Plympton Methodist Church

8 Glyde Street, East Fremantle, later a Girl Guides Hall, now a private residence

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Heritage Council (Town of East Fremantle data:)
A former church building constructed from Rottnest limestone with brick quoins, tuckpointed brickwork, with Romanesque arches and original lead lights. The building has decorative pilasters with domed finials to the front gable, and a steeply pitched corrugated iron roof.
Much of the original church fabric both exterior and interior remains, including Karri floor boards and Oregon panelled ceilings.
Additions include a two storey annex to the rear.
No 8 Glyde Street is a former church constructed of limestone and brick with a gabled steeply pitched corrugated iron roof. It is a fine example of a Federation Romanesque style church. The front elevation is symmetrically planned with a full width hipped roof arcade supported on stout masonry piers over a masonry balustrade. Behind the arcade is a prominent limestone gable wall. The gable is divided by engaged piers in limestone with brick quoins topped by finials. The west facing window is arched with a series of timber framed divisions. The roof is steeply pitched with stack ventilators along the ridge. The side walls return for four bays with narrow round headed windows.
There are gable roofed additions to the rear.
No 8 Glyde Street is an example of a Federation Romanesque Church which was adapted to become a Guides Hall and later a residence.

The Empire, 16 May 1908 :
A largely attended meeting of the officers of the North-East Fremantle circuit was held at the Glyde-street church on Wednesday week. The Rev. Stanley Jarvis occupied the chair. The new minister (Rev. S. Jarvis) was cordially welcomed by the stewards. The policy for the year was outlined by the minister who said that it embraced three aspects, viz, (1) spiritual, (2) social and educational, (3) financial.
The motto should be "Trust in the Lord and do good" The church needed a strong aggressive policy that it might become a living force in the community. Briefly summarised it meant the establishing of the prayer societies; resuscitation of C.E. societies and re-organisation of others; establishment of fellowship classes; systematic pastoral visitation; and quarterly re-union of members. The social and educational aspect dealt with—recreation for the young people physical and mental culture clubs; social league; ladies' guilds and sewing societies.
The financial aspect dealt with the effort to make the income meet the expenditure; the income to be augmented by the re-establishment of the envelope system and quarterly subscriptions. The policy was adopted, its vigor and comprehensiveness meeting with warm approval. The minister was asked to carry on after church lantern services which he had so successfully established on the Goldfields and at Midland Junction. It was agreed to secure a manse at East Fremantle, the various trust committees concurring previously to the charge and guaranteeing the cost. The meeting closed at 11 p.m. with the benediction.

The Western Mail, 16 January 1914:
1914 The quarterly meeting of the North-East Fremantle Methodist Circuit was held at the Glyde-street Methodist Church on Tuesday. The Rev. R. Hocking presided, and representatives were present from each of the churches in the circuit. It was reported that 120 accredited and 53 junior members were on the membership roll, being a slight increase for the quarter. The balance sheet was presented by the circuit stewards, and showed the income to have been £72 17s. 10d. and the expenditure £67 5s. 7d.
The Sunday School visitor, Mr. Bennett, reported satisfactorily on the work of the Sunday Schools, making special mention of the Kindergartens at North Fremantle and Glyde-street. Each of the Junior Christian Endeavour Societies were reported as in a flourishing condition, but superintendents complainer of a lack of workers. The local secretary for Home Missions reported that the allocation would be more than met.
It was agreed that the resolution as submitted to Synod in regard to the consolidation of Methodism in the Fremantle area should be forwarded to the Conference. Approval was given for the purchase of land at Palmyra, and arrangements made for an effort during the ensuing quarter for the extinction of the long-standing circuit debt.

The West Australian, 9 November 1934, p. 13:
Permission was given by the synod for the building of a new church at Palmyra at a cost of £500 on a site which has already been secured at the corner of Canning-road and Carrington-street. The synod also sanctioned the selling of the existing church property in Glyde street, East Fremantle, the proceeds to be devoted to the erection of another church. It was pointed out that, owing to the drift of population outward from the city of Fremantle the Glyde-street church had ceased to fill the functions it had previously served.

The West Australian, 7 December 1946, p. 6:
The Glyde-street Methodist Church, East Fremantle, has been purchased by the Girl Guides' Association to be used as a cultural and social centre for guides and scouts in the Fremantle district. To mark the termination and inauguration of the two societies, respectively, a farewell and thanksgiving service will be held tomorrow at 3 p.m. Solos will be rendered by old members and the Rev. R. Hocking will give the address. All old members and adherents are especially invited to be present.

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 1 November, 2014 and hosted at freotopia.org/churches/efreometh.html (it was last updated on 23 November, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.