This week, with Christmas rapidly approaching, Roy decided it was time to once again visit one of the amazing and historic Churches to be found dotted around the Sydney Basin, and NSW in general. Almost every town has, or once had a Church, or even more than one, and many of these buildings have a remarkable history. One which Roy had been meaning to visit, and thought was particularly beautiful and interesting, was St Matthews Anglican Church, in Windsor.
If you would like to visit St Matthew’s Anglican Church, it is located in Windsor, between Sydney and the Blue Mountains. The Church itself is to be found at number 1, Moses Street in Windsor, and the Churchyard (which contains a stunning number of historic graves) is also bounded by Greenway Crescent. There is plenty to see and discover in Windsor itself, or if you are simply breaking your journey, opposite the Church is McQuade Park, where there is plenty of space for a picnic, to kick a ball, or run off some excess energy!
Windsor was the third place to be settled after European colonisation, with settlement first beginning in 1791. There was little assistance from the Government at this time in building public buildings, and before St Matthews was established, another three buildings were used to hold Church services. It wasn’t until 1810, when Governor Macquarie proclaimed the establishment of the settlement he called Windsor that the Government became involved. Macquarie ordered that the ‘outward signs’ of settlement must be established, and these included a school, a gaol, an inn, and of course, a Church. He selected the site on which St Matthew’s was to be built, while colonial architect Francis Greenway provided the design for the building.
Greenways first design, which was built by Henry Kitchen, was plagued with problems. In 1817, when construction first began, Macquarie deposited a Spanish Dollar under the cornerstone of the building, but later the same night, the coin was stolen. He deposited another coin the next day, which was again stolen! Work commenced, but it was so slow that Macquarie sent Greenway to find out exactly what was going on. Greenway reported that the work, and even the bricks themselves, were inferior and what had been done was razed to the ground. Greenway designed a whole new building for the Church, and oversaw the building process, directing the stonemasons and construction team. With Greenway directing work the Church was completed quickly and with great skill, with the building sufficiently completed that Church services were able to be held there as early as September 1821. The next year, the Church was consecrated by the Reverend Samuel Marsden, who was then the Colony’s Principal Chaplain.