8: Hodgson Street entry – Eastern Gallery

Hodgson Street was, originally the primary entrance to the precinct.

Leonard Terry supervised the construction of the bluestone stairs and the distinctive gallery on the eastern side of the building in 1865.

The gallery runs nearly the whole length of the church and some think it adds beauty to the church itself.  There are massive pillars terminating in seven arches that support the principals of the roof.  However, it has been called “the Architect’s Folly” on the basis that the gallery is of little use.

The Eastern Gallery has housed the choir, storage and today for Open House Melbourne visitors - an immersive prayer activity.

9. Rafters/East Gallery: Art Exhibition

The Eastern gallery, high up in the rafters of the church, is where the poor people used to sit to attend church. It has been repurposed and turned into a small gallery for community exhibitions held during special events like Open House Melbourne. The charming exhibition, running as part of Open House Melbourne 2025, shows drawings by the richly diverse students of Sacred Heart School Fitzroy, our local primary school. It is called ‘My Journey: stories of diversity and belonging’. 

Please be careful on the stairs, they have been here since 1865 and can be treacherous. It is a small, narrow space and the stairs are steep. The Gallery has uneven flooring, so care needs to be taken underfoot. With all that in mind, please enjoy!

OTHER NEWS

Is St Mark’s Fitzroy haunted?

The following entry is from The Ghost Guide to Australia, complied by Richard David

(1998, Sydney, Bantam Books p. 177)

Fitzroy

A much less violent spirit is held responsible for a door mysteriously opening at St Mark’s Anglican Church on the corner of George and Moor Streets, Fitzroy. It’s many years since this phenomenon was observed, but in times past it mystified clergy and congregation.

The door is fitted with a heavy antique bolt which the ghost seemed to be able to withdraw smoothly and noiselessly, allowing the door to swing open at the most inopportune times.

More recently, during the incumbency of (I think) Fr David Peake, I recall reading a newspaper article along the lines that the Vicar was frequently aware of a ghostly “presence” in the gallery whilst he was saying the Daily Office in church.