Wesley Church Manse, yuk

30 October 2024

Finally got see it for myself and yep it’s terrible. This is the manse, built in 1859 for the adjacent Wesley Church, completed in 1858, both designed by the great Joseph Reed in rugged bluestone Gothic. The tower proposed in 2015 basically maximises floor space by curving in around it, then curving outwards above until the wall is flat, but neither nearly enough, the poor thing still looks overwhelmed, not to mention that damned gold column right in front. I did a sketch plan of something that might have been better, moving the manse back and out a bit, where it would be nearer the other Gothic church buildings behind. Burra Charter says don’t move anything, but also that an ‘appropriate visual setting’ should be retained. The building was a bar/cafe when the whole thing was finished in 2021; that closed and it recently reopened as a restaurant called Reed House. Side note : when I was there a family from New Zealand wandered in from the rear and they all went ‘wow look at that, they built right over it’ and I guess it is amazing, but that doesn’t make it good. But it does look better from behind.

Many comments from Instagram

Earlier post, 12 May 2021, with other people’s photos :

This looks about as bad as I thought it would – the 1859 manse next to the #WesleyChurchMelbourne more or less engulfed by the giant office tower just completed around it. Part of a very unsatisfactory compromise, sacrificing the (very dilapidated) #PrincessMaryClub, and allowing this, in order that the church got $5mill for restoration works, and $1mill /year ground rent. I’d have preferred no tower, and the #UnitingChurch maybe let go of the site completely (they’ve also go St Michaels after all) and maybe it was a different denomination or better yet a concert hall (but nobody was going to pay for that) or maybe a foodie venue ? Or perhaps at least if they’d moved the manse backwards like I suggested (sketch), it would be facing the other old buildings back there, around a nice courtyard, and at least from the front still have sky behind it. Note I havnt seen it myself, these photos, with permission, from @while.i.was.wading, @cristinaz13, the_nathanuelle_adventure, and @armitagejones.