Baulkham Hills, NSW - St Michael's Catholic (Former)

History and Architecture:

The Sydney Morning Herald of 8 February 1849 reported that the '...foundation stone of a new Church was laid at Baulkham Hills on Friday afternoon by Archbishop Polding [and] Reverend Messrs Brennan and Halloran, the resident ministers of the district. The edifice, which will be of stone, will be 40ft in length by 30ft in breadth and is expected to be completed in...a few months'. The Church was built on two small parcels of land originally granted to Andrew McDougall and John Smith in 1799 and Archbishop Kelly gave fifty tons of stone from the original St Mary's Cathedral to build it.

The Church has a simple Gothic Revival style with a Tudor influence. It has a nave, slightly narrower chancel, entry porch with Tudor arched doorway and a square tower with dentilated eaves and a simple corrugated iron clad spire. The gabled roof is of slate (originally timber shingles) with terracotta ridge capping.