St John's Anglican Church, Albany


St John's Anglican Church, also known as St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, is a church on York Street in Albany in Western Australia. The church is the oldest in Western Australia.

Description

The church is a stone building with gabled roofs covered in shingles. The aisle of the church is made from thick blocks that had been made in England. The stone walls are thick and the building also has stone foundations; the stone was thought to be quarried from nearby Mount Melville and Mount Clarence. The walls are so thick that no buttresses are required. The original building is now the nave of the present church, with the gallery behind built in 1852. The tower and porch were completed in 1853. The tower is topped with battlements on the parapet.

History

The church was built by the people of the town, with construction commencing in 1841 and completed in 1844. The church was consecrated on 25 October 1848 by Bishop Augustus Short of Adelaide who introduced John Ramsden Wollaston as its clergyman. At this time the church would have been able to accommodate the entire population of the town, 170 people.
Construction of the rectory commenced in 1850 and was completed the same year. Originally it was a single story stone building, however a second storey was added in 1875. A second rectory was built behind the original one in 1980.
The first recorded Anzac dawn service was held by the church in 1930.
The church, rectory, hall and peppermint trees were listed on the register of the National Trust in 1978.
Canon Edward Argyl was appointed as the parish priest in 2011 until his death in 2015.