(Former) St Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, Glenorchy, Hobart, Tasmania

(Former) St Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, Glenorchy, Hobart, Tasmania

James Blackburn, blind arcading, buttress, cemetery, columns, convict, John Franklin, Glenorchy, Hobart, Kirk and Fisher, Neo-Norman, Presbyterian, Romanesque, Romanesque Revival, semi-circular arch, Tas, Tasmania, tower, tracery.

St Matthew’s Presbyterian Church is in the suburb of Glenorchy in Hobart, Tasmania. It was designed by the convict architect James Blackburn (1803-1854) in 1839. The foundation stone was laid by Governor Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) in 1839 and the church was built by the firm Kirk and Fisher and completed in 1841. The church is in the Romanesque Revival style and is one of the earliest remaining Romanesque Revival buildings in Australia. The style is evident in the use of semi-circular arches on the windows, doorway, and the blind arcading above the doorway. The building also has buttresses, a large square corner tower, and three smaller octagonal corner towers. The church is unusual in having its cemetery at the front of the building.

Romanesque Revival architecture is sometimes referred to as Neo-Norman due to the Normans influence in spreading the Romanesque style through England after their conquest in 1066.

For a close up photograph of the entrance see http://ausmed.arts.uwa.edu.au/items/show/1213

McLeod, Shane

November 21, 2012

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3xDigital Photograph

Digital Photograph; JPEG