Baptist Church

Statement of Significance

The place has aesthetic value for its form and detail of two programs of work demonstrating the Federation Gothic and Inter War Gothic styles and has aesthetic value as a landmark in the streetscape. The place has historic value for its association with the establishment and development of the Maylands community in the early 20th century and for its ongoing association with the Baptist Church in Western Australia and the service they provide to the community.

Physical Description

A single storey building of brick construction on a corner lot. The building has a series of corrugated metal gabled roofs at varying pitches, the portion in the centre being the original building with a steeper pitch and addition to either end with shallower pitches. The front entry faces Seventh Avenue and consists of a double timber door with two fanlights above creating a pointed arch. Flanking either side of the door is a buttress and a timber framed sash window with matching pointed arch fanlights above. The building has a limestone plinth and the front entry is raised three brick steps from ground level. The timber framed sash window with matching pointed arch fanlights continue to the sides of the building until the rear addition is reached. Attaching the original building to the rear addition is a small lean-to (possibly the original chancel) with a hipped roof, windows to the addition are sliders with smaller format fanlights. The building is set on a largely sealed lot with minimal plantings and a low face brick boundary wall.

History

Baptist Churches Western Australia was formed in 1896 by four West Australian Baptist churches. These churches consisted mainly of Baptists who had migrated to Western Australia from the eastern state colonies as a result of the newfound prosperity from the Kalgoorlie gold rushes. In Maylands a small mission was established in the late 1890s but abandoned in the early 1900s before being re-established in 1912, in rented premises in Seventh Avenue. The new services attracted an active congregation which lead to the construction of a new timber church on this site in 1913. A memorial stone for this church is located on the current building. The church was received into the Baptist Union in 1915 and the congregation continued to prosper leading to the decision to construct additions in 1919. Architect John Selby called for tenders for the construction of timber additions to the church which were likely to have been the addition of the chancel for the altar at the northern end of the building. Such additions were not an uncommon practice as congregations grew and prospered. In 1936, extensions to the church were opened by Mr A. Duncan, a founding member of the church. The detail of these additions has not been determined but an illustration in The West Australian on the occasion of the opening of the extensions shows the current form of the church from the main entrance. The sequence of evolution of the building has not been resolved. It is possible the original timber church was demolished in 1919 and replaced with brick, or possibly the frame was retained and clad with brick. Alternatively the timber building was retained until 1936 and replaced with brick, further research may resolve this query. In the 1950s, the church was further extended with a large addition across the northern end of the building which now functions as a meeting space. A smaller addition was also constructed on the north east side of the original building. Since that time the building has been largely unchanged although the roof cladding appears to have been updated.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

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