A remarkable eclectic structure of unfinished design, the building is a successful combination of Georgian “gothik” (naive adaption), Byzantine and Gothic Revival, and an art nouveau adaptation of late Gothic Revival design styles.
A large cruciform design parish church of brick, sandstone and concrete,it was built in three main stages. The oldest section (1825) by David Lambe is a naive adaption of Georgian “gothick”. The later structure (1901-11 and 1938) chancel transepts and crossing, is a unique mixture of Byzantine and Gothic elements. The nave (1938) is neo-Gothic with art nouveau decoration.
The foundations of St. John’s Launceston as a parish date from the arrival of the Revd. John Youl in 1819, in Port Dalrymple. Divine Service (as Sunday services were called) were held under the trees or in a blacksmith’s shop; when wet. Youl called his congregation together by striking an iron barrel with a mallet, walking through the settlement in his “canonical dress”. When it first opened its doors in 1825, the parish church existed under the Diocese of Madras, Calcutta in India.
Location: St John’s Anglican Church, St John Street, Launceston
Place Categories: Activities, Attractions and Historic Churches.
