St Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, St Marys – Great Western Highway
Phillip Parker King gave the land on which St. Mary Magdalene Church was to be built in a style similar to the St. Mary Magdalene Church in Dunheved, Cornwall, England, to a design drawn by architect Francis Clarke. The period between 1836 and 1850 marks the greatest church building period in the history of N.S.W. In 1837, Bishop Broughton reported that 82 additional churches were in the course of erection. The foundation stone to St. Mary’s was laid by the Bishop on 22 November, 1837, the same day as St. Stephens’ had begun in Penrith. The bricks for the church were made from the clay at the Dunheved estate, and the church was completed in 1840, when Bishop Broughton returned for the April consecration service. Unfortunately, the bricks have been cement-rendered and the slate roof replaced with tiles. Inside, the north wall bears a fine glass window to the memory of John King Lethbridge.
The cemetery has many impressive headstones marking the passing of important characters in Australian history; Phillip Parker King, Anna King, her daughter Mary, the King Lethbridge family and many other well known St. Marys family names; Hacketts, Charkers, Turners, Beacrofts.