Historic Images of Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals : 23

Saint Mary's Cathedral circa 1921.
Image : State Library of NSW

We continue our series of historic photographs commemorating the bi-centenary of Saint Mary's Cathedral (1821-2021) with this photograph taken a century ago, 1921-22.

This photograph, taken in Hyde Park and looking south-east, is the first image in this series to illustrate the construction of the enlargement of the Cathedral between 1914 and 1928.  On the middle-ground at right are seen the walls of the new nave, still at an early stage of construction.  After some years working on the foundations and interrupted by the hard years of the Great War (when even skilled workers were in short supply), the walls of the Cathedral enlargement finally began to be visible circa 1920.  Work progressed steadily after that time.

In order to depict what is in the photograph more clearly, an enlarged section of the image is also included, which shews scaffolding, mounds of stone and rubble and enormous cranes.

Detail of the photograph above shewing the unfinished
walls of the Cathedral, circa 1921.
Image : State Library of NSW

In our previous articles, we posted photographs illustrating the stages of the construction of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral, to be found at the following links :

1871              1882             1883             1886

1887              1890             1892             1895

1896               1901             1902            1905

1907               1910            1912             1914             

1915               1917

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 State Library of NSW.  Thanks are due to Special Collections of the State Library for undertaking a search to locate this and other rare images.  Please do not reproduce these unique images without permission. 

Francis Greenway and old Saint Mary's : 3

In previous articles on this blog, we have been tracing the story of the foundation of the first Saint Mary's Cathedral, two centuries ago.  We began by recounting the events of the day on which the Foundation Stone was laid.  Then we re-traced our steps to study the meetings and planning of the Colony's Catholics to establish that first church.  We also looked at how Saint Mary's Cathedral came to be built where it is, one of the finest sites in Sydney city.

We return to the contribution of the Colonial Architect, Francis Greenway to the design for that first church, old Saint Mary's. The architectural design drawn by Greenway, as mentioned in our previous article, gives us a glimpse of what the old church of Saint Mary's Sydney might have been.  In this article, we will examine in close detail that rare surviving plan for Saint Mary's church.  It is an important plan not just in our Catholic history, but because it is amongst the earliest designs for the Gothic style of architecture in Australia.  It also demonstrates that Francis Greenway was quite capable of designing detailed Gothic ornament for his buildings, even though nothing else now survives illustrating that capacity. 

The plan has remained preserved with the papers of Father Therry for two hundred years, even though Father Therry set its suggestions aside.  EN 1   With the cooperation of the State Library of New South Wales, and the assistance of modern technologies, we are now able to examine the plan closely and see all those details which Francis Greenway dreamed of, but which never saw the light of day.

First, however, this photograph, which depicts the Anglican church of Saint Saviour's in Auckley (England), built in the 1830s in the early form of the Gothic Revival style. 

Figure 1.
Anglican Church of Saint Saviour Auckley (UK).

The Auckley church is smaller than what Greenway intended for the Catholic chapel of Sydney town; but the photograph gives a good idea of how old Saint Mary's would have looked, had it been built to Francis Greenway's design.  It is a modest building, charming, even rustic;  but nothing like the magnificent Gothic churches which came to be built in the later nineteenth century (including in Sydney).   It is a hall-like structure with clear glazing letting in plenty of daylight.  There is no separate room for the sanctuary; it includes a side porch, but Greenway's design for Saint Mary's did not.  

This little church is nothing like the church which Father Therry eventually caused to be built in Sydney.  And a modest church like Saint Saviour's Auckley  would have been too small for the needs of the Catholics of the Colony within a few years of its completion.

Francis Greenway's drawing is only a glimpse of his design for Saint Mary's church.  It depicts what the sanctuary (East) end of the building would have looked like and what a section of the south side would have looked like.  It also depicts his intentions for the ceiling inside the building.  Let us now include sections of the Greenway drawing and describe in detail what he designed.

Figure 2.
Image : State Library of NSW.

