Hymns and heritage

St Peter’s Anglican Church in East Maitland needs to be included on the State Heritage Register, rector Michael Davies said.

The Heritage Council of NSW is considering the church, church hall, rectory and Glebe Cemetery for the list and Mr Davies hopes they will be added.

He said there was a significant cost involved to maintain the church, which needed its upper roof replaced and new guttering along with other alterations.

“Even though it is principally a church and place of worship it does hold an important place in Maitland’s history, and now it is used for concerts and sacred and secular choirs,” he said. “I hope it will be included on the list so we can secure ongoing funding to help with the cost of maintenance.

“The sandstone absorbs all the moisture and because it was cut into the hill it causes a lot of problems.”

Heritage Minister and Maitland MP Robyn Parker encouraged residents to register their comments about the church with the Heritage Council of NSW.

“The Anglican Church of St Peter is one of the finest examples in NSW of a sandstone church in the Victorian Academic Gothic style, as interpreted by one of the leading architectural practices of the time, Cyril and Arthur Blacket, sons of Edmund Blacket,” Ms Parker said.

“The site has been continuously occupied for ecclesiastical purposes from 1836 onward, although services in the nearby schoolhouse were held even earlier.”

The Heritage Council will consider the comments before making a recommendation to Ms Parker.

The church hall, a former denominational school building, is one of the earliest, substantially intact, large brick school buildings still standing in the state.

The rectory has been modified since it was built but a lot of the original building remains as an 1860s country parsonage.

The Glebe Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in the Hunter Valley and was prepared in 1829.

Visit www.heritage.nsw.gov.au to view the nomination and submit your comments before July 18.