Wentworth Memorial Church

The construction of a Church of England on this site was the intention of the immediate family of William Charles Wentworth (c. 1790 - 1872), whose trustees gave the land to the Church of England Diocese of Sydney Property Trust for that purpose in 1927.^[1] The parcel of land was shaped by suburban subdivision from 1904 and 1907. It was part of the Vaucluse Estate purchased by W. C. Wentworth in 1827, and as early as 1831 was planned to be eventually consecrated for the Wentworth Family Vault. The large boulder then visible from the verandah of Vaucluse House was the picturesque site designated by Wentworth himself. The Mausoleum and Vault were built for the interment of the remains of W. C. Wentworth on 6 May 1873, also the day of the consecration.^[1]

At the transfer of land to the Property Trust it was a condition that a church, hall and rectory were to be erected by 1937. The Church Hall was built in 1933, the foundation stone laid by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Philip Game, on 7 April, and was used for church services. The congregation was a branch of St Peter's Watsons Bay, but was called Wentworth Memorial.^[1]

Under the incumbency of Rev. Neville Cyril Bathgate the architect Donald Gazzard (b. 1929) of Clarke Gazzard and Partners was commissioned to design the new church to house a congregation of 350 (this being the minimum diocesan standard size of the time). Don Gazzard was the design architect for this project. Gazzard trained as an Engineer and architect in England and upon returning to Australia worked for a number of years with Harry Seidler. In the early 1960s he became part of the firm Clarke, Gazzard and Partners and was a leading member of the Paddington Society and contributed to the conservation of the suburb in the 1970s. He became well known in the area of architecture and town planning and worked on the Trans Australia Airlines Terminal at Sydney Airport, the Mona Vale community centre and Goodwin Village at Edgecliff and his own home in Woollahra. The Wentworth Memorial Church was critically acclaimed in many publications when it was completed and was included in Neville Quarry's 1990 publication "World Architecture 1900 - 2000: a critical mosaic."^[2] Through all his architectural and planning works Gazzard was widely recognised as an important Australian architect.^[1]

The foundation stone to the Church is inscribed "To the glory of God, this stone was set by the Most Reverend Hugh Roland Gough MA, DD, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Primate on 27 February 1965, Churchwardens C. J. Sisley, G. H. Green, P. W. Grieve, Rector the Reverend N. C. Bathgate."^[1]

The building its forecourt and stepped approach were constructed by the builder Montieth Constructions at a reported cost of A£35,000. Designed for it at the same time were its furniture and liturgical furniture, fittings and plate; a wall hanging, organ case, and memorial plaques. Many of these were gifted to the church by families associated with the parish, the Rector and the Wentworth family. At the same time as they gave the sanctuary furniture the Wentworth family commissioned Donald Gazzard to repair the mausoleum. Donald Gazzard added the copper hood above the door to the mausoleum and is thought to have designed the path that connects it to the Church and Fitzwilliam Street, however, this is yet to be confirmed.^[1]

The church was built as a memorial to the servicemen and women who served during the World War II. A copper plaque in the floor with black lettering proclaims "We remember with pride and gratitude those who in the 1939 - 1945 War put service to their country before life itself." It was dedicated for use by the Archbishop of Sydney on 19 September 1965, and consecrated on 2 July 1972, once it was free of debt.^[1]

The Wentworth Memorial Church was widely published at the time of its completion and is included in architectural histories of Australian Architecture as one of the most significant non domestic works of the Sydney School.^[1]

Don Gazard described the Wentworth Memorial Church at Vaucluse as "my most important building from the Sixties."^[1][3]

"During my six years working overseas I had become increasingly interested in the unerring way vernacular buildings respond so directly to local climate and materials, and much was made at the time of the whitewashed "Greek Island" look of this church. I had also seen the radical Le Corbusier Church at Ronchamp, and although neither of these was a conscious influence they must have played some part, like all the other things I had seen; I prefer to leave the influences game to others.

"...[the] Church committee wanted to demolish the hall" [fronting Fitzwilliam Road and build the church there, but I persuaded them to] "build on the great acropolis like rock outcrop in the middle of the site instead. You can imagine the arguments about how difficult it would be for weddings and funerals. But the idea of leaving your car and walking up past those great sandstone rocks, seeing and not seeing the church, to progress across a forecourt with the axis shifting as one enters the church and, then to find natural light flooding down over the sanctuary from a concealed skylight was more attractive.

"The construction is very simple with white painted brickwork, timber floors and ceiling, and specially designed pews from Tasmanian Blackwood. The brief for the church was simple: a church of contemporary design to seat 350 people, which conformed to the liturgy and form of worship of the Church of England. The size was optimistic of course; the hoped for religious revival has still to happen and although the church is full at Christmas and Easter the congregation normally numbers less than a hundred people. I was concerned to incorporate the ideas of the New Liturgical Movement (then current in the design of post-war European churches) and bring the congregation close to the sanctuary in a way that would increase the feeling of direct participation and lessen the feeling of remoteness felt in older churches. These ideas influenced the shape of the church in both the broad width of the nave and the desire for a high level of daylight."

