9 September 2025
St John’s in Finch Street, East Malvern is a surprisingly large church for a residential street, but then it’s been a pretty wealthy area since about 1900.
Whats also surprising is that it looks exactly like a church designed in maybe the 1870s (see pics 6,7), but it dates from 1920-22 – the only hint of contemporary influence is the Arts & Crafts top to the tower, everything else is pure 19thC Gothic Revival, even the use of rough faced Barrabool stone, and that fantastic trussed roofed interior.
The church was designed by Purchas & Teague; Guyon Purchas had started out in the 1880s and was nearly 60 by this time, and best known for the fabulous Tay Creggan (1892). His father was Albert Purchas, also an architect, who had designed Christchurch St Kilda in the 1850s, which is also in light brown stone, and has unusual triangular windows with four roundels, which I noticed reappear here in the transepts, presumably it’s an homage (last 2 pics).
Yet another surprise is the very recent date of some of the still quite traditional stained glass, the lovely sinuous one in the lobby dated 1995 by @kuzbickistainedglassart.
Storey of Melbourne 