St Peter's Church, Eastern Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church |
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| St Peter's Eastern Hill | |
St Peter's Church tower
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| Country | Australia |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Churchmanship | Anglo-Catholic |
| Membership | Anglican Church of Australia |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 18 June 1846 |
| Founder(s) | Charles La Trobe |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Years built | 1846 – 1876 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Melbourne |
St Peter's Church, Eastern Hill is an old and important Anglican church in East Melbourne, Australia. It is located at the corner of Albert and Gisborne Streets. This church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
The church has been active since 1847. In 1848, an important announcement was made on its steps. This was when Queen Victoria officially declared Melbourne a city. St Peter's Church follows the Anglo-Catholic tradition, which is a specific style of worship within the Anglican Church.
St Peter's is in a central spot in Melbourne. This allows it to offer many helpful programs. For example, it runs a breakfast program for people experiencing homelessness in the city. It also has a coffee cart that helps the community and a bookstore. The bookstore sells Anglican books, church supplies, and gifts.
Contents
Where is St Peter's Church?
The church stands on a hill in eastern Melbourne. It is at the corner of Albert and Gisborne streets. On one side, it faces St Patrick's Cathedral, which is a Roman Catholic church. On the other side, it is across from the Eastern Hill Fire Station. Even though it's close to the city center, people come to St Peter's from all over Melbourne and even from other countries.
A Look at St Peter's History
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St Peter's is the oldest Anglican church in inner Melbourne that is still on its original site. The first stone for the church was laid on June 18, 1846, by Charles La Trobe. He was an important leader in early Victoria. The church started holding services in 1847, even before the first part was fully finished in 1848.
During the exciting gold rush years, many people came to Melbourne. About 400 baptisms and a similar number of weddings happened at St Peter's each year. The church was made bigger in 1854 to hold up to 1050 people. Later, in 1896, some of the extra seating areas were removed. The last additions to the building were completed in 1876.
The first house for the vicar (the church leader) and school buildings were built in 1849. These were later sold in 1884. After that, the current vicarage (vicar's house) and a new school building, now called Keble House, were built.
Important Leaders and Their Impact
Henry Handfield was the vicar for a very long time, from 1854 to 1900. Under his leadership, St Peter's became known for its excellent choir music. The church also started doing more to help people in the inner city. For example, the Sisters of the Holy Name began working with the church in the 1880s. During this time, St Peter's was known for its calm, traditional style of worship.
Famous opera singer Nellie Melba took organ lessons at the church when she was a schoolgirl. The writer Henry Handel Richardson also attended St Peter's. She even wrote about her experiences there in her book The Getting of Wisdom.
In 1900, Ernest Selwyn Hughes became the vicar. He made the church's Anglo-Catholic identity much stronger. He introduced a special Sunday service called High Mass, which included robes and incense. His ideas about helping society were continued by Farnham Edward Maynard, who was vicar from 1926 to 1964. Maynard shared his ideas through books and radio shows.
Maynard also helped bring the Brotherhood of St Laurence to the area in 1933. This group, which started small, has grown to become a major organization helping people in Melbourne. The welcoming and inclusive spirit of Hughes and Maynard still guides the church today.
Stained-Glass Windows
The church has beautiful stained-glass windows. Some of these windows show important moments in the Catholic revival movement from the early 1900s. One window shows Marian Hughes, who was the first woman to take religious vows in England since the Reformation. She is shown making her vows to Edward Pusey. Another window, made by Napier Waller, honors the Martyrs of New Guinea.
Vicars of St Peter's Church
Here is a list of the vicars who have led St Peter's Church over the years:
- 1848–1851 Daniel Newman
- 1851–1852 Thomas Hart-Davies
- 1852–1852 David Wood
- 1854–1900 Henry Hewett Paulet Handfield
- 1900–1926 Ernest Selwyn Hughes
- 1926–1964 Farnham Edward Maynard
- 1964–1979 Geoffrey James Taylor
- 1980–1989 John Bayton
- 1990–1998 Ralph David Farrer
- 1998–2010 John Cameron Davis
- 2012–2021 John Hugh Kempster
- 2022–present Michael Nicholas Roderick Bowie
Music at St Peter's
St Peter's Church is well-known for its amazing music. The Choir of St Peter's Eastern Hill is made up of volunteers. They lead the music for church services every Sunday and on special weekdays.
The choir's main role is at the 11 am High Mass every Sunday. A singer also performs at the 9:30 am Mass, which is more focused on families. In the evenings, at 5:00 pm on Sundays, there is a service called Evensong. This service features many different styles of music, from simple plainsong to traditional English Evensong songs.
The choir often performs music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. This includes works by composers like Dufay, Palestrina, Victoria, Byrd, Monteverdi, Gesualdo, Handel, and Bach. They also sing many Mass settings by Mozart and Haydn. The choir performs pieces from more recent times too, by composers such as Schubert, Howells, Fauré, Pärt, and Britten. Sometimes, they even perform new songs written by Australian composers.
Plainsong is a very old style of singing without instruments. It is a big part of the sung services at St Peter's, including the Ordinary of the Mass and Evensong. It is a key part of the church's traditions.
See also
- List of Anglo-Catholic churches
