St James' Church, Sydney

St James’ Church is an active Anglican church at 173 King Street, in central Sydney. Consecrated in 1824, it is the city’s oldest surviving church and was designed by Francis Greenway, a convict architect. Step inside to see stained glass and carefully restored details, including marks on iron splice plates linked to the building’s convict labour. The church also has a children’s chapel in its crypt and a bronze cast of Timothy Schmalz’s Homeless Jesus outside. Its services and performances give the historic building a continuing place in Sydney life.

Greenway’s church beside the courts

The church’s origins are tied to an earlier civic plan. Governor Lachlan Macquarie laid its foundation stone in 1819 for a courthouse, but Commissioner John Thomas Bigge redirected the project. Architect Francis Greenway adapted the design for worship, and the building was consecrated as St James in February 1824. It became a parish church in 1835.

Greenway was a transported convict who later worked as a government architect. The church was built with convict labour, and marks on some of its iron splice plates preserve a trace of that history. Its early ministry served Sydney’s convict population.

A church with a civic and musical life

St James’ stands close to Sydney’s courts and has long been connected with the city’s legal and civic life. That connection once reached inside the church: rented pews brought in revenue and marked social status. When Edward Smith Hall was excluded from his pew, he took the dispute to the Supreme Court and won £25 in damages from Archdeacon Scott.

The parish remains active, and the church is also a cultural venue. Orchestral masses and secular performances take place here. Inside, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit has stained glass; below ground, the crypt includes a children’s chapel. Outside, a bronze cast of Homeless Jesus by Timothy Schmalz offers another point to pause at.