The Anglican Church that had been in use from1851 was showing signs of deterioration and in 1907 it was decided to demolish and replaced it with a church of grand design.

Albert Augustus Dangar born at Whittingham in 1840,  led the appeal for donations and after a time public subscription lists ceased with Albert Augustus undertaking the erection of the church without any further call on parishioners.

All Saints’ Anglican Church was opened and consecrated on April 16, 1913, at a cost of 24,450 pounds, most of which was donated by Mr Dangar.

The greater part of the sandstone was donated by Mr C. H. Dight and came from a quarry at McDougall’s Hill with the balance from a quarry at Belford.

Many of the stained glass windows, the stone-work and doors to the Dangar Chapel, and other items came from the original All Saints’ Church and were incorporated into the new structure.

The tower of the church is a replica of the fifteenth century tower of the Parish Church of Saint Anietus in the village of Saint Neot, Cornwall in England, the home of Albert’s father, Henry Dangar.

On Tuesday, April 16, All Saints’ Anglican Church will celebrate the centenary of its consecration with a eucharist at 7pm preceded by a quarter peal of bells at 6pm by the All Saints’ Bellringers.

On May 4 and 5 a weekend of celebrations is planned.

All the events are for everyone, not only the Anglican community involved with the church today.

Many people have walked through the grand entrance of the church to celebrate baptism of new life, lives brought together in matrimony and lives that have come to an end. 

It is a place of worship that brings with it many memories and the church’s 100th year is worthy of broad community celebration.

It is also a time to reflect on Singleton’s courageous yet ambitious and philanthropic past, a characteristic we continue to pride ourselves with today.

THE ALL SAINTS' STORY

AS far back as 1826, the baptism of Anglican children is recorded giving the district  almost two centuries of Anglican worship.

Now that worship takes place in 10 churches around the Singleton Parish but it is the centenary of the consecration of All Saints’ Anglican Church that is cause for celebration in 2013.

All Saints’ Church was built largely from the generosity of Albert Dangar.

He was looking forward to seeing the finished project but never had that chance, dying 11 days before its official opening and consecration.

He had been visiting his son in Armidale in the days prior to his death and did not even see the roof completed.

In fact, the first service to be held in All Saints’ was Mr Dangar’s funeral.

Archives of The Singleton Argus describe the 1913 consecration as a red-letter day in the history of the Church of England in Singleton and indeed the diocese, as it meant the opeing of one of the very finest parish churches in the whole of the Commonwealth.

It is understood All Saints’ Church was the last  of its type to be built in Australia.

It was the second church to be built on the site, the first constructed in 1851 was also the first building designed by early colonial architect Edmund Blackett who went on to design some of Australia’s great buildings such as Sydney University.

By 1907 the original parish church of All Saints’ showed signs of deterioration.  At a meeting of parishioners Albert Dangar declared he would have nothing to do with a scheme of repairing the old building but on behalf of the Dangar family promised 5000 pounds towards building a new church and hoped the parishioners would constribute a further 2000 pounds.

Later, Mr Dangar undertook the erection of the new church without further calls for public donations.

In took a team of 30 stonemasons and blacksmiths three years to build the church, made predominantly from sandstone sourced locally.

The pulpit, lectern, choir hymn board, stone work leading to the ambulatories on either side of the church and the rector’s stall were all from the original church.

The side entry leading directly into the Dangar Wing of the church was the original church’s main entry.

The marble in the church was quarried in Australia and around a decade ago a palaeontologist who visited the church happened to identify shell fossils in the black marble within the church.

The church organ was another 603 pound Dangar gift and has remained in continuous use for every service since 1913 except during its rebuild in 1969 and again for renovation in the mid 1990s.

The centenary celebrations have been 12 months in the making by a dedicated committee of some 50 members and all are keen to unite with past clergy and church members as well as the broader Singleton community to mark this auspicious occasion in Singleton’s proud history.  

AS far back as 1826, the baptism of Anglican children is recorded giving the district  almost two centuries of Anglican worship.

Now that worship takes place in 10 churches around the Singleton Parish but it is the centenary of the consecration of All Saints’ Anglican Church that is cause for celebration in 2013.

All Saints’ Church was built largely from the generosity of Albert Dangar.

He was looking forward to seeing the finished project but never had that chance, dying 11 days before its official opening and consecration.

He had been visiting his son in Armidale in the days prior to his death and did not even see the roof completed.

In fact, the first service to be held in All Saints’ was Mr Dangar’s funeral.

Archives of The Singleton Argus describe the 1913 consecration as a red-letter day in the history of the Church of England in Singleton and indeed the diocese, as it meant the opeing of one of the very finest parish churches in the whole of the Commonwealth.

It is understood All Saints’ Church was the last  of its type to be built in Australia.

It was the second church to be built on the site, the first constructed in 1851 was also the first building designed by early colonial architect Edmund Blackett who went on to design some of Australia’s great buildings such as Sydney University.

By 1907 the original parish church of All Saints’ showed signs of deterioration.  At a meeting of parishioners Albert Dangar declared he would have nothing to do with a scheme of repairing the old building but on behalf of the Dangar family promised 5000 pounds towards building a new church and hoped the parishioners would constribute a further 2000 pounds.

Later, Mr Dangar undertook the erection of the new church without further calls for public donations.

In took a team of 30 stonemasons and blacksmiths three years to build the church, made predominantly from sandstone sourced locally.

The pulpit, lectern, choir hymn board, stone work leading to the ambulatories on either side of the church and the rector’s stall were all from the original church.

The side entry leading directly into the Dangar Wing of the church was the original church’s main entry.

The marble in the church was quarried in Australia and around a decade ago a palaeontologist who visited the church happened to identify shell fossils in the black marble within the church.

The church organ was another 603 pound Dangar gift and has remained in continuous use for every service since 1913 except during its rebuild in 1969 and again for renovation in the mid 1990s.

The centenary celebrations have been 12 months in the making by a dedicated committee of some 50 members and all are keen to unite with past clergy and church members as well as the broader Singleton community to mark this auspicious occasion in Singleton’s proud history.