No. 462 - St Barnabas' at Sheffield

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Sheffield is a country town in northern Tasmania approximately 25 kilometres south of Devonport. The area was explored by the surveyor Nathaniel Kentish in 1842 who was trying to find a route from Deloraine through to the north west coast. The area was subsequently opened up to settlement and by 1862 plots of land had been sold and the settlement of Sheffield had been named. According to J R Skemps’ ‘A History of the North West Coast’, in 1861 the first licence for a public house, the Sheffield Inn, was taken out by James Poulett, a native of Sheffield in England, and probably gave the town its name.

Sheffield has been well represented by various religious denominations including Presbyterian; Catholic; Anglican; Baptist; Brethren; Methodist and the Salvation Army. An earlier blog entry investigated the history of Sheffield’s first Anglican church which was built in 189. [see No. 457]. This church, situated on the corner of Main Street and Claude Road, has been sensitively converted into a house which has retained the facade of the church. 


The new church, a very modern and striking structure, is situated on Nightingale Street, hidden in Sheffield’s back streets and is almost enveloped by the Tandara Lodge Community Care complex. Very little is known about the building apart from the fact that it was built in 1977, dedicated in 1978 and consecrated by Bishop Robert Davies in 1981. The church is mostly constructed of Besser blocks and Stramit. While the building may not be to the taste of traditionalists, it makes a bold statement although it is a pity that it is hidden from general view. The church and the adjoining hall is one of the 73 properties to be sold under the Anglican Church’s commitment to the national redress scheme.

This entry will be updated as more information becomes available.

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Photograph: Duncan Grant 2019

Sources:

Henslowe, Dorothea I and Hurburgh, Isa Our heritage of Anglican churches in Tasmania. Mercury-Walch, Moonah, Tas, 1978.

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