Historical information

Anglican (Church of England) services began in Bacchus Marsh as early as the 1840s. In 1855 an imported iron building from England became the first permanent Anglican Church building in Bacchus Marsh. It stood close to the location of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church erected in 1877 which still stands in 2025. It was in use between 1855 and 1877. These type of iron structures were cheaper to erect and could be dismantled and moved to other locations when necessary. The Iron Church was brick-lined and could hold between 150 and 200 people. The Church was opened on 4 July 1855 by Hussey Burgh Macartney, Dean of Melbourne. It was later consecrated by Bishop Perry on 28 July, 1861. The cost of construction was around 1,000 pounds. In 1877 the Holy Trinity Church was erected. The Iron Church was dismantled and sold to to two local businessmen, George Marshall and James Reid. It was re-erected in July 1877 without its brick lining or steeple and is presumed to have been used as a shed at a location in Graham Street known as 'Webster's Brothers Yard', (14 Graham Street). Over time the structure deteriorated to the point that it could no longer be used. Remnants of the Iron Church could be seen for many years. In 1995 the remnants were described by Peterson and Catrice in the Heritage Study of Bacchus Marsh Shire in the this way, 'on the rear boundary, now used as an outbuilding, is the surviving fabric of the former "Iron Church". This has a gabled roof and had four pointed windows at sides. It is all clad in corrugated iron. Access was not possible, but a 1977 photograph shows Gothic tracery in a window'.

Significance

This is a rare image of a prefabricated building in mid-nineteenth century Victoria. Prefabricated buildings were widely used in the early Colonial period of Victoria as a cheaper building option for new and developing communities. Most of these buildings did not survive in the long term and photographic evidence of these type of structures is an important record of an aspect of Victoria's architectural history.

Physical description

Small black and white 'carte de viste' style photograph mounted on card. The image depicts the first permanent Anglican Church building in Bacchus Marsh, the Trinity Church, also known as the Iron Church. The date of the image is thought to be about 1867.