Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals Stages of Development : 3

Figure 1 : Elevation of old S' Mary's Cathedral and other buildings 1850.

As part of our commemoration of the Bicentenary of the foundation of Saint Mary's Cathedral, we are pleased to present a short series of plans and elevations which depict the stages of construction on the Cathedral precinct from 1821 - 1928.  We have previously described stages of construction in 1835 and 1843.

The elevation shewn above and the plan below illustrate parts of the buildings which were completed by the end of 1850.  They are shewn in juxtaposition with an outline of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral. On the right is the Gothick structure of old Saint Mary's Cathedral, the exterior of which was completed by 1834.  In the middle, is a long, low stone structure which was an enclosed walkway leading from the Benedictine Monastery buildings to the North transept of the Cathedral.  This walkway is described as a Cloister.   Partly concealed by the cloister is the group of buildings in the colonial style which comprised the Benedictine Monastery and the residence of the Archbishop.  These building had previously been Saint Joseph's Chapel and schoolrooms, but from the late 1830s they came to be used - in stages - by the Benedictine priests and brothers attached to the Cathedral.  Shewn on the left is the small bell-tower of the Cathedral, completed in December 1843.

Figure 2 : Section of an engraving circa 1863
 looking south-east from College Street
and shewing the Monastery Cloister
adjacent to the North Transept of the Old Saint Mary's.
Image : The State Library of NSW

In 1842, Archbishop Polding placed a commission with the famed English architect of the Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, to design extensions and new buildings for the Monastery and Cathedral precinct.  The most prominent of this new work was a magnificent extension to the facade of the Cathedral, commenced in 1851.  But there were other buildings, less grand, which Pugin is regarded as having designed.  In the last quarter of 1843, and in expectation of the imminent arrival from England of a peal of bells, a campanile was constructed at the northern end of the Church property.  The campanile was unprepossessing in appearance, square in shape and built from timber and stone, with a timber shingle roof.  Less noticeable was the stone cloister, commenced in 1844, which linked the Monastery buildings to the Cathedral.  Its purpose was to provide a private and sheltered corridor for the members of the Monastic community.  Other significant rooms were incorporated into the structure of the cloister, namely a sacristy on the east side and adjoining this, a small, but beautiful chapel, intended for the private use of the Benedictine Community.  Dedicated to Saint Felician, this chapel was where the Community usually sung the Divine Office each day.

Figure 3 : Groundplan of old S' Mary's Cathedral
and other buildings 1850.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

NOTES

The elevation of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral, included in this and future posts, has been used with the kind permission of the artist Simon Fieldhouse.

In the preparation of this plan and elevation, a large number of extant illustrations and ground-plans were used in order to depict the buildings in their correct position and to scale.  Although this has not guaranteed 100% accuracy, it is as accurate as we have been able to assess.  Some of the ground-plans present discrepancies and contradictions respecting the position of buildings which have long-since ceased to exist.  One means of assessing correct locations is the surviving stone remnant wall of Old Saint Mary's, located on the far-side of the present Cathedral

The first Saint Mary's Cathedral, as completed by 1835, stood somewhat back from what was later to become College Street.  Its principal facade faced Hyde Park, but was slightly off the East-to-West axis.

The other buildings were set even farther back on the Church land, on ground which sloped downward, so that they were only partly visible looking across from Hyde Park. 

AMDG