Victorian Heritage Register
Bishopscourt is the oldest house in East Melbourne and has been the residence of the Anglican Bishop and later the Archbishop of Melbourne since 1853.
Charles Perry, the first Anglican Bishop of Melbourne landed with Mrs Perry in Melbourne on 23 January 1848,[i] and for the first six weeks after his arrival resided at the Southern Cross Hotel at 165 Bourke Street West. At the end of this period, and until a suitable residence could be provided, the Perrys arranged to rent a cottage on Superintendent La Trobe’s property at Jolimont. Though this accommodation was somewhat limited, the house had the advantage of proximity to the Superintendent’s “cultured and amiable family”.[ii] Here the Perrys settled for five years, alternating their time in Melbourne with trips to the outlying stations and settlements.
Meanwhile, in 1848, the Government in Sydney had appropriated £2,000 for the building of a bishop’s residence and had also granted a two-acre site in a very convenient situation within the boundaries of the city. They were willing to give five acres beyond the boundaries, but the Bishop wisely determined, in his own interest and that of his successors, that an easy walk from parts of Melbourne was an essential condition for a bishop’s home. Perry wrote in reference to his proposed residence:
”It must be recalled also that the office of a bishop requires him to exercise hospitality and besides the direct ministry of the word and example of a holy life, there is scarcely any means more conducive than this to the spiritual well-being of people over whom he is placed. My conviction of the truth of this has made me often regret the smallness of our present cottage, which allows me to see only a very few friends at a time and prevents us accommodating anyone for the night.” [iii]
Progress on the building was slow and it was not until 15 December 1849, that the tenders were called in The Argus by the Architects, Newsom and Blackburn, for the new Bishopscourt. This was to be in the Italianate style with a pillared arched loggia and a square tower. James Blackburn, the architect, a convict like Francis Greenway, was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1833 for forgery. There he was employed immediately in the Colonial Architect’s office, where he was responsible for major public works and buildings on the Island. He received a free pardon in 1841.
In April 1849, he moved to Melbourne where he was employed as the City Surveyor, that is, the official architect to the Melbourne Corporation. He is best remembered as the designer of the Yan Yean system, Melbourne’s first water supply, and as the architect of St. Mark’s Church, Fitzroy. Under the terms of his employment Blackburn did not have the right of private practice, so although he drew the plans, based on those of Rosedale homestead in Van Diemen’s Land, the last house he designed there before moving to Melbourne, the plans of Bishopscourt had to be signed by his son, a partner in Newsom and Blackburn.
The disruption to business and society which followed the extensive bushfires of Black Thursday, 6 February 1851, and the discovery of gold in August 1851, combined to delay the completion of the building. Writing to Perry’s sister, Amelia on 4 October 1852, Mrs Frances Perry detailed the trials and tribulation of building during the gold rush:
“Our cart broke down the first time of using, leaving itself and a load of bricks on the road halfway between this and Pentridge. His Excellency’s cart was borrowed and dispatched to bring home the debris: but alas; it too broke down and was left at the same place. Then a dray was hired to bring the unhappy wrecks back; and what do you think they asked for the job? £5! Mr.-resisted strenuously and they threatened to go to the law about it…: however, after a great deal of trouble, he got them to take 3/., and they went away grumbling’[iv]
Finally, however, the building was finished at a greatly increased cost and towards the end of 1853, the Perrys took possession. The Reverend George Goodman, newly arrived from England, visited the Perrys on 15 December 1853 and described the house as follows:
”It is a small clustered mansion, with an Italian tower over the entrance/ a verandah runs along the front corresponding to the three west windows of the drawing room, a large bay window constituting its southern look-out. The lawn is like certain grounds familiar to myself near Birmingham. At present a large portion is given up as kitchen garden, on which there is growing a plentiful crop of potatoes. The entrance to the grounds is by gateway of the rudest and most primitive nature. There are several gum trees, one of which is of majestic proportions, whilst a very respectable mulberry forms a nucleus of pleasing shrubbery. The house is roomy and comfortable inside, and what is of chief importance in this scorching Christmas weather, is delightfully cool.” [v]
One of the consequences of the overrun of costs was that the walls were not rendered as would have been appropriate to a house in the Italianate style, but were left with the split bluestone exposed.
The grounds were laid out in 1854 by the Diocesan Architect, Charles R Swyer and improved at a later date under the direction of W R Guilfoyle.
When the Perrys finally left for England in February 1874, the new Bishop had not been appointed and it was not until January 1877 that Bishop James Moorhouse arrived to take up residence.
The lease on Toorak House, the temporary Government House, was due to expire in 1874 and the completion of the new Government House had been delayed and was not expected to be available for another two years. Another temporary lease was arranged for Governor Sir George Bowen at Bishopscourt until June 1876. The Acting Governor, Sir William Stawell, was in residence during 1875.
In 1902, a Committee of the Council of the Diocese described Bishopscourt as “old, out of date, and out of repair and … in an insanitary state, which rendered it unfit for occupation” and recommended that it should be abandoned and another property purchased for the new Bishop of Melbourne, Henry Lowther Clarke [vi]. This project, however, did not commend itself to church people generally. Many who had known the house from the time of Bishop Perry and whose memories travelled over the historic and deeply interesting scenes connected with the Church in Victoria felt that the abandonment of Bishopscourt would involve an irreparable loss and one which would sorely grieve many devoted members of the Church. Accordingly, the house was extensively altered and enlarged instead. The old kitchens and out-buildings were demolished and a new red-brick Queen Anne style wing, including the chapel, designed by Walter Butler, was erected by Frederick Nixon, a South Yarra builder, at a cost of £3,187. The Chapel was built with funds raised by Janet Lady Clarke. It was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, and furnished by the gifts of various bishops. Bishop Moorhouse gave the marble steps and sanctuary floor, Bishop Goe, the stained-glass windows in memory of his wife and Archbishop Clarke the wooden furniture. The Clarke family, who had lived in a rented house in Albert Street from the time of their arrival, took possession of the restored Bishopscourt in January 1904.
In 1954 a portion of the northern wing was converted into a self-contained residence for Bishop J D McKie and in 1963 a further small extension was made.
Through 1974-1976, the Diocesan Council debated the future of Bishopscourt as an Episcopal residence. It was finally decided to retain and restore Bishopscourt. This was financed from the proceeds of a National Trust Appeal and an allocation from the diocesan budget and undertaken during 1977-1978 under the direction of architects John and Phyllis Murphy.
In December 2006 Archbishop Philip and Joy Freier moved into the Chaplain’s residence and then in 2007 into a small apartment in the main house that they have made their home. Archbishop and Mrs Freier have set about the rehabilitation and restoration of the interior of the house, starting with the main reception and dining rooms that are used extensively for church and community purposes.
[i] A De Q Robin, Perry, Charles (1807-1891), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974.
[ii] Quoted by James Grant, A Suitable Residence: a brief history of Bishopscourt Melbourne, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, 2010, p.6.
[iii] Charles Perry, quoted in ‘A Letter from the Lord Bishop of Melbourne, to the Honorary Secretary of the Special Committee for that Diocese, dated November 1849’, Church in the Colonies, (Vol.5), No.24, June 1850, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, p.21 Link
[iv] Francis Perry, Australian Sketches: The Journals and Letters of Frances Perry, ed. A. de Q. Robin, Carlton, Vic., Queensberry Hill Press, 1984, p.182.
[v] George Goodman, Church of England Messenger, 1 October 1903.
[vi] The Argus, 20 September 1902, p.12.
