4 January 2025

The Presbyterian Church on Barkly Street St Kilda has dominated the hill since 1885, and just sold after only 2 weeks on the market. It’s got so little land, no room for underground parking for instance, so perhaps it was another denomination, or going to be a large house ?

The church was built in 1886 replacing a largish 1850s one. The architects were Wilson & Beswicke, that’s John Beswicke who did some interesting stuff in a long career, but not many churches. It’s actually a curious bit of Gothic – rather spiky (which I like), but the details are all rounded, the curves of the window tops are just round instead of proper quatrefoil, and the crockets are like little spheres when they should be like little fern fronds. The cast iron is good though, much more frondy, and it’s certainly a landmark, the spire is in line with Punt Road way to the north.

I’ve not been inside, but it looks tall and airy, at least with the lights on. There’s some fine stained glass and a notable Fincham & Hobday organ from 1897 too. The church is listed by Port Phillip, and with interior controls ! Not at all specific though. Exterior pics mine, interior from the real estate ads and Facebook.

May 2026

The Presbyterian Church in St Kilda was sold a while ago, used temporarily by another church, but now there’s plans to turn it into townhouses, carving up the interior (which isn’t protected). All a bit sad but it’ll probably get a permit. Much better if it was just one house, or offices with a mezzanine floor.

Instead, these plans by @lara.architecture involve many holes, like doors on the Barkly St side under each window, cutting the fence into gates, and garage entrances on the other side (!). Inside it’s a all divided up, with a slot light well on the Barkly side, a large skylight in the highest roof, and four levels for each apartment, mostly obscuring the columns, and parts of the arches and trusses.

The interior isn’t outstanding, the pews, memorials and carved pulpit are already gone, and the organ will go too, but it’s a fine soaring space- you know, it’s a church ! The stained glass windows are great, and they’ll be staying, but oddly facing into the slot light well. A pair from 1950 by Napier Waller will be relocated so they’re all on the same side.

s are very unusual, they’re kind of soft curves – the rounded shapes with the arches are flatter, and the crockets are like attached knobs rather than flowing, and the carving is generally without the normal sharp lines. And the cast iron fence is like a cartoony botanical illustration ! Or possibly Aesthetic movement. Some of the pinnacles have been lost over the years, but there’s no plans to reinstate them.

Apparently the spire stone is a bit unstable and may end up being covered over. Yuk.

15 January 2018

StKildaPresbyterianChurch. Posted this 6 months ago, they’ve taken away the scaffolding now, and I saw they’d put new #stonework on the #gables; ones got a little spire/crocket thing, but the bigger one doesn’t, thought it was odd, so found an old photo (no date possibly 1950s #StKildaHistoricalSociety) and sure enough there was another one, so why didn’t it get reproduced ? I know it’s only a little thing, but soooo annoying. Also lost the four #spirelets around the #spire. Still think it’s a pretty ordinary church, I mean nice enough, but no outstanding features. #JohnBewicke, of Beswicke & Finch, 1885.

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