St Bartholomew's Church
Prepared by the Combined Historical Societies of Blacktown.
The Early Days..
It was from the top of Prospect Hill that Captain Watkin Tench first saw the Blue Mountains in 1789.
In 1791 Governor Phillip settled 12 families on small farms around the base of the Hill. These and later settlers were part of the Parish of St John's Church at Parramatta.
During the 1830s attempts were made to have an Anglican Church built at Prospect to serve the areas of Seven Hills and Prospect.
In 1838 William Lawson, resident at Veteran Hall Prospect, called for tenders to build the church. Prominent and local people had subscribed £376/3/- (approx. $750).
The Sydney Morning Herald of Saturday April 17 1841 reported that "On Wednesday last the Bishop of Australia laid the foundation of a Parochial Church at Prospect."
The Rev H H Bobart was appointed and performed the first services. The first baptism was of Margaret Goodin on May 2. 1841, the first marriage was of Thomas Moreing to Sarah McDonald on November 23 1841 and the first burial was of Ann Goodin, aged 15, on July 18 1841.
The church operated until the end of 1967 when it was closed due to increasing vandalism.
On Saturday November 4 1989 a fire gutted the church, destroying the roof and many of the interior fittings, including the organ and furniture.
The Interior...
The church is a plain spacious building comprising a nave chancel and vestry. The tower at the western end had a bell, which was rung from inside the porch. The font, a large shallow bowl on a stone column and base, stood on a slightly raised platform at the back of the church on the left. Six very large kerosene lamps were suspended from the ceiling and there were small wall lamps on the eastern end. A number of marble memorial tablets were on the walls. High box pews provided the seating on the north and south sides, with low backed pews with kneelers in the centre. A hand pumped pipe organ stood at the right hand side. The large windows were of clear glass bordered all around by coloured glass about 13 cm wide.
During 1881-1889 renovations were made and the wooden ceiling was replaced by a metal one, in memory of Robert Crawford. Other memorial gifts included a reading desk, pulpit, new communion rail and handsome font cover.
The Graveyard...
Many early settlers are buried in the graveyard. Among them are William Lawson, one of the first European settlers to cross the Blue Mountains and Thomas Willmot, the first Shire President of Blacktown.
Ghost tours are conducted by "The Guides of St. Bartholomew's" contact Council on 98396000.
Restoration...
In August 1972, the then Blacktown Municipal Council leased part of the St Bartholomew's Church property for 50 years from the Church of England. A committee to manage the project was formed, the St Bartholomew's, Prospect Preservation Committee. The aim of this Committee was to "preserve, restore and use the historic property for the benefit of present and future Australians". The Committee held working bees at the church on a regular basis, and raised funds by holding Carols by Candlelight events and Old Ironbark's Day, commemorating the birth of explorer William Lawson. Currently, "Back to Prospect" days are held on an annual basis.
One of the founding committee members was Robert Brown, who served as President of the Committee and the subsequent Prospect Trust for many years. Robert worked tirelessly for the preservation of the church until his death in 1993. His work was commemorated by the unveiling of a plaque in the church on its restoration in 2001.
From the St Bartholomew's Preservation Committee grew the Prospect Trust. Blacktown Council began amassing grant funds to use in the restoration of the Church, and work commenced in early 2000, with an historic building restorer, Stan Hellyer doing the work supervised by conservation architects Graham Edds & Associates. Funding came from various grants, including $500,000 from Federation Cultural and Heritage Projects program. Council acquired the property from the Anglican Church in late 2000.
Centenary of Federation 2001
A ceremony was held on January 21, 2001 to acknowledge the completion of the restoration work and to launch Blacktown City Council's Centenary of Federation. Over 200 enthusiastic people filled the building to standing room for the occasion.
Council considers the building to form a part of its "Gateway to the City", and has advertised for community expressions of interest for the use and development of the Church and surrounds.
Your Guide To...
This is the first in a series of leaflets to be published about the historical treasures in the City of Blacktown by the Combined Historical Societies in partnership with Blacktown City Council.