..... in 1854. Simeon Pearce, was granted land in Avoca Street, included in which was the site of the present St. Jude's  Church and precinct, for the erection of a school, church and parsonage, and in 1857 a church-school, the original St. Jude's. was erected, on the corner of Avoca Street and Alison Road, where the present Randwick Post Office stands. Church services were held in Pearce's residence, "Blenheim"' until the completion of the first church, and it was the express wish of three (3) trustees to the land grant. Simeon Pearce, S. Hebblethwaite, and W. B. Holdsworth, that a larger more imposing church should be erected when funds were available and the population justified it.

The foundation stone of the present St. Jude's Church was laid on the 25^th  May, 1861, by Canon Allwood. the then Rector of St. James Church. King Street. Sydney. and construction commenced on funds made available from the will of one. Frederick Jones who had died in Melbourne on 14^th October, 1856. A portion of the will had provided for the building of ".... a neat Episcopalian Church at Big Coogee...". Frustrated bv legal argument and two (2) court cases to establish whether in fact the new church was being erected at Big Coogee, in accordance with the will, or at a place called, by Pearce. "Randwick'", the building was completed as far as it was intended to be and was opened on 29^th June, 1865.

 "Simeon Pearce was probably one of the most prominent and enthusiastic lay worker for the Church of England in New South Wales. He was a man of considerable influence and prestige, but one, unable to maintain good personal relationships. He was energetic, hardworking, very shrewd, ambitious, a good family man, punctilious in his home responsibilities, devoted to his church activities and its associated charities and most civic minded. He was, as has been said, a typical Victorian in suburban Australia, with the typical Victorian double standard of ethics of the 19^th century self-made man. Whilst generously contributing to charity he was apparently more than careful in other directions and a hard employer. He was held in ill favour by his tenants and doled out privilege to those who were pliable." (Randwick 1859-1976, W. B. Lynch and F.A. Lercombe.) It would appear that he had no great desire to achieve political power other than at the level of Local Government.

Pearce witnessed a number of tumultuous happenings in the Municipality after its incorporation. not the least of which was that surrounding the formation of the St. Jude's Cemetery and the secession movement for Coogee. However, by 1888, the Borough of Randwick and many of its personalities had mellowed. Simeon Pearce, himself resigned from the Council in 1884 after suffering a stroke, and died in 1886. He is buried in the St. Jude's Cemetery. His son F.W.H. Pearce, replaced him on the Council and was mayor on two (2) occasions in 1894 and 1895.

The development and exploitation of the Randwick ridge and the Coogee basin, particularly after Governor Gipps had approved the plan for Coogee and gazetted it as a village In July 1838, was due primarily to six important factors :-

 (i)  Topographically, the district of Randwick was ideally placed on the upper ridges and on a direct route from Port Jackson to Botany Bay. It would appear that the Randwick-Coogee area, if not widely known to the inhabitants of the colony generally. was traversed by a number of colonists and was very familiar to those with a zest for blood sports. Once having been traversed. the natural advantages of the place with its fish, game, wildlife and materials for the naturalist were recognized and sought after, so that a limited number of hunters, fishermen, sportsmen and those with a scientific bent became acquainted with the district. 

(ii)     The quality of soil in the north western section of the ridge, provided good growth of feed and resulted in another small group utilizing the grazing land that was available.

(iii)     The recognition that first-class building timber was growing in the Coogee Basin and the surrounding slopes, provided a great economic incentive for entering and exploiting the area, and so increased the local knowledge.

(iv)        The development of the Lachlan Swamps. which stretched from Centennial Park to Botany, for use as the colony's water supply, provided further contact between the main centre and the outer areas, particularly the construction of the Busby Bore tunnel from the present Centennial Park to Hyde Park during the period 1826 to 1837.

(v)         The use of, and the ultimate formation of the racecourse in 1833, meant additional numbers became familiar with the area and prompted others to investigate what lay beyond the hills to the east.

(vi)          The picturesqueness, coupled with the prevalent idea of the great  therapeutic value of sea air, created and supported demand for land on the ridge and at Coogee.

The site of the St. Jude's precinct was originally portion of a grant issued to Captain Francis Marsh, an officer of Her Majesty’s's 80^th Regiment of Foot, in 1824 being a portion of 12 acres offered, "as part liquidation of a remission of £200 allowed to him as a Captain in the Regiment."

The area selected was east of the racecourse bounded at the present day by Botany and High Streets, and Alison and Belmore Roads. In 1846, Captain Marsh sold his grant of land to George Hooper, a market gardener, and Hooper had erected a building or hut upon it. A portion of the land had been put under cultivation. Hooper also possessed extensive holdings adjoining what is now Queen's Park and had erected a stone house_ which still stands in Gilderthorpe Avenue.

Simeon Pearce's first interest in the area was the purchase of four (4) acres on 21^st September, 1847, being part of Marsh's grant. from George Hooper for the sum of  £20. He subsequently sought from and was granted by the Government, in 1854, a block of land in Avoca Street, abutting that previously purchased, and included in which is the present site of the St. Jude's Church and precinct.

The total precinct comprises an area of approximately 1965 ha. and includes a church and rectory, a verger’s residence/parish offices and hall and a large portion of the site is given over to a cemetery and columbarium. The area was originally heavily wooded and consisted of tall timbers and low level scrub lands. It also includes three (3) staff town houses facing the Avenue.

