Children's Chapel, St James' Church, Sydney
in Sydney, AustraliaCategory: Attraction
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173 King St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia Print route »
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The Chapel of Saint Mary and the Angels (usually known as the Children's Chapel) is a chapel in one of the bays of the crypt of St James' Church, Sydney, created as a place for younger children to receive an adapted form of the Eucharist on Sundays. In the 21st century, the Chapel is used for the children's eucharist on the first Sunday of the month. The walls and ceiling of the chapel are painted with scenes inspired by the Christmas carol "As I Sat Under A Sycamore Tree" with the setting transferred to Sydney Harbour.
The murals were designed by Ethel Anderson and painted as a collaborative project by the Turramurra Wall Painters Union—a group of modernist painters founded by Anderson in 1927—among whom were Ethel Anderson, Bethia Anderson, sisters Gwen and Jean Ramsey, Roy de Maistre and Roland Wakelin. Friends of the artists also helped on small parts of the painting. Some parts of the mural are attributable to individual artists and some are signed. The rector of St James' at the time, Philip Micklem, was a friend of Anderson and had invited the Turramurra Wall Painters Union to decorate the chapel. The work was carried out between October and December 1929 and completed in time for Christmas; the first service being held on 22 December 1929.
