St Mark's Anglican Church

Statement of Significance

Representativeness, Aesthetic, Rarity, Social and Historic

Physical Description

· Building is located 700 metres off the Wheatley Coast road along a winding bush track; · Rectangular, one roomed building; · Soft clay bricks; · English bond construction; · Steeply pitched roof; · Zincalume roof over jarrah shingles; · Fireplace and chimney at one end; · Interior walls plastered; · Jarrah floor; · Timber window frames; · Timber framed entry porch; · Arched entrance opening; · Painted weatherboard cladding and zincalume roof; · Evidence of severe cracking and repairs to building; · 30 metres south of building is a timber lined well with large flitches of timber for a well cover, and; · Two rail split rail fence around the church.

History

The old Upper Warren School, now St Marks Anglican Church, is a memorial to the pioneers who settled in a community on the Warren River just north of the Karri forest. The earliest Upper Warren Settlers, Arthur Clarke, Walter Blechynden, John Mottram (Rockbridge) and Peter Wheatley (Clover Cottage) arranged with a ticket-of-leave builder, Jack Haines (Haynes), to erect a school at a site midway from the farms so that the children would have only about 2 miles to walk or ride. A plaque on the building indicates that the building was constructed in 1883, while the Heritage Council Assessment of 2001 quotes 1891 as the construction date. The building was also intended to serve as a church and social centre for the district. Clay for the bricks was found near the school site and bricks were made there and then carted by bullock dray to the school site, as were stones for the foundations of the building. The timber required was pit sawn nearby and jarrah shingles for the roof were split in the adjoining bush. The cost of all materials and the labour was shared between the families. A well was sunk at a short distance from the building with two timber slabs as a cover. The school was opened on 1 July 1891 with Kate Logue as schoolmistress, and an enrolment of four boys and 14 girls. The cost of the teacher’s salary was shared among the children’s parents, and each of the four families boarded the teacher for three months at a time. From the outset, the place served as both school and church, and the first wedding was celebrated there on 14 September 1891, when the Reverend J Brand married Charles Simpson and Emily Reeve, both of Deeside. The place continued to serve as both school and church until the 1920s when a new school was build and use of the place for that purpose ceased. The school desks were converted to pews by removal of the desktops and remained in use at the place. In 1929 the place was dedicated as a church, St Mark’s Anglican Church, Upper Warren. In 1955 various works were carried out , including replastering and painting of the internal walls, and fitting of a new corrugated iron roof, leaving the original shingles beneath. St Thomas Church at Dingup donated the altar as a gift to celebrate the consecration of the church in 1955. New curtains were made for the altar and the organ was donated by Stan Parsons, a descendant of the Wheatley family. The building serves as a church until the mid 1980s when regular church services at the place ceased. In 1986 a Historic Day was held, which was attended by many residents and past residents of the district. Various repair works were carried out. In September 1987 the place was classified by the National Trust and in September 1992 the place was placed on the Interim Register of the State Register of Heritage Places. In 1993 repairs and maintenance were carried out including a replacement corrugated iron roof, which left the shingles intact beneath the new roof. A ‘Back to Warren’ day was subsequently held at the place. In February 1994 a Memorial was registered on the place under the Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990. In 1997 the place was included in the Shire of Manjimup’s Municipal Heritage Inventory. In 2001 the place was maintained as far as possible by the Church Trustees. The original lectern Pews, organ and other furniture remain at the place. The place is valued by the local residents as a significant part of the history of the district and continues to be used on an occasional basis.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Good Authenticity: Good

Condition

Fair

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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