Kensington church sold to faith-based community

In what looks to be a good news story for the neighbourhood, a 19th century Kensington church that was up for sale has been snapped up by another local church.

After several weeks on the market Christ Church Kensington at 76 McCracken St was sold by Stonebridge Property Group’s Andrew Milligan on Friday, June 5 for $2.8 million.

The buyer was reportedly the nearby St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, located less than 100 metres away on the corner of Epsom and Kensington roads, which already has a “children’s centre” next door.

The 1288 sqm Christ Church has frontage to Epsom Rd as well as McCracken St and houses a double-storey brick building and a storage building as well as the church itself.

Originally known as the Wesleyan Church, which dates back to 1889, it was designed by architect Alexander Eleazar Duguid, who was responsible for at least three other churches in the broader area, and housed one of seven known organs exported to Victoria in the 1860s by London organ builder John Courcelle.

North West City News understands that five or six offers for the Uniting Church property were made under an expression of interest system by a mix of housing developers and other proposed occupiers.

Bec Smith from the Kensington Neighbourhood House, which is opposite the church in McCracken St, said she was glad to see the outcome of the sale.

“I'm really pleased that the site will remain as a church and be used by a new faith-based community,” she said.

Hopefully we'll be able to work with the new owners to keep our neighbourhood house activities running there.

The neighbourhood house had been using the church as overflow space, with various exercise, sewing, art, dance, choir and cooking classes held there, Ms Smith said.

They were also tending 16 garden beds on the grounds, which were essentially open to the public and were being used as a shortcut between the two roads.

“It’s a really well-used public space, I guess,” she said.

According to Ms Smith, its Uniting Church congregation had stopped meeting there in 2020 during COVID and never came back, disbanding formally last year.

St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, by contrast, is understood to have a healthy, growing congregation.

St Mary’s was contacted for comment but didn’t respond. •