Figure 2. is a section of the Greenway drawing and depicts the East facade of the design.  EN 2  Flanking each side of this facade were square buttresses.  Although also ornamental, the principal reason for buttresses was structural : they were to strengthen the walls against the heavy weight of a timber roof bearing down on the walls.  We notice in Greenway's design, however, that even the buttresses were to receive special ornamental treatment.  Into the face of the facade buttress, we find he had made provision for two arches to be incised with elaborately carved endings and separated from each other by a four-leaf flower or quatrefoil.    EN 3   Then at the top of the buttress, mouldings were introduced which also were to incorporate carved stone ornament.  Springing from this was a pinnacle of stone, hexagonal in shape and topped with stone castellations in the form of a crown.  A spirelet projects from the pinnacle.   EN 4  We find that the height of the buttresses from their footing to the top of the spirelet was 32 feet.  EN 5

Above this work is a massive masonry parapet, with another pinnacle at the apex.  The pinnacle at the apex is differently-shaped and smaller than the other pinnacles.  Greenway intended that this parapet would also feature four-leaf flowers or quatrefoils carved into the stone in a progression to the apex of the building.  He has drawn these in pencil, indicating that they are ornaments which might have been added at some later time, not necessarily during construction.

Figure 3.
Image : State Library of NSW.

Figure 3. is a section of the drawing depicting further details of the Eastern facade of the church.   Francis Greenway's design for this facade was purely to enhance its dignity as the area where the altar was to be placed.   The East window opening is divided by tracery, a word which describes the timber or stone components which divide the glazing into separate and ornamental compartments.  Greenway designed six compartments for this window with each compartment having ornamental stone carving at the head.  At the apex of the window, this stone tracery is continued, enhancing the ornate appearance of the window.  Over the window opening is a dripstone, another decorative feature, but with the practical purpose of re-directing running water away from the glass and down the sides of the building.   Greenway's tracery for this window was drawn in fine detail.  He even indicated little spheres or corbels of stone were to be carved at either end of the dripstone. 

There are further ornamental features of Greenway's design for this end of the building. The most notable are the elaborate statue niches carved from stone and set into the wall on either side of the central window.  These niches Greenway designed with massive stone bases, carved to resemble leaves, and on which a statue was to be placed.  An elaborate carved stone canopy covered the statues.  Greenway even draws an idea for a statue for the niche : perhaps Christ or another saint.  These statues were intended to be almost life size, just on five feet tall.  EN 6

And over all of these, Greenway intended to be placed the coat-of-arms of Great Britain, as with other public buildings of the Colony of New South Wales he designed.  It would be safe to suggest that the coat-of-arms concept did not appeal greatly to Father Therry.    EN 7  

Figure 4.
Image : State Library of NSW.

Figure 4. is a section of the drawing depicting Greenway's intention for the sidewalls of the church.  The extent of his design illustrated just one unit of the wall, called a bay.  The body of the church was divided into these units, one separated from the other by buttresses or piers.  Just as with the facade, Greenway designed square buttresses with pinnacles, castellation ornament and a spirelet.    It is noteworthy that the pinnacle on the left-hand corner of the nave is slightly larger than the one drawn on the right-hand.   

The window opening, which was to be twelve feet tall  EN 8  is divided by tracery  into four compartments or lights, at the top of which is ornamental stone carving.  Again, we find this carved tracery is drawn in great detail by Greenway.  Over the window opening is a dripstone, just as was found in the drawing of the facade window (figure 3).  

At the top of each bay and running along the entire length of the building Greenway designed a masonry parapet, which conceals the edges of the roof.  He also intended that this parapet eventually would be enriched with four-leaf flowers carved into the stone in a procession. 

Figure 5.
Image : State Library of NSW.

The last section (figure 5) from Francis Greenway's drawing shews his design for the structure and ornament of the ceiling, within the building.  We are given no other indication of the interior except this, so it was obviously of some importance to the overall design.  Alternatives were proposed for the design of the ceiling, as Greenway explained in writing on the plan (figure 7) : 

The pencil lines of the section of one of the rafters shews in what manner the roof might be done in wood only when the end window could be kept higher but such a roof would be attended with much more expense in completing than a flat ceiling yet it would be much more in character with the stile [sic] of the building.

