Walker Designs are blessed! It is official… as of 29th of September 2011, Graeme Walker and Jodie Verhey are the proud new owners of Chalmers!
For those who are not familiar with Chalmers, it is a beautiful, gothic-styled 1860 Church in Frederick Street (opposite Prince’s Square), Launceston (additional historical information on Chalmers).
With grand plans to stay true to the original character and charm of Chalmers and to ensure the new complements and co-exists with the heritage structure, Graeme and Jodie are very excited and can’t wait to get started on developing a unique creative space and new home for Walker Designs.
It is estimated that the project will take between 18 months to 2 years, however, with the sensitivity of the building it is hard to place an exact timeframe on this type of project. It’s important to Graeme and Jodie that it’s done right and to the highest standard.
The planning stage will take some months as Graeme and Jodie get a better feel for the space. This project is an opportunity to create something inspirational and give new life to an iconic building in Launceston, therefore it needs to be a very considered process.
We’re all excited for what will eventually be our flash new creative home, and look forward to sharing the project with you along the way!
A HISTORY OF CHALMERS
‘an inspired and inspiring space’
(compiled by Juliet Partridge with additional information incorporated by Jodie Verhey)
The Great Disruption of 1843 in Scotland divided Presbyterians into two groups – members of the Free Kirk or of the National or Established Church. In Tasmania members of the Free Kirk combined to call the Rev. James Lindsay in 1852, and on January 19th 1859 the foundation stone of Chalmers Church was laid. Chalmers was officially opened on January 15th, 1860, by the Rev. William Nicholson of Chalmers Church, Hobart. The architect was William Henry Clayton, and the church was named after Dr Thomas Chalmers, the leader of the Great Disruption. In 1896 the church became part of the United Presbyterian Church, later to become the Uniting Church.
In 1981 the church was deconsecrated, and bought by a developer who planned to convert the building into four townhouses. Financial problems stopped this occurring, and in 1986 the Launceston Players bought Chalmers, with a view to establishing a theatre. This too was inappropriate as it conflicted with heritage values and so, at an auction in February 1990, Ken and Juliet Partridge became the new owners.
ARCHITECTURE
Containing some 600,000 convict bricks, Chalmers is floridly gothic in appearance, and boasts a 24mtr octagonal tower of extreme exuberance, almost unparalleled anywhere. Eight similar effigies at the base of the sandstone tower are reputed to be of John Knox (known as the father of the Church of Scotland). The tower also houses the original bronze bell, which is still operational and heard on special occasions. The church which is built above the Sunday school hall, measures 16mtrs x 13 mtrs x 11mtrs high. With its emphasis on wood, from the vaulted ceiling with trusses and intricate framework, to the floor and columns, and even the timber tracery in the massive stained glass windows, it has been appropriately described as ‘Carpenters gothic’. The Fincham organ, boxed pews, wooden dado and other church furnishings were removed in 1981. The building, including the cast iron railings, is classified by the National Trust, is on the Register of the National Estate and is included in the Launceston National Estate Conservation Study. It is also granted similar status under the ‘Princes Square Precinct’ entry.
1990 TO PRESENT
After some initial frustrations with safety requirements for the building, which required provision of a wider staircase at the rear of the hall, a place of public assembly licence was granted to the then owners Ken and Juliet Partridge, and in April 1990, Chalmers was dedicated as a community space. Public support through Friends of Chalmers (now discontinued) was high, and over 14 years some 100,000 people have participated in a variety of events, concerts of all kinds, major art exhibitions, plays, workshops by local, national and international artists, as well as book launches, poetry readings, yoga and cooking classes, taiko drumming, butoh dancing, public meetings, weddings, markets and even a 60th wedding anniversary party for a couple married in Chalmers in 1942.
A series of Saturday lunchtime concerts, which feature a lunch of soup, bread, apple and glass of wine, alongside the entertainment, were extremely popular.
Some major users and events include:
Centenary exhibition for the Launceston Art Society opened by Sir Guy Green
‘Of Mice and Men’ - Steinbeck’s play produced by the Launceston Repertory Company, which ran for a sell-out 10 day season
A doll making workshop with Mirka Mora
Neriage workshops with Japanese potter, Mitsuya Niiyama
John Argyll Singers
Launceston Philharmonic
Wilderness Society
New Holland Honeyeaters
Scott and Louisa Wise
National Trust
Karlin Love
TSO and TasMusic Alive
Elena Duran – Mexican flautist
Deidre Irons – NZ Pianist
Camp Quality Fundraiser Exhibition
University of Tasmania
Ken and Juliet Partridge also provided support to a number of community groups such as the Greens, Neighbourhood Watch, KOPO and HOKPAC with meetings and fundraisers held at Chalmers. Major support was also extended to the plight of refugees, in particular the Sarawi family whose treatment had become a national scandal. In 2005, Ken and Julie had to curtail many activities due to rising public liability insurance costs.
Over the last 15+ years, Ken and Juliet Partridge, carried out many tasks to maintain the building. Problems do arise with the porosity of the bricks and particularly with the salts they contain. In many cases this is because the 1968 renovations were carried out using oil based paints, which hold moisture inside. Removing the render on many of the inside walls has helped enormously in allowing the brickwork to dry out naturally.
Structurally Chalmers is incredibly sound – it is a ‘monumental’ structure with walls up to 2mtrs thick and, therefore, it is not going to tumble down!
We have worked closely with Timbertone to develop a brand that matches the style and innovation of the product. The brand is now being introduced into marketing collateral and website.