ST JAMES CHURCH
BLAKISTON ANGLICAN
PAUL SCOTT
A satellite view and a brief history of this Church is given below. However, if you want to begin your tour of the Church immediately, tap / click on START. You can also access intermediate points in the tour by a tap / click on the following links:
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SATELLITE VIEW
Blakiston is not a well known Hills destination. To reach it from Adelaide we travel out of the city along the South Eastern freeway, turning off at the mount Barker exit. Then left to Littlehampton, and the Church is on the left a short distance further on along the main road to Nairne.
The Church is fronted by an impressive cemetery which could be overwhelming, but which in fact has a certain rural charm. A long drive up the closing hillside takes us to an ample car park adjacent to the Church.
The axis of the Church is almost exactly north-south geographically with the sanctuary to the north. Here we follow the liturgical directions indicated at top left, with the sanctuary assumed to face East (with a capital letter) and the other directions accordingly.
Now we see that the Church is rectangular in shape with a gable roof. There is a small West entry porch and an interesting asymmetric East extension containing the sanctuary and a vestry. A separate bell tower stands near the Southeast corner. To the North of the Church is a car park and the Church hall.
HISTORY
Year Built: 1847
Address: Old Princes Highway, Blakiston, SA 5250
The town of Blakiston was founded in 1846 by Francis Davison and named it after his ancestral home, Blakiston Hall in County Durham. One of the first buildings to be built in Blakiston was St. James Church (Church of England).
It was in 1845 that the need for a church and spiritual guidance in Blakiston was brought to the attention of Governor Gawler by the SA Church Commission in their Annual Report: “They feel that the districts of Mount Barker, Gawler, Morphett Vale and Encounter Bay stand much in need of a stated ministry, but with their present means it is utterly impossible for your Committee to even make an attempt at providing these rural districts with such a blessing”. Before St James, residents had held services at home or walked to Nairne to Chapel (5km).
By 1846 St James church was built by local builder/architect/entrepreneur Benjamin Gray, on land kindly given by George Morphett and Samuel Stocks, who had bought land in 1843. Along with the new church, came the new Reverend James Follitt, his wife and their seven children. James Follitt was born and educated in England, had spent time in Jamaica as a Lay Missionary, acquired some medical training at Kings College London and spent some months in British Guiana (Guyana, South America). During his years as reverend, Follitt faced many problems including financial issues due to the dependence on finances from the SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge) and ill feelings over the site of the church. James Follitt died on 15/8/1881 and was buried in West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.
Over the years St James has had many different reverends and has seen the local area grow and develop. St James Church has also been through many changes, including renovations and parish location changes. Though the Parish of Blakiston officially came to an end in 1956, St James still plays an important part in its community to this day.
