Memorial Church of St Martin in the Field & Durbridge Hall

Child Places

• 11546 Durbridge Hall
• 11547 Memorial Church of St Martin In The Fields

Statement of Significance

• The church and hall have aesthetic value for their demonstration of the form and detail of the Inter War Gothic and Post War Ecclesiastical styles. Internal details that remain from the original construction are likely to reflect these styles. • The place has historic value for its association with the establishment and development of Kensington in the Inter War and Post World War Two periods. • The place has historic value for its association with prominent individuals in the history of Kensington and the Anglican Church. • The place has social value for the members of the Kensington and wider communities who have attended the venue for social and spiritual purposes since 1933.

Physical Description

The Memorial Church of St Martin in the Field and Durbridge Hall are a pair of contrasting buildings. The church is of modern brick construction whilst the hall is of more traditional timber framed and weatherboard construction. Durbridge Hall is an inter-war timber framed and weatherboard simple rectangular building with a replacement metal roof. The façade is symmetrical, overlooking Dyson Street with a central entrance of double timber doors accessed by five steps. The door is flanked by timber framed windows, the original multi-paned timber framed casements have been replaced with alternative timber windows but the original frames remain extant. Canopies to the windows and doors have been added. The roof is a gabled hip, with louvered vent to the weatherboard gable. The eaves are battened. Although some changes have been made, the Hall still presents in its original simple form. The adjoining church presents with a completely different aesthetic and architectural character. The brick and limestone church was constructed in the early 1950s and incorporates elements of traditional ecclesiastical design. The church is rectangular in plan form with small projecting porch to the south-western end. The roof is steeply pitched with Colorbond cladding and glazing to the gable end overlooking Dyson Street. The south west wall of the porch is predominantly a plain brick wall enclaved by long narrow windows and the foundation stone. Much of the wall is covered in ivy which hides the parapet around the top. Double doors provide entry into the church on the south east side of the porch. Both the long sides of the church are divided into bays by brick buttresses with most bays containing windows or doors on both sides. The arrangement and forms of openings differ on the east and west elevations. The east elevation is the most visually accessible elevation of the church, overlooking Vista Street. a single door access is located in one of the bays and tall narrow multi-paned windows with frosted glass. The setting to the eastern side of the church has been transformed into a tranquil seating area with Memorial Rose Garden. The two sections of the church and hall are joined by a link structure of textured cement block construction with flat roof.

History

The construction of Durbridge Hall as an Anglican Church Hall in 1933 demonstrated the expanding Kensington community. Kensington came into existence in the South Perth Road District in the 1920s and was named after prominent resident Alec Clydesdale’s Suburban Road (Mill Point Road) house, ‘Kensington’. The majority of the early houses were constructed from weatherboard, giving the suburb a working class image. A number of residents appealed to have the suburb declared as ‘brick only’ by the Road Board. This decision created continued controversy in the district however it is not recorded how the weatherboard Durbridge Hall was accepted in February 1933, especially considering the difficulties the Salvation Army had when they had wanted (and succeeded) to move a timber hall from Subiaco to Banksia Terrace. Margaret Gyles Durbridge (c1857-1925) was one of the instigators behind the establishment of an Anglican Church in Kensington. After her death in 1925, her estate was bequeathed to provide finances for church activities in the Kensington area. Her estate helped to pay for the land on the corner of Dyson and Vista Streets. Plans for the new church hall were prepared by People’s Warden, Mr C Hill, and the building was made possible by an interest free loan of £750. It has not been determined in this research who built the hall. On 4 May 1933, in the presence of 150 people the Anglican Archbishop Dr Le Fanu, dedicated the new building to be named Durbridge Memorial Hall after its benefactor. Following the formation of the Kensington Parochial District in 1948, it was known as St Martin's Church Hall. Social activities were initiated at Durbridge Hall upon its completion under the ministry of Lionel Courtney. The groups that used the church included the Mothers Union, Ladies Guild, Men's Club, Sunday School, Sewing Class and, Church of England Boys and Girls Societies (CEBS and CEGS). With the intent on raising money for a church, Durbridge Hall was also let out regularly to Girl Guides, Scouts, Sea Scouts and Rifle Club, Boy Scouts, Brownies and the South Perth branch of the Australian Labour Party. Durbridge Hall was also used for showing movies. At the end of World War Two the Durbridge Hall committee was able to announce the hall debt had been extinguished. Alongside this announcement the committee launched an appeal to build a new church as a memorial to all who lost their lives in the war. The Saint Martin-in-the-Fields Church was built in 1953. The architect and builder of the church have not been determined in this research. The last service was held in the hall on Sunday 16 May 1954. The name of the church originates with an English church built in 1721-1726. A memento mounted in the Saint Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Kensington, is made from the original Portland stone used when Saint Martin-in-the-Fields in England was built. The Church had been damaged in World War Two and the stone was salvaged when repairs were carried out in 1952. The metal plaque is a replica of the design of ‘Saint Martin and the Beggar’ on the original door handles of the church. When the Saint Martin-in-the-Fields Church was finished it was dedicated by the Governor, Sir Charles Gairdiner, with the unveiling of the dedication plaque on the front of the church. The church Saint Martin-in-the-Fields Church was consecrated on 21 May 1954 and was marked with the raising of four flags donated by the Imperial War Museum at the request of Rev Precious. Four flags, The White Ensign, The Red Ensign, The Union Jack and a Royal Air Force Flag had all been flown on the Cenotaph, Whitehall in London. They were to remain at Saint Martin’s in memory of the men and women who died in the world wars. (The flags have since been returned to the Imperial War Museum.) After the completion of the Saint Martin-in-the-Fields Church, the hall continued to be used for community outreach activities. Rev Bob Precious (1953-57), the Rector at the time, initiated an Anglican Youth Fellowship to cater for the needs of the young people in the area. Rev Precious is remembered in the parish for his enthusiastic and successful work in the community including a popular Drama Group formed in 1955 and active until 1994. Congregational attendance at Saint Martin-in-the-Fields Church peaked in the time of Rev Precious. In 1956 a church opportunity shop was established in the corner shop behind the church which was purchased for £4,250. The Op Shop previously known as Vista House and later St Martin's Op Shop was a valuable source of income for the church. In the 1970s, additions were constructed to adjoin the two buildings and in c1990 this was extended toward the rear of the lot to provide covered access to the toilets. Aerial photographs indicate that the form and extent of the two main buildings on the site have not changed significantly since the mid 20th century. Several smaller buildings have been present on the site since construction. The roofs of the two buildings have also been reclad in colorbond replacing earlier cladding of corrugated iron on Durbridge Hall, and asbestos on St Martin in the Fields Church.

Integrity/Authenticity

High / High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update