Historic images of Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals : 7

 

We continue our series of historic photographs commemorating the bi-centenary of Saint Mary's Cathedral (1821-2021).

In our previous articles, we posted photographs illustrating the earliest stages of the construction of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral :

1871 

1882

1883

1886

1887

1890

The photograph posted above was taken after work was completed on the next phase of building the Cathedral, continuing from where construction was brought to a close in 1885.   Only two years elapsed before a further contract was entered into, which was carried out between 1887 and 1889 and consisted of constructing the upper sections of the side walls (known as the clerestory), the accompanying flying buttresses and finally by the construction of the roof of the sanctuary, from the Northern gable to the Crossing.  The new roof was finished in slate.

The photograph was probably taken after the year 1890 from outside the gates of the Domain.  As the building of the new Cathedral progressed, professional photographers were regularly taking images of the stages of construction.  It was an imposing sight which attracted much interest.  From illustrated magazines of those times, residents of Sydney and beyond knew what the completed the design for the building would look like, even though the building process would take an indeterminate length of time.  

In this photograph, the lofty stone wall of the Northern facade (completed in 1885) can be seen in all its richness, with the new clerestory walls, flying buttresses and slate roof structures beyond it.  The central tower and roof of the transepts are notably absent.  

The Frazer Memorial fountain, which was constructed at the corner of Saint Mary's Road and Prince Albert Road in 1884, can be seen here, along with a man walking past it and two young ladies in pinafores strolling hand-in-hand.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

AMDG

NOTES

The photographs in this series are taken from a variety of sources, some in online Archival collections, some from books, some original images in the editor's collection. They are presented here in a "modernised" digital form, and with as much detail of the structure of the Cathedrals enhanced in order to make them more accessible to a new generation of Australian Catholics. The original image on which this digital rendering is based is held by the Cultural Collections of the University of Newcastle.  Please do not reproduce these unique images without permission.