Had there been a flat ceiling - most likely formed from timber and plastered over - it would have been almost 22 feet from the level of the floor.  EN 9  A ceiling of timber members, however, would have reached an apex 7 feet beyond that.  This proposed timber ceiling was intended to be highly ornamental.  The structure of rafters, running from the top of wall to the apex of the roof would have been of polished timber and the trusses - which would have corresponded to the position on the exterior walls of the stone buttresses, would have been segmented with curved timber members, each end of which was to feature carved timber and projecting ornaments called bosses.   To use another technical term, what Greenway designed was a hammer beam ceiling.  This was to be a grand structure, very much better than the ceilings of the other churches (Anglican) in Sydney at that time.  

Figure 6.
The extraordinary hammer-beam timber roof of Westminster Hall
where Her Late Majesty the Queen recently lay-in-state.
A more elaborate expression of Greenway's roof design for old Saint Mary's Church, Sydney.
Image : Flickr.

Figure 7.
Notes on Francis Greenway's design for Saint Mary's Church written by the architect himself.
Image : State Library of NSW.

To be concluded in a following post ...

AMDG.

ENDNOTES

EN 1  Father Therry left his papers to the Jesuits in his Will and after almost a century passed since his death, they deposited the papers with the Mitchell Library, Sydney, where they remain in a distinct Collection. 

EN 2  A scale is appended in Imperial measurements (used by Greenway).

EN 3  Such a treatment of buttresses was to be found in the later form of Gothic in the English Tudor period. 

EN 4   Such pinnacles are a distinctive feature of Gothic architecture of the Perpendicular period (15th and 16th centuries).   We find such pinnacles on the well-known Chapels of King's College Cambridge and Saint George's Windsor, where our late Majesty the Queen was recently buried. 

EN 5   32 feet = 9.75 metres.

EN 6   5 feet = 1.52 metres.

EN 7   Governor Macquarie's name did appeared on the church built under Father Therry's direction, as he promised to the Governor on the day the foundation stone was laid in October 1821.

EN 8   12 feet = 3.66 metres.

EN 9   22 feet = 6.71 metres.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Duffy, Monsignor Cornelius  "Catholic Religious and Social Life in the Macquarie Era" Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 1966.

Ellis, MH,  Francis Greenway   Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1949.

Morton, Herman,  The Early Australian Architects and Their Work,  Agnus & Robertson, Sydney, 1954.

Hughes, Joyce & Broadbent, James,  Francis Greenway Architect,   Historic Houses Trust of Australia, Sydney, 1997.

Kerr, Joan and Broadbent, James,  Gothick Taste in the Colony of New South Wales,   David Ell Press, Sydney 1980.

Historic Images of Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals : 22

Saint Mary's Cathedral c. 1910 - 1914.
Image : State Library of NSW

We continue our series of historic photographs commemorating the bi-centenary of Saint Mary's Cathedral (1821-2021) with this street photograph taken between 1910 and 1914 by the Sydney-based studio Kerry & Co.

This photograph, taken in the Domain and looking south-west, shews the Cathedral as it appeared in its completed state of 1900.  In the middle-ground are the gates of the Domain.  On the left in the foreground a green-grocer has his cart, filled with fruit and vegetables.  He has covered his face with his hand, to avoid being photographed.  

In our previous articles, we posted photographs illustrating the stages of the construction of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral, to be found at the following links :

1871              1882             1883             1886

1887              1890             1892             1895

1896               1901             1902            1905

1907               1910            1914             1915       1917

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 State Library of NSW.  Thanks are due to Special Collections of the State Library for undertaking a search to locate this and other rare images.  Please do not reproduce these unique images without permission. 

Prayers for the Monarch

On this sad day, when the whole world stops to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the following extract from the writings of Archbishop Polding presents itself.  He published it on 26th March, 1843.