The Precinct consists of the following:-

(i)    Church and Lychgate

In 1888, Mr. H. M. Robinson, Architect, was asked to add two (2) transepts to blend with the existing building, and the original chancel was extended to form a new chancel/sanctuary and provision for an organ chamber. The work was completed in six (6) months and dedicated on 21^st September, 1889 at a cost of  £2800. The extensions are most sympathetic to the original building.

   The tower, rising to a height of 22.77  metres. was extended in 1877 for the purpose of housing a chiming clock. The tower also has an excellent peal of eight bells, originally hung in the tower in 1872 and renewed and rehung in      2001.

    In 1921, Mr. E. Boissier designed the vestries to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the Church.

   The building consists of solid masonry walls, preformed stone arches, traceried windows and keystones to and about doors and window openings.

    It is a solid structure with engaged buttresses. The tower is divided by decorative string courses and the transept and chancel ends are gabled with      continuous stone copings.

The roof is slate. in reasonable condition, with ventilating ridges and copper gutters and downpipes. Flashings to and about parapets and at tower are lead and require repointing and/or replacement.

The North porch was reconstructed and restored in 1997 and there is a further need to undertake restoration and conservation work to the tower. Further restoration work to the lower portions of the tower and the east wall of the Vestry, was undertaken in 2002/2003.

The traceried windows are one of the most magnificent aspects of the church and are generally in a good state of preservation. The great west window in particular is most notable. External wire guard protection to some of the windows is badly deteriorated and requires attention. Windows are in memory of such people as Bishop Barker. Archbishop Saumerez Smith, Simeon Pearce. George Kiss, Lady Charlotte Mary See, Canon Cakebread, Rev. O.V. Abrams and the Vickers family, amongst others.

The building externally has not suffered any major alteration which in any way affects its appearance. It has. however, suffered to a certain extent the natural ravages of time. All miscellaneous fittings and fitments are in timber.

Internally the building is quite magnificent. Stone arches rise above simple block capital stone piers and the whole is bathed in the warm light of stained glass. The roof of stained timber, is supported on graceful trusses, the ends of which sit upon stone corbeled "saddle" blocks. Everywhere there is a sense of harmony, proportion and restraint. Building materials are mainly sandstone and timber, although marble has been used in the sanctuary. The interior is quite well preserved, except for deterioration in some locations about the base of the external stone walls. Some walls are streaked and stained and require cleaning.

The building has been maintained generally in a most sympathetic manner, both Internally and externally. Furnishings are plain and with a slight neo-gothic theme to the altar, reredos and sanctuary^, railings and pews are simple and sturdy. The following two elements have been indiscriminately installed and detract from the visual appearances of the interior:- 

The organ was ordered from Mr Walker of Tottenham Road, London in May 1865 and was delivered to Sydney in October 1866. In 1904, the organ was dismantled and rebuilt, enlarged and improved by Sydney organ builder, Mr Richardson. In 1965 the organ was restored, and a remote console installed by the Australian office of Messrs. Hill, Norman and Beard of London, at a cost of £8,500. Many of the original pipes remain in the organ.

Edmund Blacket designed the internal fittings and fitments and was associated with some latter aspects of the building.

The lychgate at the street frontage and directly opposite the main entrance of the church, was constructed in 1922 and is a very simple and neat structure. very sympathetic with its surroundings, being built into, and part of, the main stone walls. The lychgate and wall were given by Edwin Fieldhouse. 

(ii)    The Rectory

The Rectory is a very spacious Victorian colonial residence constructed in 1870, plans being commenced in 1866. It is showing signs of general lack of maintenance, particularly to the rear and the southern side, but generally is substantial and on the whole requires general refurbishment and repairs. The building consists of a two (2) storied main structure with a single storey side wing, the lounge to the north, added at a later date, and a single storeyed service area to the rear. The building incorporates a cellar.

   The building has been constructed using solid stone walls, preformed arches and openings and keystones.

Recently the Staircase has been restored, new kitchen, bathroom, floorboards and ceilings restored.

The present Parish Centre built in 1862, to a design bv Thomas Rowe, at a cost of  £ 700, was originally used as the Randwick Council Chamber and offices, the Council having met up to this time in a room in the Destitute Children's Asylum. The building was purchased by the Church of England in 1895. A new Town Hall and offices was built in 1881, at a cost of £2,080.

 The Centre is a simple two (2) storied stone structure. being two (2) rooms and  hallway wide, with a ground floor approximately twice as deep as the first floor. It is a somewhat classical "fairytale"type building, having a copper sheeted central cupola of what could be regarded as a first floor "widow's walk", with long narrow double-hung windows, centered on the main elevation, in pairs. It is a most unusual and highly decorative mid-Victorian public building.

The building consists of solid stone walls, in some instances up to 500 mm thick, core filled, squared ashlar masonry, with exposed coarse rough-hewn articulated quoins. The jerkin-headed slate roof is punctuated by the central octagonal tower over the entrance and roof with a segmental domed roof and spirelet. A deep string course divides the facade in half. The keystones in the arched central openings are decorated with carved faces and further interest is given by carved panels in the tower walls. The external walls were painted and the roof is slate.

 General repairs and restoration works were undertaken to the external facades of the building in 1982 with the assistance of a Heritage Council Grant. This work included the complete rebuilding of chimneys, repairs to slate roof. new gutters and downpipes and some external painting, together with repairs to window frames, sashes, and joinery.