spires

I was baptized here 1949. There were two tall palm trees at the front.

I think I was baptised here - well, I don't know how many Methodist churches there were in Brisbane.

The present Albert Street Church building was opened in 1889, but the history of its people goes back to when the first Methodist congregation met in Brisbane in 1847. This church was regarded as the mother of Queensland Methodism and has been the scene of many historic events. Among these were state and national conferences of the Methodist church, and the ordination of its Ministers. The first Methodist church in Brisbane was built by John Petrie, the first Mayor of Brisbane town, and was opened on March 10, 1849, on the corner of Albert Street and Burnett Lane, where the Commonwealth Bank now stands. This was a plain rectangular brick building, quite small, and the congregation soon outgrew it. The second Methodist church was built in 1856 on the same site as the first by a Mr Jeays. Frederick Richard (Dick) Smith in his book, “The Church on the Square: A History of the Albert Street Church”, notes that Mr Jeays was also the builder of Parliament House in George Street. The second church cost £2667 and was 80 feet long, 40 feet wide and could accommodate 500 people seated. It was approximately twice the size of the original. The building style was Gothic Revival with a wooden shingle roof and its stained glass windows were created by a Mr Murray. The original wooden pews from the first church were reused in this building, along with additional pews made specifically for the new building. The opening service was held on 6 December 1856. In 1877, the second church was extensively renovated and additions such as a new schoolroom facing Adelaide Street were built. It was reopened in 1878 with a gallery added to increase the seating capacity and the wooden shingles changed to slate to reduce the fire hazard. Smith notes that a decorative iron railing was used to separate the sanctuary and in front of the new gallery. A pipe organ, made by Mr. James Cole of Manchester, England, was installed and had 17 stops and 622 pipes costing £350. Before long the congregation outgrew the second church building and land was purchased in 1884 on the corner of Albert and Ann Streets from the Masonic Lodge. The second church building and land were sold in 1888 for £25,000 and the organ was relocated to St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Ipswich. A design competition was held for the new church building and was won by the firm of Messrs. Oakden, Addison, and Kemp who had offices in both Melbourne and Brisbane. The chief architect was George Henry Male Addison, a prominent architect of the day. The work on the new church began in 1888 and was completed by late 1889. The church was opened on 8 November 1889 by Lady Norman, the wife of the Governor of Queensland Sir Henry Norman. The dedication sermon was given by Rev JH Fletcher who was the Church’s minister at the time of the second building. While the graceful spire captured the local newspaper reporter’s eye, the size and height of the pulpit were criticized for hiding the choir gallery. The decision to have such a prominent pulpit is thought to reflect the importance given to preaching in the Methodist tradition. Since 1847, the mission to the wider community has always been at the heart of the Albert Street Church and was formalised in 1907 with the creation of the Central Methodist Mission. “The Central Methodist Mission [was] constituted by the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church of Queensland for the purpose of Divine Worship according to the ordinances of the Methodist Church, establishing charitable institutions and engaging in a ministry of social service irrespective of ages, class or creed.” – extract from F.R Smith’s The Church on the Square. Source: www.wmq.org.au/albert-street-uniting-church/our-history

Wouldn't be surprised if some of your best detectives could hazard a guess as to where the church, whose interior you started to describe, is located. I have no idea where the fine building shown, is located.

There are arms on the building. Looks like two stags supporting a quartered shield with a crown and maybe a ship? Maybe a boar? The arms have a coronet, so baron or better.

Shelton Abbey, Arklow! (I looked at Eason photos nearby in the catalogue, and they are all mislabelled, and all near Arklow. Looking in the NIAH for Arklow produced this).

I'm busy today, but you might try here: archiseek.com/buildings/ireland-buildings/demolished/page... A lot of stuff north of the border wound up flattened.

The Arms are of the Earls of Wicklow, and the "boar" is a lion.