St Philip’s Church
The oldest Anglican church parish in Australia and a fine example of the Victorian Academic Gothic style
12pm–4pm
About the building
The oldest Anglican church parish in Australia, St Philip’s has seen Sydney grow from an English penal colony into a vibrant, global city.
The existing church is the third building for the parish. The first, a wattle-and-daub chapel built in 1793 by convicts and located in Bligh Street, burnt down. The second, a substantial stone building located across the road from the current site opened in 1810, Church Hill, was deemed ‘the ugliest building in Christendom’. It was replaced in the mid-1850s with the sandstone church that stands there today.
Colonial Architect Edmund Blacket designed the church in the Victorian Academic Gothic style with English Perpendicular details. He styled the tower after the 15th-century Magdalen Tower in Oxford, England, and is thought to have made the main body of the church’s stained-glass windows. The East Window was imported from England, and the historic pipe organ, built in 1873, is one of the oldest in the country.
St Philip's Church, originally named after Governor Phillip and later after the apostle, has a rich social and cultural history dating back to early colonial days, and continues to be an important place of worship.
Talks, tours and more
St Philip’s Church
3 York Street, Sydney
Entry details
The church interior and grounds
12pm–4pm
3.30pm
Talks, tours and more
Need to know
Accessible featuresThere is an accessible entrance at the south door, where a small ramp is in place to manage the one step
Toilets availableBaby changing facilities
Photography allowedFood and drink availableSt Philip’s will provide afternoon tea
