Christ Church, Rouse Hill

Christ Church is a historic church building belonging to Rouse Hill Anglican Church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney located on Windsor Road, Rouse Hill, in the north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Christ Church, Rouse Hill
Rouse Hill Anglican Church with historic Christ Church in the foreground and the new Ministry and Education Centre in the background
Christ Church, Rouse Hill is located in Sydney
Christ Church, Rouse Hill
Christ Church, Rouse Hill
Location in New South Wales
33°41′01″S 150°55′02″E / 33.6836°S 150.9172°E / -33.6836; 150.9172
LocationWindsor Road, Rouse Hill, New South Wales
CountryAustralia
DenominationAnglican

Christ Church was built in 1863 and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Rouse Hill.

History edit

The land for the church, ¾ acre in total, was donated by Robert Fitzgerald to the Bishop of Sydney in 1863.[1]

A summary of the history of Christ Church and its buildings, as recorded by Warren et al. (2006) follows:

  • 1863: Land gifted to the Bishop of Sydney
  • 1863: Christ Church built for the sum of 603 pounds 3 shillings
  • 1863-1869: Christ Church building used as both a church and school
  • 1869: A separate school building was built on the same parcel of land
  • 1875: School changed from a denominational school to a public school
  • 1878: Christ Church consecrated
  • 1888: School closed and pupils transferred to new Rouse Hill Public School
  • 1908: School building demolished and replaced by a hall (still standing)
  • 1963: School master's residence demolished
  • early 1980s: Church closed
  • 1998: Church re-opened as a home for the congregation from St. Stephens, Kellyville
  • 2004: Church closed when a new building for St. Stephens was completed in Kellyville
  • 2006: Development Application lodged with council to redevelop the site
  • 2008: Church re-opened as home to the new Rouse Hill Anglican Church congregation

In recent years, the site has once more become active with construction commencing in 2007 on a new Ministry and Education Centre to be built alongside Christ Church. As part of this project, restoration works were undertaken to Christ Church and the 1908 hall. In March 2008, Rouse Hill Anglican Church moved back to the site from their temporary home at Rouse Hill Anglican College. The Ministry and Education Centre was officially opened on 27 April 2008 by the then Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen. [2]

Current ministry edit

The current rector is the Rev. Graeme Howells.[3] The church has two services each Sunday.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Warren, J.; Wilson, P.; Pullen, N. (2006). Rouse Hill Village: a step back in time. The Hills District Historical Society Inc. ISBN 0-9577602-3-X
  2. ^ Percy, N. (2008). "People know we're here!". SydneyAnglicans.net. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  3. ^ Bradley P. (2011). "Rouse Hill welcomes new minister". Rouse Hill Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2011.

External links edit