Fortitude Valley Methodist Church, Methodist church in Fortitude Valley, Australia.
Fortitude Valley Methodist Church is a Gothic-influenced red-brick and cement-render former church at 116–120 Brookes Street, built in 1887–88 to a design by George Simkin. It stands at right angles to the 1871 hall, a simpler buttressed brick building with a steeply pitched corrugated iron roof and triangular-headed lancet windows. The 1888 church is the more ornamented of the two.
The first church on this site, designed by James Cowlishaw and built by Thomas Reading in 1870–71, seated 400 and cost about £1,050. A larger church by George Simkin and Blair Cunningham opened in 1889 and became the leading Wesleyan church in Brisbane. The final service was held on 27 February 1977; the buildings later became the Epworth Centre, then Gregory Place and Gregory Hall.
The church shows how Methodist believers gathered for worship in the 19th century, worshiping in a building they constructed themselves with brick and craftsmanship. The architecture and room layout reveal the values and spiritual practices of this community.
The site is located in Brisbane and is easily visible from the street with distinctive Gothic details. Since the building no longer functions as a church, you can view it from outside, though interior access may be limited depending on current use.
The stained glass windows were imported from Munich, while the organ was begun in Brisbane by Edward Wauldron in 1887 and completed by Thomas Christmas in 1889. The organ has since been removed, so visitors today see the Munich glass but not the instrument.
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