All Saints' Anglican Church Second World War Memorial Vestries, Woollahra

The Second World War Memorial Vestries at All Saints' Anglican Church in Woollahra, NSW is a small brick building, with multi-paned windows and a slate roof. It is attached to the south-eastern end of the church. A plaque unveiled at the dedication is located inside the main entrance.

In May 1946, a public meeting was held at the then Woollahra Council Chambers in Ocean Street to 'inaugurate' the building of vestries and a parish hall as a war memorial at the church. However, on 13 September, the church's roof caught fire, requiring it to be completely replaced. The fire also damaged windows, the organ and some of the furnishing, all leading to extensive and expensive repairs. Fundraising and work on the war memorial was therefore delayed, until this more pressing work was completed.

Work on the vestries eventually began in 1952. The building was designed by Mr Bertrand James Waterhouse (1876–1965), a well-known Sydney architect. In the mid-1920s, his domestic architecture drew on the Arts and Crafts movement, with his later style showing a strong Mediterranean influence.

The building was completed in 1953, at a cost of £3,500. It was dedicated as a war memorial by The Most Reverend H.W.K. Mowll, D.D., Archbishop of Sydney, on 15 March 1953. A new Parish Hall was eventually built in 1985, but not dedicated as a war memorial.

Services are held regularly at the church. Access to the memorial vestries is restricted/timed.

Sources:

Michael Waterhouse, 'Waterhouse, Bertrand James (1876–1965)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.

Geoffrey Hemphill (1876–1976), All Saints' Anglican Church, Woollahra, 1976.