St John's Anglican Church is a church in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst

Darlinghurst, New South Wales

Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...

. It is located at 120 Darlinghurst Road and is listed on the Register of the National Estate

Register of the National Estate

The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...

 as well as having a New South Wales state heritage listing.

History and description

St John's Anglican Church is a large, sandstone structure designed in a Gothic Revival style and built in the 19th century. Noted architect J.F.Hilly was responsible for most of the design and the building was finished in 1858. It features a square tower, pinnacled spire, a slate roof and dressed stonework. Edmund Blacket

Edmund Blacket

Edmund Thomas Blacket was an Australian architect, best known for his designs for the University of Sydney, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney and St...

, noted for his work with the Anglican Church, designed various later additions like the north and south transepts, spire and chancel.

The rectory, located next to the church, is a two-storey building in the Italianate style. It too was designed by Hilly and built circa 1858. As was common practice in the Victorian period, the building is composed predominantly of stuccoed brick. It is based on an L-shaped plan with a sandstone base and has a slate roof with terra-cota flourishes. The rectory is heritage-listed along with the church.

Social programs

• Anglicare: operates twice weekly to provide emergency relief
• Financial Counselling Service: available three days weekly
• Legal Counselling and Referral: available two days weekly
• Narcotics Anonymous: meets Tuesday and thursday in the church hall
• Pastoral Care for Elderly or hospitalised: regular services provided for Elizabeth lodge and St Luke's
• Community Assistanced Program: operates from Rough Edges Coffee Shop to provide short-term or long-term emergency help

Rough Edges

In 1987, a drop-in centre called PJ's was opened by a St John's outreach worker and volunteers in St Peter's Church Hall, Darlinghurst. It operated consistently until 1994, when it had to close because St Peter's Church was closed down. Ministers from St John's searched for a place that was suitable for a new drop-in centre and decided to utilise the basement of the parish hall in Victoria Street. A new centre called Rough Edges was opened in 1996, fronting directly onto Victoria Street. It operated under full-time managers, supplemented by volunteers, until 2010; since then it has been staffed entirely by volunteers. It opens most nights of the week, depending on availability of volunteers. Drinks are sold and food is given away for free after having been donated by Oz Harvest and Govinda's Restaurant in Victoria Street.