Presbyterian Church of Saint Andrew

Following the January 2020 hailstorm in Canberra, Paynters was engaged via a Managed Cost contract to complete the insurance remediation works at the Presbyterian Church of Saint Andrew.

Located on the iconic State Circle and the closest place of worship to Parliament House, St Andrew’s (as it is commonly referred) is one of the most prominent sites in Canberra.

The three main buildings on the site include the Main Church Hall with its associated attached ancillary buildings, the Manse (St Andrew’s House) and Beadles Cottage. All three buildings are listed as places of historical significance under the Heritage Act 2004 including being recognised through listings on the Australian Heritage Commission, the Australian Capital Territory Heritage Unit, the National Trust of Australia (ACT) and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

All roofing elevations were affected by the hailstorm which included various roofing products including Welsh Penrhyn Slate which was installed circa 1936. Paynters sourced and imported the slate product from the original quarry in Wales, which has been producing slate for the past 400 years.  In addition to the extensive roof replacement works, Paynters restored a number of the beautiful hand-painted stained-glass murals that light up the main church hall that had been damaged during the hailstorm. Working with the original glaziers from interstate, works were completed over a number of stages which required sourcing glass from many different countries including France, Germany, and the United States. An excruciatingly detailed process the entire window had to be transported back to Queensland with each tiny piece of glass to be replaced, mouth-blown and hand painted to match into the existing mural.