19th century

On 14 December 1862 William Cowper, the Dean of Sydney, visited the site for the church in Rouse Hill and opened the it for divine service with a sermon from Proverbs 14. Despite the heavy rain the service was well attended. The church had been constructed at an unspecified date before this, however, ^{[4] [7]} the land for the church, ¾ acre in total, was not donated by Robert Fitzgerald to the Bishop of Sydney until the next year. ^[8] By May 1863 £521 21s 6½d of the £603 3s it cost to build the church had been raised, ^[5] under the management of John Schofield, ^[4] and on 16 July 1863 the church building was licensed to operate. ^[1]

From 1863 to 1869 the Christ Church building was used as both a church ^[8] and school. ^[9] In 1864 the Bishop of Sydney, Frederic Barker, held the first Confirmation at the church. By 1866 a teacher's residence had been built for the school. ^[10]

In 1869 a separate building was built on the site for the purpose of operating the school. In 1875 the school changed from a denominational school to a public school. ^[8] On 19 November 1878 Christ Church was consecrated. ^[11] That same year a chancel and Sanctuary were added to the church building. ^[12]

In 1888 the school building closed and pupils transferred to new Rouse Hill Public School. ^[8]

20th century

From 1904 to 1906 the future Bishop of Grafton, William Stevenson was the curate at Christ Church. ^[13] In 1908 the school building was demolished and replaced by a hall that still stands today. ^[8] On 16 August 1913 the Church celebrated its jubilee. The jubilee concert raised £27 for repairing the roof on the church. R. B. Orchard was noted among the significant guests at the jubilee. ^[14] In 1923 both the 1908 Hall and the Church Church building underwent renovations for a total cost of £150. ^[15]

On 12 July 1963 centenary celebrations were held at Christ Church, presided by the then Archbishop, Hugh Gough. ^[1] That same year the school master's residence on the site was demolished. ^[8]

The 1980 Year Book of the Diocese of Sydney was the last time Christ Church is mentioned having its own congregation in the 20th century, ^[16] with the church closing sometime^{[ when? ]} in the 1980s. ^[8]

In 1998 the church buildings were used as a home for the congregation from St. Stephens, Kellyville whilst their own buildings were being constructed. ^{[8] [17]}

21st century

In 2004 the Christ Church buildings fell out of use when a new building for St. Stephens was completed in Kellyville. ^[8] In February 2004 the Rouse Hill Provisional Anglican Parish was formed, ^[18] and began meeting at the nearby Rouse Hill Anglican College. ^[19] In 2006 they lodged a Development Application with the Baulkham Hills Shire Council to redevelop the site. Construction commenced in 2007, and a new Ministry and Education Centre was built alongside restoration works on the two historic buildings; Christ Church and the 1908 Hall. ^[8]

In March 2008, the Rouse Hill Provisional Anglican Parish moved to the site from their temporary home at Rouse Hill Anglican College, and became the Rouse Hill Anglican Church. The Ministry and Education Centre was officially opened on 27 April 2008 by the then Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen ^[20] and Rouse Hill Anglican Church's Curate; Martin Morgan. At that time the church operated two services, one at 10am and another at 6:30pm. ^[21]

Footnotes