St Matthew's Church, Guildford, to have permanent heritage listing

5/11/95

The State Government has moved to permanently protect two heritage sites in Guildford.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said St Matthew's Church and the township's old courthouse and gaol had been permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places.

Mr Lewis said the listings followed a recommendation from the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

"St Matthew's is an important and highly valued local landmark, while the courthouse and gaol buildings are a crucial part of the historic civic precinct," he said.

"The sites will now have the permanent protection of the State's heritage laws and will be preserved for future generations."

Constructed in 1873 in Stirling Square at a cost of £1,200, St Matthew's was the third Anglican church built in the Guildford area and replaced a church destroyed by a cyclone in 1872.

Mr Lewis said the prompt rebuilding of the church, designed by local resident Frederick Sherwood, demonstrated the town's prosperity and importance within the colony in the 1870s.

At the turn of the century, church records show a protracted argument over the site of a proposed parish hall, which was eventually built adjacent to the church in 1906 for £965.

St Matthew's is an orange brick building, with tall lancet windows and a high-pitched tiled roof with brick gables in the Victorian Academic Gothic style of architecture.

The Minister said the church retained a high degree of authenticity and continued to play an integral role in the Guildford community.

The single-storey brick and iron gaol was built in 1841 and additions were made in 1866, when the adjacent courthouse was constructed.

Mr Lewis said the need for a larger gaol resulted from a high level of drunken behaviour from the three hotels in Guildford.

"By October 1840 the Colonial Superintendent of Works, Henry Trigg, had prepared a plan and specifications for a two-cell gaol with a constable's room with a loft above," he said.

"The remainder of the present building, an additional room and four cells, was built in 1866 and flanks both sides of the original building.

"These were designed by Richard Roach Jewell, the Colonial Clerk of Works who was responsible for the design of all Government buildings at the time."

The gaol was used until the 1960s, when the adjacent courthouse was closed.

The Minister said the courthouse was built as part of a public works campaign instituted by Governor Hampton after it was confirmed that transportation of convicts would stop in 1868.

"The two buildings are closely linked to the development of policing in the Guildford area," Mr Lewis said.

"The gaol and courthouse also exhibit an aesthetic style and colour that blends with other significant historic buildings in Meadow Street."

Media contact:  Bronwyn Hillman 221 1377 or 222 9595