Tasmanian Sites
St Patrick’s Church Colebrook: Churchyard and Environs
Landscape Conservation Management Plan:
St Patrick’s Church Colebrook: Churchyard and Environs
Ferndene Studio
St Patrick’s Catholic Church constructed in 1855-7 at Colebrook is a building of national and international architectural significance.
It illustrates the essence of the Gothic style interpreted by English architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, achieved with minimal resources and in a relatively isolated colony.
The church is one of two fully constructed from scale model exemplars supplied to the first Catholic Bishop of Hobart, by Pugin.
While Pugin is well known for promoting a Gothic style it is not widely known that his work included specific requirements for a churchyard, as the setting of the church and as part of preparing for worship: an enclosure of the churchyard, a burial ground with modest grave markers below a free standing churchyard cross, memorial evergreen trees and lych gate.
St Patricks churchyard
A contemporary sketch by the colony architect/draftsman responsible for co-ordinating construction of the church shows fence, gates and significant plantings. 1890s photos of St Patrick’s churchyard show a substantial picket fence with iron gates and internal trees further defining the boundary. In longer views those trees are prominent in the town character. The church and cemetery relationship was consistent with Pugins directions, and a churchyard cross had been erected above modest gravestones.
That developed landscape form would degrade until in 2006-7 there were no trees other than a land rehabilitation shelter belt high on the slope above the church, some geraniums at the west entry and recently planted native plants that presented some fire hazard.
The Landscape Conservation Masterplan (LCMP)
The St Patrick’s LCMP builds upon directions established in an earlier Conservation Management Plan for church. It outlines a strategy to restore the lost landscape setting with staged planting plan, fence and gate details and landscape maintenance notes.
Works were prioritised to assist implementation (the client, the Pugin Foundation, a volunteer conservation group has to use any funding it receives tactically to achieve optimum conservation outcomes.
The LCMP also looks forward, anticipating that interest In Pugins associations with the early Catholic Church and ecclesiastical design in Australia (both academic and simple appreciation of its beauty) will grow, and so provision has been made for future parking, amenities and easier access.
Subsequent to the LCMP
Ferndene Studio has been involved in refining landscape conservation priorities and works to optimise presentation and interpretation of the site within means and preparing material to support protection of the church’s setting and assist to attract funding from local and state governments.
more on this project (PDF)
|
