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Freotopia > churches > St John's (current), 1882

Guide

Photos courtesy of Roel Loopers

View from inside the main door, looking towards the east end. Hammerbeam ceiling in jarrah.

Baptismal font to the right of the entrance. Did it come from the first church?

Triptych adjoining the font. Probably St John the Evangelist on the left, Jesus and his mother, and an early vicar on the right, perhaps George King.

This is the 'Pioneer Window'. The left-hand side commemorates the early pioneers, showing Charles Fremantle's ship HMS Challenger, and the colony in 1829 in the bottom panel. The right-hand side represents the commemorates of the founding of St John's, showing the 1843 church that preceded this one, and a font very like the one in the current church. The last frame shows a view of Fremantle from the west, including the river, Willis Point, and the 1866 bridge – and the date 1875. The dedication at the bottom reads: 'To the Glory of God and in memory of the many pioneering families who settled in Fremantle. Presented by the donors, Thelma and David Johnson 1973.'

A window possibly showing two of the apostles. John is associated with a book (the Book of John) so that may be him on the right. If the figure on the left is holding keys, it would be St Peter.

Northern transept, including the lectern (right) donated by the Moore family, the small pipe organ, and, in the NE corner of the transept, a painting of the Annunciation (see below).
Re the organ: 'The organ, which was built by Mr. Cecil Clifton, cost £600 30 years ago, and only last year was rebuilt by the firm of Messrs. J. A. Dodd, of Perth and Adelaide. and fitted with a modern hydraulic blower at a cost of £300.'
Re the lectern: 'A little more than a year ago the family of the late W. D. Moore presented a massive brass "eagle" lectern in memory of their father ...' The Western Mail, Friday 27 May 1914, p. 34.

The rood screen through which may be seen the choir, the east window and altar with reredos. The IHS below the cross (rood) is a Christogram: the Greek letters iota, eta, and sigma are the first three in the title Christos (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ), meaning 'annointed'.

I think this window is in the south transept, tbc.

View from the transept looking back through the nave towards the western door, with the rose window above.

I think this might the window in the north transept: ' ... a few months later [in 1913] the trustees of the late Mr. John Thomas put in a glass window in the north transept.' The Western Mail, Friday 27 May 1914, p. 34.

The painting of the Annunciation in the northern transept: the archangel Gabriel appears before the BVM, traditionally shown in light blue.

A complex photo of the altar with a triptych in the reredos behind (showing Jesus with the twelve apostles in adoration?) and the east window above.
Re the reredos: 'Prior to that [before 1913] a beautiful Caen stone Reredos was erected as a memorial to Archdeacon Watkins at a cost of about £300.'
Re the east window: 'The east window is a magnificent work, the three main lights respectively depicting "The Appearance in the Upper Room," "Stilling the Tempest," and "Christ and the Magdalen," and was erected many years ago in memory of Henry Maxwell Lefroy, 1879; Thomas Brown, 1863; and Daniel Scott, 1865.' The Western Mail, Friday 27 May 1914, p. 34.

View from near the altar within the choir looking back through the rood screen towards the main western door.

Window 'in memory of John H Duffield and Sarah his wife'. The Adoration of the Magi: the three kings/wise men are in the left window, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This was the second JHD (1819-1894) who is remembered, together with his wife Sarah (Glyde).

The first text reads 'They found him in the temple.' I can't read the dedication.

View of the exterior of the western gable.

A final close-up of the altar and reredos. The twelve adoring figures must be the apostles. Angels in gold behind them.

References and Links

Most photos courtesy of Roel Loopers from his freoview blog. Two are courtesy of Duffield descendant Philip Pope.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 24 September, 2014 and hosted at freotopia.org/churches/stjohns3.html (it was last updated on 3 August, 2023). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.