Wesleyan Church, 147 Woodhouse Grove, Box Hill (1856)

147 Woodhouse Grove, BOX HILL VIC 3129 GoogleMaps 2022


147 Woodhouse Grove, BOX HILL VIC 3129 GoogleMaps 2022

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/X3fdQHbez7mTxTDFA


Location:  147 Woodhouse Grove, BOX HILL VIC 3129 - Property No B1361;  File Number: B1361;  Level: Local

Statement of Significance

A small rectangular colonial Georgian chapel of local Koonung Creek stone dating from 1856 and displaying a very early use of cream brick in the quoins and voussoirs. The porch, and possibly the parapet, appear to be of later date. The building is significant locally for its association with many of Box Hill's early settlers and the history of the town.

  https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/3291


Original classification: 23/11/1961;  Reclassified: 22/11/1973;  Upgraded classification: 11/12/1986;  Revised Classified: Local: 03/08/1998;  Group: Religion;  Category: Chapel

The history of the former Wesleyan Chapel

This building was built by Mr. Joseph Aspinall one of the early settlers in the Box Hill area. He was also a councillor for Box Hill, an orchardist, member of the first Nunawading District Road Board and foundation member of the Box Hill Cemetery Trust. On January 15, 1884, he was appointed shire secretary until October 11, 1887. He was a Methodist who made his home at the north end of Aspinall Road available for the first services in the district.

Aspinall acquired 49 acres from Jon Dane, grantee for Crown Allotment 12, in the Woodhouse Grove area in 1851. There was no grant of crown land, and not even a very good prospect of starting a school, but Joseph was a staunch Methodist. Woodhouse Grove had taken its name from a Methodist college in Yorkshire. He set aside half an acre of his land and persuaded his friend Ben Lawford who bought his property from Aspinall’s original purchase to act as Secretary of the building committee.

Construction of the chapel commenced in 1855 using locally quarried Koonung Creek sandstone (Aspinall had previously worked a quarry on the Collingwood Flat).

Woodhouse Grove was opened by the Rev. Daniel Draper on Good Friday 1856, and its anniversaries are dated from then; but the Argus, which rarely mentioned Nunawading at all, reported on 2 January 1857 that the foundation stone had been laid by Mrs. Draper on Friday 26 December 1856 before a crowd of about 150 including some who were journeyed out from Collingwood and Boroondara.

Statement of Significance - Last updated on - September 11, 2002

What is significant?

The former Woodhouse Grove Wesleyan Chapel was constructed in 1855-56. It was one of the first church buildings to be built in the Box Hill area, and the oldest surviving church building in the municipality. It has been in continuous use as a church since its construction and is now known as The Grove Uniting Church. The Woodhouse Grove Chapel is a small rectangular building of coursed freestone with stone quoining at the corners. It has round-arched timber framed windows with cream brick surrounds and keystones. It is a simple single roomed building with a porch to the Woodhouse Grove elevation.

How is it significant?

The Woodhouse Grove Chapel is of historical, aesthetic and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?

The Woodhouse Grove Chapel is of historical importance as an early intact building within the broader context of Victoria and in particular in the Whitehorse area. The Woodhouse Grove Chapel is important as it demonstrates the early establishment of individual towns around Melbourne that later became part of and were enveloped by greater Melbourne. The chapel is a remnant of the original small, once rural towns that grew up around Melbourne in the nineteenth century.

The Woodhouse Grove Chapel is of architectural and aesthetic significance as an unusual example of a Georgian detailed Wesleyan chapel. The chapel demonstrates an early use of cream brick and a rare use of the local Koonung Creek stone. The chapel is important as a substantially intact 1850s building which has undergone little alteration on the exterior or interior.

Source: Victorian Heritage Database Report.  


A plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of Box Hill, Councillor Ray Hill marking the recognition of the chapel building by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) at a thanksgiving service held at the church on Sunday 17th November 1974.

The City of Whitehorse Heritage Review completed by Allom Lovell & Associates in 1999 identified the chapel as being of State significance and recommended it for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register. Source:Victorian Heritage Database Report

The building is on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number - H2010 and is protected by a Whitehorse Council Heritage Overlay - HO99.Source: Victorian Heritage Database Report.

Has the developer submitted plans on how this building will be incorporated into their proposed development and used? Will the developer maintain the building in its original condition? Will the building be altered in any way? Has Heritage Victoria been consulted in regards to how the building is to be restored and maintained? Has the National Trust been consulted in regards to how the building is to be restored and maintained?

The development of eight double storey dwellings will overwhelm and destroy the context of this building.

Source: PlanningAlerts


147 Woodhouse Grove, BOX HILL NORTH VIC 3129

CT-8053/314, CT-10490/119 Elgar

Approved - Private Building Surveyor 8/11/2022

Application ClassBuilding Permits - WhitehorseApplication TypePrivate Building Surveyor PermitsApplication DescriptionDemolition of Existing DwellingApplication Number2059/2022 Location 147 Woodhouse Grove, BOX HILL NORTH VIC 3129 Status PBS Permit IssuedCurrent DecisionApproved - Private Building SurveyorApplication Date28/10/2022 Lodgement Date28/10/2022T o be Commenced By Date 8/11/2023 Expiry Date 8/11/2023

https://eservices.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/ePathway/Production/Web/GeneralEnquiry/EnquiryDetailView.aspx?Id=1271392


147 Woodhouse Grove, Box Hill North VIC 3129

For personal contact with Pastor Phillip Kantharidis:
phillip@greekfreechurch.org

For all general queries, feel free to get in touch at:
contact@greekfreechurch.org

Source: https://www.greekfreechurch.org/locations/melbourne-box-hill/ Nov2022


https://www.greekfreechurch.org/about/. Nov2022


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Evangelical_Churches Nov2022

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