Bagot Road Church

Statement of Significance

The place has historic significance representing the role of the Uniting Church in the developing residential area. It has aesthetic significance for its general design quality as an example of ecclesiastical architecture, and as a recognised landmark. It has social significance to the members of its congregation for religious and social reasons.

Physical Description

Red face brick and iron church with arched lancet windows and wall buttress marking structural bays. The Bagot Road façade of the building has been reconstructed in contemporary style circa 1960s. Hall similar to church to the east addresses Rupert Street. Hall has steeply pitched gabled roof. An area to the north of the hall on Bagot Road is landscaped and known as Rupert Place.

History

Prior to this church being built for the Methodist congregation in Subiaco, a weatherboard church was built on Broome Road (Hay Street) c 1896. The growing congregation necessitated a new, larger brick church and manse, built c1906. It was remodelled in 1968, as a result of the Meckering Earthquake. (Ref: Spillman, Ken, Identity Prized: A History of Subiaco, City of Subiaco, UWA Press, 1985, pp. 102, 305.)
Prior to churches being built, congregations gathered in canvas tents or halls. The first churches that are still in existence were built in the late 1890s and early 1900s on Bagot Road within a block of the main street (Rokeby Road) - the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches (now Uniting), and the Church of Christ. The earliest Anglican church was built in 1906 in Barker Road and the first Catholic Church was built in 1908 in Henry Street, Shenton Park. It was common for a manse and hall to be built adjacent in association with a church, and social community events such as church concerts were widely supported. In recent years, other congregations have been established in Subiaco, such as the Centre Spiritualist Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses. (Ref: Spillman, Ken, Identity Prized: A History of Subiaco, City of Subiaco, UWA Press, 1985, pp. 102, 107; Wise's Post Office Directory.)
The earliest development in the Triangle was, naturally, closest to the Hay Street commercial centre. Churchill Avenue and Barker Road, and the side streets such as Axon Street, Townshend Road, Olive Street and Coghlan Road, were mostly developed by 1905. Development then spread into the central area between Bagot and Heytesbury Roads by 1915, followed by the southern portion, along Thomas Road.
One of the first land releases was Berry Brow Estate which extended from Rokeby to Townshend Roads, between Hay St and Barker Road. It was marketed as the 'Toorak of Perth.' Others were Bowral Park (1896), the north east corner of the Triangle around Barker and Coghlan Roads, and Parkerville Estate, the stretch of Townshend Road between Barker and Bagot Roads. The area has always been predominately residential, and indeed, the Triangle gained a reputation in the early days as being a prestigious area - workers settled along the railway line, and the more affluent moved up the hill to what was perceived as the better part of Subiaco.
One of the earliest public buildings in the area was the Home of the Peace, on Hamersley Road and Thomas Street, which opened in 1902. Other public buildings include St Andrew's and St Catherine's churches.
Thomas Street was gazetted by 1883, and named after Mr J H Thomas, Director of PWD.
(Sources: Wise's Post Office Directory 1905-1925; Real Estate Maps, Battye Library Collection; Spillman, Ken, Identity Prized: A History of Subiaco, City of Subiaco, UWA Press, 1985, p. 74; Chate, A, H., History of Subiaco, c1952; Moore, D., Subiaco - Attitudes and Ecological Succession, no date, c 1980.)

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