The land containing the adjacent Wentworth Mausoleum is now leased to and maintained by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and presented as part of Vaucluse House Estate.^[1] The Woollahra Municipal Council nominated the church site for potential NSW State Heritage Register listing, after Council rejected plans by the Anglican Church to subdivide the church and its hall. The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales approved this subdivision in 2010.^[4][1] A previous nomination for NSW State Heritage Register listing was not acted upon by then Minister for Heritage, Frank Sartor MP in 2008.^[1]

Last used for communion in 2006, the Anglican Church sold the buildings and 2,000-square-metre (22,000 sq ft) grounds in mid-2017 for A$5.6 million to a funeral operator. In November 2017 it was reported that the former church was again listed for sale.^[5][6][7][8]

The church building was again put up for sale in September 2021.

The Wentworth Memorial Church with its soaring white walls and walled courtyard caps the top of a rocky hill on part of the former Wentworth Estate at Vaucluse in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The site of the citadel like church is bounded by Fitzwilliam and Chapel Roads. Below the church to the south (Chapel Road) is located the c. 1873 Wentworth Mausoleum, to its north (Fitzwilliam Road) the c. 1933 former Church Hall.^[1]

The c. 1965 church designed by Donald Gazzard is an acknowledged and significant example of the regional architecture that evolved in New South Wales in the 1960s and is known as the Sydney School.^[1]

The once highly visible church building is now largely obscured by Indigenous and exotic vegetation. The church is approached by a broad track that sweeps up from Fitzwilliam Road around the base of the massive sandstone boulders upon which the church sits. The design of the church accommodated the retention of the outcrop and associated Port Jackson Figs. The path narrows near the top forming deep brick edged concrete steps and then finally brick steps up to a modern interpretation of a roofed lych gateway to the white walled forecourt of the church. Jennifer Tayler equates the journey to the church as one of "revelation" with the turning path providing "various viewpoints of the building", however most of these views have been reduced to mere glimpses due to encroaching vegetation.^[1]

Taylor describes the church as combining in "a quite magical manner" the "clear forms and high natural lighting" characteristic of the Sydney School with "a Greek sense of the three dimensional form and sequential progression."^[1]

The church is characterised by brick walls in a stretcher bond which are rendered externally (white) and painted internally (white). The roof has an unconventional shape, sloping steeply from a clerestory above the altar towards the rear of the church where the entrance is located. Externally the roof is formed of copper sheeting and internally of timber panelling. The entrance verandah is both physically and visually an extension of the main roof form, the lowest point of which comes to rest on a white angled column. Here the roof ends with an elegant copper storm water feature like a cubist gargoyle delivering roof water to a circular drain edged by brick pavers and filled with large smooth river stones.^[1]

External Inspection reveals: painted timber framed windows to clerestory, painted timber framed entrance doors and windows. Small casement windows to northern and southern sides, continuous concrete lintels (left natural). A small brick belltower triangular in shape, is an extension to front wall. A cross fabricated in mild steel stands above the bell tower. A marble plaque at the base of the bell tower commemorates the laying of the foundation stone in 1965 by the Archbishop of Sydney. There is a brick paved terrace to the front, with four brick steps leading to the entrance of the Church.^[1]

Internal inspection reveals: brick piers to internal white painted brick walls; continuous concrete lintels (left natural); high timber panelled ceilings; brick paving to entrance, timber floor boards, and brick paved altar . Reinforced concrete elements are cantilevered from the walls at the rear of the church and on the altar to form shelves for objects of service and bench style seating. The raw formed shelves are simple and modest, while the bench like seats are covered in a shaped natural timber the lip of which curves over the edge on the concrete. The materials are honest and obvious, with the juxtaposition of the formed concrete and shaped timber comparable to the concrete base of the church and the sandstone boulders upon which it sits.^[1]

• Shaped timber pews organic in form affixed with commemorative plaques contemporaneous with the church.
• An elegant altar table in natural timbers and a second comparable table contemporaneous with the church.
• A timber chair of more traditional design (provenance and date unknown)
• Metalware (silver Offertory Plate, silver Crucifix and silver support for the Bible) designed by Helge Larsen (b.1929) and Darani Lewers (b.1936).
• A large wall hanging behind and above the altar table by Mona Hessing (b.1933 – d.2001).^[1]

The Royal Australian Institute of Architects advise that the building is generally in good order although in need of general maintenance as is the brickwork in the courtyard and paintwork and surfaces of the building. The architect Donald Gazzard has been critical of alterations to the skylight. It was also noted that introduced species are flourishing in the grounds of the church which are also in need of maintenance and attention.^[1]

The church demonstrates a very high degree of integrity in respect of its fabric, fittings and movable heritage.^[1]

The building is in near original condition. The seat on the stepped ramp shown on Gazzard's drawing does not exist. The major skylight above the chancel appears to have been altered. Two new toilets on the southern side have been constructed.^[1]