Trinity Church is a Uniting

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located at 72

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial thoroughfare through the central business district. Its ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. Commenced in 1893, the former

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

church is one of the oldest church buildings in the

City of Perth The City of Perth is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. T ...

, and one of the few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the city.

History

The Trinity Church

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

was established by Henry Trigg, a practising Congregationalist, who arrived in the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

in 1829. Trigg initially attended the first

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, where he was a

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

master. He later joined the Wesleyans, but from 1843 he held

prayer meeting A prayer meeting is a group of lay people getting together for the purpose of prayer as a group. Prayer meetings are typically conducted outside regular services by one or more members of the clergy or other forms of religious leadership, but the ...

s in the Congregational tradition in his own home.

First church building

In 1845 a number of the Congregationalists met to discuss the building of a chapel, and a £3

subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It ...

was agreed upon. Following this a site in William Street was obtained and on 6 September 1846 the first Congregational Chapel was opened. Within twelve months the building was enlarged to seat nearly 200 people. In the following six years, Trigg conducted all the services until, in 1852, the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

sent out the Reverend James Leonard to be the first ordained Congregational minister. Leonard stayed for three years before leaving the congregation in 1855. In 1858 the Congregational Church closed until the early 1860s, when Trigg set about reviving the cause. In October 1862 the Reverend James Innes became pastor of the Perth congregation.

Second church building

In 1863, the congregation decided to build a chapel in

as the premises in William Street were too small. Land was purchased for £350. The architect of the new church was Richard Roach Jewell.

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John Hampton laid the

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

on 10 May 1864. The church was constructed by Thomas Smith and William Buggins, in 1865, at a cost of £1,400, with the use of convict labour. The building was constructed out of handmade bricks laid in a

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

pattern. It was a simple building, long, wide, high, with a timber roof. In 1872 a hall, known as the Schoolroom, also designed by Jewell, measuring by and high was built to the rear of the church, for a cost of £550. A ceiling was added to the 1865 church building in 1879. In October 1884, the congregation decided to build a commercial building on the Hay Street frontage of the property. The architect was Henry Stirling Trigg (the grandson of Henry Trigg and the first locally trained architect to practise in Western Australia), and a contract was accepted from Robert Henry Hester to construct the buildings for £1,056.

Third church building

On 4 August 1892, the proposal was put that a new church be constructed, in front of the existing one, at a proposed cost of £5,100, with the erection of an adjoining suite of offices to fund the building of the church. This was accepted and Trinity Church was dedicated in December 1893 and opened in 1894. The plans and specifications were prepared by Henry Trigg and the contractors were Bunning Brothers at a contract price of £6,100. The design for the new church provided accommodation for 750 people on the ground floor and for 100 in the galleries. Additional funds of £500 were budgeted for furnishings, and £500 for an organ. The new building was designed for the minister's voice to be heard from every part of it. The church was to have been furnished with chairs, but owing to the slope in the floor, locally crafted pews were substituted. The foundation stone for Trinity Church was laid by Governor William Robson on 22 March 1893. Dr Bevan from the Collins Street Congregational Church, Melbourne came to Perth to conduct the opening services. The ceremony was attended by

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Lady Forrest, James Lee Steere,

Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particula ...

(Mayor of Perth) and a crowd of the leading citizens of Perth and

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. John Forrest proclaimed that such "..a magnificent building would be an ornament to the principal street of the city. Such an undertaking showed that the people were progressing materially and morally and that progress was the order of the day." The Church also commissioned a two-storey office building, Trinity House, adjacent to the new church building and facing St Georges Terrace, at a cost of £1,500. In 1900, Trinity Hall was renovated at a cost of £130. In 1904, a double-storey building known as the Guild Rooms, containing a caretaker's cottage and

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium, was constructed at the rear of the office building for £1,637.

Trinity Buildings and Trinity Arcade

Further developments took place at the rear of the property, facing Hay Street, in 1923 with the construction of Trinity Buildings and Trinity Arcade. This building is the most prominent of architect James Hine's works, and construction by E. Allwood was completed in 1927. It is a three-storey building with a basement, and has a public-access pedestrian arcade running down the east side (giving access between Hay Street and St Georges Terrace). In 1970, the office building on the eastern side of the site was demolished and in 1981 a shopping arcade developed, linking Trinity Church with Trinity Buildings in Hay Street and with St Georges Terrace. The redevelopment of the arcade in 1981 provided a range of levels of pedestrian access that run along the eastern side of the church buildings and provide courtyards and through ways for the public, from which they can admire the architecture and avail themselves of the services the church provides. The redevelopment won the Civic Design Award for 1982–83 for its contribution to the civic amenity of central Perth. The funds received for leasing the site in 1981 permitted restoration of Trinity Hall, the Schoolroom and Trinity Church. Trinity Hall is used as a church hall and school for senior citizens. The Schoolroom is used as the Trinity lunch room. In 1977, the Congregational Church combined with the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Churches to become the

Uniting Church of Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

. Trinity Church, since 1996, has been owned by the Uniting Church.

Built form

Trinity Hall (1865) is constructed out of handmade bricks laid in a

pattern. The building is constructed in a modest rendition of the Victorian Academic style of architecture and is decorated externally with modest tourelles in cement render and has a rendered

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

. It is a simple building with a timber roof. The interior walls are of white render and there are small stained glass windows with simple coloured panes, with a large

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture, Pagan and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with f ...

window facing south. It has

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibro ...

woodwork throughout. The Schoolroom (1872) is to the rear of Trinity Hall and is built of similar brickwork to Trinity Hall with a timber roof. Trinity Church (1893) has probably the most distinctive architecture style amongst the churches in the City of Perth, which are predominantly in the Gothic idiom. Trinity is of

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style. The church follows the fall of the land, with its foundations stepping southwards to St Georges Terrace. The main facade of the church incorporates twin flanking towers capped by octagonal spires roofed in slate, a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

and large entrance portal. The interior is of note for its galleries and their

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

balustrading and stained glass by Ashwin of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Current uses

The church is currently the home of the Trinity worshiping community of the Uniting Church in the city, part of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Heritage value

Trinity Church was entered into the (since defunct)

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

by the

Australian Heritage Commission The Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), was the Australian federal government authority established in 1975 by the ''Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975'' as the first body to manage natural and cultural heritage in Australia until its de ...

on 25 March 1986 and classified by the

National Trust of Western Australia The National Trust of Western Australia, officially the National Trust of Australia (W.A.), is a statutory authority that delivers heritage services, including conservation and interpretation, on behalf of the Western Australian government and co ...

on 5 October 1970. On 6 September 1996 it was placed on the permanent State Heritage Register.