No. 1276 - Rosevale - All Saints' Mission Church (c.1904-1924)
This ‘blog entry’ is one of a series of articles about places of worship that are barely represented in the historical record. Usually no images of these buildings have survived. My hope is that these brief articles may result in further information and photographs coming to light enabling a more complete history to be preserved.
Rosevale is a rural settlement about 25km west of Launceston. Rosevale was previously known as Bridgenorth but was renamed in honour of local landholder, James Rose. The establishment of the 'Bridgenorth State school' some three or four miles away gave rise to some confusion prompting the adoption of the name Rosevale. James Rose arrived in Tasmania in 1854 to work for Robert Quayle Kermode of Mona Vale. He later left his service and purchased 200 acres of land at ‘Bridgenorth’. Rosevale has had four churches, a Congregational church [1870]; a Gospel Hall [1876] and All Saints’ Mission Church [1906] which was replaced by All Saints’ Anglican Church [1924].
The first mention of an Anglican church at Rosevale dates to April 1903 and relates to a fundraising concert held at Montacute Hall at Hagley “in aid of the Rosevale English Church”. In the following year Launceston’s Daily Telegraph reported that a “Sunday-school in connection with the English church is to open…”. In March 1905 the newspaper reported that:
“Thursday was a red letter day with the children attending All Saint Sunday-school, the occasion being their first annual picnic, which was held at Oakleigh Farm, by kind permission of Mr W. Drake, sen[ior]”.
While no reports can be found about the construction of a church or Sunday school hall it was likely a simple building resembling a hall. It was likely built in 1904 coinciding with the the establishment of the Sunday school. In March 1906 “All Saints’ Mission Church was dedicated. The Daily Telegraph reported:
“The Bishop of Tasmania (Dr. Mercer) visited here [Rosevale] last Wednesday afternoon, when he dedicated the church, and administered the holy rite of confirmation to six young candidates. The service was very impressive, as well as instructive, and the Bishop expressed himself pleased with the candidates…”.
In January 1922 the Launceston Examiner reported that a new Anglican church was to be built at Rosevale:
“The wardens of All Saints’ Anglican Church held a meeting recently to consider the advisability of erecting a new church, the present building being too small and out of repair. It was thought that it would be better to build a new church than expend money on repairs”.
A little over two years later, in May 1924, the new “All Saints” was opened and dedicated. The old church was sold for an amount of £27. The fact that the old building was sold after the completion of the new building suggests that the original church may have stood on a different site. While I have no evidence for this, it is possible that it might have stood on ‘Church Lane’, which is about 300 metres south of the new church.
Rosevale is a rural settlement about 25km west of Launceston. Rosevale was previously known as Bridgenorth but was renamed in honour of local landholder, James Rose. The establishment of the 'Bridgenorth State school' some three or four miles away gave rise to some confusion prompting the adoption of the name Rosevale. James Rose arrived in Tasmania in 1854 to work for Robert Quayle Kermode of Mona Vale. He later left his service and purchased 200 acres of land at ‘Bridgenorth’. Rosevale has had four churches, a Congregational church [1870]; a Gospel Hall [1876] and All Saints’ Mission Church [1906] which was replaced by All Saints’ Anglican Church [1924].
The first mention of an Anglican church at Rosevale dates to April 1903 and relates to a fundraising concert held at Montacute Hall at Hagley “in aid of the Rosevale English Church”. In the following year Launceston’s Daily Telegraph reported that a “Sunday-school in connection with the English church is to open…”. In March 1905 the newspaper reported that:
“Thursday was a red letter day with the children attending All Saint Sunday-school, the occasion being their first annual picnic, which was held at Oakleigh Farm, by kind permission of Mr W. Drake, sen[ior]”.
While no reports can be found about the construction of a church or Sunday school hall it was likely a simple building resembling a hall. It was likely built in 1904 coinciding with the the establishment of the Sunday school. In March 1906 “All Saints’ Mission Church was dedicated. The Daily Telegraph reported:
“The Bishop of Tasmania (Dr. Mercer) visited here [Rosevale] last Wednesday afternoon, when he dedicated the church, and administered the holy rite of confirmation to six young candidates. The service was very impressive, as well as instructive, and the Bishop expressed himself pleased with the candidates…”.
In January 1922 the Launceston Examiner reported that a new Anglican church was to be built at Rosevale:
“The wardens of All Saints’ Anglican Church held a meeting recently to consider the advisability of erecting a new church, the present building being too small and out of repair. It was thought that it would be better to build a new church than expend money on repairs”.
A little over two years later, in May 1924, the new “All Saints” was opened and dedicated. The old church was sold for an amount of £27. The fact that the old building was sold after the completion of the new building suggests that the original church may have stood on a different site. While I have no evidence for this, it is possible that it might have stood on ‘Church Lane’, which is about 300 metres south of the new church.
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| Rosevale All Saints' Mission Church (advertisements and reports 1906 - 1924) |
Sources:
Examiner, Saturday 25 April 1903, page 6
Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 31 May 1904, page 3
Daily Telegraph, Saturday 4 March 1905, page 5
Examiner, Monday 5 March 1906, page 4
Daily Telegraph, Monday 5 March 1906, page 8
Daily Telegraph, Monday 12 March 1906, page 3
Examiner, Tuesday 17 January 1922, page 8
Daily Telegraph, Saturday 19 March 1924, page 1
Daily Telegraph, Thursday 29 May 1924, page 2
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