On Walkabout In: The Historic Churches of Beechworth

Prior Posting: The Historic Hotels of Beechworth

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The historic city of Beechworth is filled with many historic churches with various forms of architecture. The amount of impressive churches spread out through such a small city is testament to the wealth Beechworth once possessed. The first pioneers to the area began holding religious services in tents in 1852. The first church building in Beechworth was constructed by Methodist pioneers in 1854 on the remains of a old school house:

The old brick building is no longer used as a church and is instead a meeting hall. Next to the old Methodist Church is a newer Methodist that now serves as the Beechworth Neighborhood Centre:

I borrowed this picture of the church from the net because the picture I took came out bad because of the heavy rain that was falling at the time. Across the street from the Methodist Church is the Anglican Christ Church, which was originally built in 1854 just a short while after the construction of the Methodist Church:

The tower was built in 1864 and houses a total of six bells. Inside the church the organ dates all the way back to 1887. Some adjacent buildings to the church is used as a meeting hall and a grammar school.

On the northern side of the city is the Uniting Church:

The first Presbyterian congregation began meeting in 1857 at the Star Hotel and eventually held services inside this church when it was constructed in 1858. There are a few other smaller churches located in Beechworth but these four are the largest and most noticeable since they are located downtown. If anyone knows any other interesting bits of history about these churches please leave a note in the comments section.

Next Posting: The Beechworth Cemetery