The three 'lives' of St. Matthew's Anglican Church, "that meeting is of the opinion that immediate steps should be taken to enlarge and complete St. Matthew's church, and having in view the rapid progress of the district, cordially approves of the deviation from the original plans by which it is proposed to add to the exiting nave, a transept and chancel, in place of a chancel only.
Resolution carried unanimously. The building now existing (nave only) was well built, though plain, and he trusted the Church would be completed in the same manner" (Australian Churchman 7 May 1870, p. 245).
A Sydney journalist, travelling in 1872 to the southern parts of New South Wales, described St. Matthew's as
" built of granite and by no means an elegant structure, though many thousands of pounds were expended on it. At the side, however, is a fine brick building, which looks very well, and shows that the members of the Church of England are not quite so apathetic as one would at first be inclined to suppose" (Anonymous 1872).Such sentiments expressed in the widely read and influential Town and Country Journal did little to make the Albury people feel proud of the state of affairs. The Cambridge Camden Society of the 1840s which had advocated "Romanesque or Norman styles [of churches] for primitive societies, like Australia and New Zealand" had created a public opinion which equated Romanesque with 'primitive.' Thus, one of the reasons to drastically alter the Romanesque look of St. Matthew's was the need for 'modernisation'. Upon the laying of the foundation stone for the new Bowral church in 1886, for example, Bishop Barry of Sydney expressed the feelings of the times:
"[Bishop Barry] liked to see churches simple and rude when the houses around them were simple and rude also; but he did not like to see the church building rude when the houses around them showed increasing signs of improvement" (quoted after Kerr 1983:17).
The competition between the denominations of Albury has already been frequently alluded to. Reading between the lines, it would appear that following the construction of the Catholic St. Patrick's at the corner of Olive and Smollet Street, in 1870-1872, the Anglican congregation, decided to build a new church which, naturally, should surpass that of the Catholics. There can be little doubt give the connotations of a `primitive Romanesque' church and the fact that the Catholics just had completed a neo-Gothic church in granite, that the new St. Matthew's had to be both in granite and of neo-Gothic design.
In July 1873 the Parish Board decided on the plan and awarded the contract to William Boles of Sydney. (Border Post 12 July 1873). The foundation stone for the new St. Matthew's Church was laid on 20 March 1874 by T.H.Mate (Andrews 1912, p. 65). The church as far as it was built, was consecrated at a service on 13 January 1876 in the presence of a large congregation (Town and Country Journal 5 February 1876).
The Town and Country Journal's sketch, however, is in itself a copy of a lithograph, which appeared in the Albury Banner and Wodonga Express on 7 August 1875 (Figure 4.2.), and which mentions WT Boles, Architect in the bottom right hand corner. It would appears that the Albury Banner's lithograph has been made from original drawings by Boles.
The tracery of the eastern window, made from locally quarried Table Top sand stone deserves special mention. It was the only example of tracery work carried out by local crafts people and its simplicity, yet dominating design stands out. There were little local skills of this kind in rural Australia, and the tracery was representative of the aspirations of a small community, more so than the stained glass windows it housed.
The following is the fomal statement of significance as drawn up by the authors of the conservation study:
"Statement of significanceStatements of Primary Significance
St. Matthew's Church, Albury (albeit fire damaged) is the earliest remaining church building in Albury.
St. Matthew's Church has been the central focus of the Anglican community's spiritual and social life in the Albury parish since the church's commencement in 1857.
Statements of Secondary Significance
St. Matthew's Church comprises in part, the remains of a rare and fine example of the work of Edmund Blacket, one of Australia's most important 19th Century architects, in the Norman style.
It comprises in part the remains of the most accomplished church building known to have been designed by William Boles, a Sydney architect of note.
The east end of the church by William Boles is a very fine example of the decorated English Gothic style from the late 19th century.
The church and rectory form a significant element in the townscape and group of public buildings in the centre of Albury.
The church before its destruction by fire in 1991 contained very fine examples of 19th century Australian stained glass by Messrs. Lyon, Cottier & Co. of Sydney and Messrs. Ferguson & Urie of Melbourne.
The church before its destruction contained a fine, albeit altered, 19th century pipe organ by Mr. George Fincham of Melbourne.
The church, rectory and site with its various periods of construction and styles, has the ability to demonstrate the change in aspirations and fortunes of the local parish from the earliest period of local settlement to the present day. " (Lucas et al. 1992)
Graded Zones of Significance
"Considering the Statements of Significance, grading of significance of the interior spaces of St. Matthew's Church, Albury has been proposed. (Fig. 4.5). This grading should be used as a guide for future works on the place. The criteria for this grading are: Period of Construction; Architectural quality; Historical association; and Integrity of physical fabric. This grading is hierarchical on a relative scale of 1 to 3 being: 1 = High Significance - present configuration to be conserved, minium adaptation advised. 2 = Medium Significance - conserve if possible with some adaptation allowed. 3 = Low Significance - minimum conservation required, adaptation allowed". (Lucas et al. 1992).
This paper may be quoted as:
