St Matthew's Windsor: An Anglican Landmark Celebrating 200 Years

Celebrations are beginning to mark the second centenary of St. Matthew's Church in New South Wales. The church has become a landmark-religious, social and architectural-in the town of Windsor and far beyond. Handsomely illustrated and fully referenced, this account places the church's fabric within its wider context. Francis Greenway designed St. Matthews as one of the finest and earliest Christian precincts in the country: comprising an 1810 burial ground, an exquisite church constructed in 1817 with a famous organ, 1823-1825 rectory and stables together with a later Parish Center, all within the original setting prescribed by Governor Macquarie. The church's history is full of stories. It is a parade of political tensions, merchant rivalries, family love, ambition, and dedication. Clergy, civil officers, and parishioners clashed from time-to-time, and doctrinal differences could raise a cacophony of voices. Colourful and eccentric rectors, the blue wedding dress of 1839, and suspected ghosts add to the mix. This is a new study of St Matthew's first 200 years, told not just as bricks, sandstone, and cedar, but of its people in the river valley. It recreates the life and aspirations of the Anglican community, which has created and preserved the rare, early church. This book includes 50 photos and 30 maps and diagrams. [Subject: Religious History, Architecture]