In somewhat lofty language, he asks all Catholic people throughout Australia to pray for the Monarch.  At that time, it was the young Queen Victoria, who came to the throne in 1837.  What the Archbishop wrote is an helpful reminder to us, also, to pray for our Sovereign.  At this time, moreover, we recall with gratitude the 70 years of selfless, Godly service Queen Elizabeth gave to her realms and to the entire world.  We will never again see her like.

Archbishop Polding OSB

Amongst the duties upon which St Timothy, raised to the Episcopal See of Ephesus, is required by St Paul to insist, as "good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, are supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings for Kings, and for all that are in high station, that we may lead" - observes the Apostle - "a quiet and peaceable life."  Thus admonished by the Apostle of the Gentiles, in the person of his disciple, we deem it incumbent upon us, at an early period of our administration, to remind our beloved flock of this duty; and in order to facilitate a faithful compliance with it, to ordain that it form a part of the devotional exercises of the Sunday.  For this end, we order that in all our churches, before or after Mass, shall be recited or sung the versicles, responses, and prayers usually inserted in our Liturgy under the head Pro Rege.  To these shall be added another prayer for his Excellency the Governor, and for all in authority over us - that they may administer justice, and that under their rule we may dwell in unity, peace and truth.

And although the sublime principle of Christian allegiance, which teaches us to reverence our Sovereign the minister of God's authority, ought chiefly to urge us to this duty, yet we cannot forget the many and endearing titles [claims] our gracious Queen has to our love and gratitude.

¶

How much more cogently are we pressed - not by the impulse of duty alone, but by every motive that can influence the affections - to pray for the eternal and temporal welfare of our gracious Sovereign Queen Victoria, whose delight is to behold the happiness commensurate with the extensiveness of her sway, to know that all subject to her sceptre are in the full enjoyment of the means required for a life of quiet and peace, unalloyed and undisturbed.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.

Historic images of Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals : 21

Saint Mary's Cathedral 1914 - 1917.
Image : State Library of NSW

We continue our series of historic photographs commemorating the bi-centenary of Saint Mary's Cathedral (1821-2021) with this street photograph taken between 1914 and 1917. 

This photograph, taken in Hyde Park and looking south-east, shews the Cathedral as it appeared in its completed state of 1900.  On the right in the middle-ground is the statue of William Bede Dalley, which still stands on this spot in the Park.  On the sunny afternoon in the park, some people are taking their ease, sitting on benches.

A close view of the photograph reveals that the facade of old Saint Mary's - which was visible above the tree-line in previous posts - has disappeared.  The cherished old building was demolished in stages 1913-1914.  But the unfortunate outbreak of the Great War in August 1914 slowed down considerably all the work on the new stage of the Cathedral. 

In our previous articles, we posted photographs illustrating the stages of the construction of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral, to be found at the following links :

1871              1882             1883             1886

1887              1890             1892             1895

1896               1901             1902            1905

1907               1910            1914             1915  

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 State Library of NSW.  Thanks are due to Special Collections of the State Library for undertaking a search to locate this and other rare images.  Please do not reproduce these unique images without permission. 

The Founding of Old Saint Mary's : 3

DESIGNING  OLD  SAINT  MARY'S :  part one

In a previous article, we discussed the design drawn-up by the famed architect of the Macquarie era, Francis Greenway and how it did not find favour with the Catholic Chaplain, Father Therry.  The old Saint Mary’s chapel - later a Cathedral - which was built from 1822 onwards, was different in every aspect from Greenway’s design.   It has frequently been asserted  that the design which was built was that of Father Therry himself.  EN 1  In this two-part article, we wish to discuss that theory. 

At the time in which old Saint Mary’s was commenced, Sydney was nothing more than a township with few notable buildings and only two churches, both of them being Anglican.  One of these two churches had been built quite recently from the design of Francis Greenway, namely, Saint James' church in King Street, near the Law Courts.  It still stands. The other was a somewhat older church, located in The Rocks and dedicated to Saint Phillip.  This old church was a very peculiar affair and was once described as "the ugliest church in Christendom".   EN 2  

Figure 1.  The old Church of Saint Phillip on Church Hill.
Image : The State Library of NSW.

