St Michael & All Angels Anglican Church
Bothwell

B. 1862 Samuel Joscelyne for former church building;
inst. present loc. 1891. Res. 1967 K.R. Davis & Son.
Ren, cleaned Gibbs & Thomson 2002
1m., 9 sp.st., pedal pulldowns, tr.
Man: 8.8 divided.8.8.4.4.2. Ped: 16.8.

This fine stone church was designed in the stripped gothic style by Alexander North.  It was built in 1891 from locally quarried sandstone by stonemason Thomas Lewis. [5]   The church has a fireplace at the back which is used throughout the winter months..  A notable feature is the number of fine stained glass windows.  The tower was not completed until 1929.  [6]

The pipe organ is located beneath the tower directly in front of the bell ringing rope.

From the 1992 OHTA Conference Book:

The present church was begun in 1887 and consecrated in 1891 [1]. It was designed by Alexander North in a simplified French Gothic style and built of sandstone quarried nearby.  This cruciform church still awaits the completion of the north transept and spire [2]. The elegant interior incorporates a large stone fireplace at the west end and double arcades screening the transepts.  The fittings are to North's designs, including the stone font and the choir stalls with stylised fleur-de-lis ends in the shape of fern fronds. The east window is by Hardman of Birmingham.

The organ was built in 1862 by Samuel Joscelyne, of Launceston, for the fomer church building which still stands in the town.  It incorporates a splendid cedar case in classical style incorporating three towers and two flats containing gilt dummy pipes. The instrument remains essentially unaltered from the original and was restored in 1967 by K.R. Davis of Launceston [3].




The 1862 specification is:

Manual Open Diapason Clarabella Stopped Diapason Keraulophon Dulciana Principal Flute Fifteenth Pedal Bourdon coupler Stop Diapason coupler

8 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 16 8

GG-f3 TC Bass TC TC TC CC-C

Tracker action


[1] Henslowe, op. cit, p15

[2] Australasian builder and contractor's news, 23 March 1889

[3] Clark & Johnson, op.cit, p 97

[4] Spec. noted John Maidment 1970; David Kinsela, "The organs of Tasmania", The Sydney Organ Journal, Vol. 1, No. 6 (December 1963), pp. 45-45

[5] The Heritage of Australia – The Illustrated Register of the National Estate by: Australian Heritage Commission.     Published: The Macmillan Company of Australia p/l  1981

[6] Australia’s Heritage Sketchbook  by Keith Norris.  Published by PR Books 1990

Photos: Trevor Bunning (Dec 2008)