its sale, with removal of the rear lancet windows on both side elevations to accommodate the addition of a projecting wing and French doors opening onto a timber skillion verandah. The cultural heritage significance and integrity of the original fabric of the church has been compromised by extensive contemporary additions and extensions. However, the church is in good condition and the surviving fabric retains a fair degree of intactness.
How is it Significant?
The former Russell's Bridge Presbyterian Church is of historical and social significance to the Golden Plains Shire.
Why is it Significant?
The former Russell's Bridge Presbyterian Church is of historical significance as a surviving example of a church that serviced generations of a small rural congregation for over 140 years.
The former Russell's Bridge Presbyterian Church has social significance as a representation of the collective aspirations of the local congregation to establish a place of worship, which has served as an important community building throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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Clyde Flour Mill and Managers Residence
Golden Plains Shire -
Former Russells Bridge State School No. 530
Golden Plains Shire
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Russells Bridge over Moorabool River
National Trust
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