It was a matter of great significance - even notoriety - that Catholics were about building their own chapel, still less, one on the scale envisaged by Father Therry.  The aspirations of Father Therry - but not of the majority of his congregation - are revealed in a sketch which he drew in pen and ink, between 1821-22, upon which he wrote : "Rough Outlines of Intended Cathedral".  EN 3

Figure 2.  Father Therry's drawing "Rough Outlines for Intended Cathedral."

FATHER THERRY’S ROUGH OUTLINES

Many things are noteworthy from this sketch. The first is that the design is referred to as a “Cathedral”, namely the church which is the seat of a bishop.   In 1821, the notion of Australia having a bishop - let alone a Catholic bishop - would to most people have seemed far-fetched. There were only a few ministers of Religion and but one Catholic priest on the Australian mainland : what on earth would be the use of a Bishop? Evidently Father Therry had great aspirations indeed; this large church would one day be the seat of a Catholic bishop.  And indeed it became so, only thirteen years later.

Another aspect of note from the “Rough Outlines” is that it certainly depicts a building in the Gothic style - well, at least, a rather basic form referred to then (and since) as Gothick.  EN 4    This was the style of rural churches in Ireland and England, but it certainly was not the architecture found in the colonial town of Sydney.  So, we see that Father Therry wished the Catholic chapel to be set apart; he wished it to be large and he wished it to be in a more ancient form of ecclesiastical architecture.  It was to look like the old churches that Irish Catholics knew.  One senses that Father Therry's interest in this style of architecture was not a fashionable romanticism, but a deep desire to honour, even revive, an Irish Catholic heritage on the far side of the world.   EN 5   Consequently, stylistic correctness was not important to him so much as the general "look and feel" of old Catholic Ireland.

Yes, stylistic "correctness" was lacking;  the "rough outlines" indicate - somewhat painfully - that Father Therry had no idea of Gothic architecture whatever.   His “Rough Outlines” reveal a strange hybrid between the Gothick style and a domestic style of architecture, which we would call Colonial or Georgian.  The large building he sketched out looks more like an English manor house than it does a church.  This style, with its layers rising upward, is often referred to as Wedding Cake Gothic.  Studying its oddities, one is not quite sure which end of the building is which.  A three-storey tower with a spire is in the centre of the drawing.  Would that be the centre of the building as a sort of crossing?   On either end are smaller towers; perhaps these were the opposing facades of the building, one being the entry, the other being where the altar was situated.  We also find that the main body of the church has two storeys of windows. And all the windows are pointed at the apex, in the Gothick style.  Crenellations, giving the appearance of battlements, are also depicted.

Although he might have been seeking to create the appearance of old Irish churches, we would be looking for a long time to discover a church in Ireland - an exemplar we might call it - upon which Father Therry based this design for Saint Mary’s.  Very few churches were built in Ireland after those dreadful years when the English subjugated the Irish and their religion.  And many of what were mediaeval Catholic churches had become the property of the Church of Ireland (Anglican).

Figure 3.  The old Christchurch Newcastle;
a section of a watercolour by EC Close.
Image : The State Library of NSW.

One intriguing thing, however : the tower and spire of Father Therry's “Rough Outlines” - together with its porches at the foot of that tower - strongly resemble that of the Anglican Christchurch in the convict settlement of Newcastle (North of Sydney), constructed but a few years before Father Therry’s arrival in New South Wales. Perhaps he had visited Newcastle and admired that tower and spire, perched defiantly on the hill overlooking the Newcastle settlement. We cannot be certain.  If the design for Saint Mary's tower was based on Christchurch, Newcastle, Father Therry intended to out-do it, by adding a third storey to his tower.  EN 6

A much more likely exemplar, however, is not in Australia at all, but in Dublin, another Anglican church opened in 1814, at much the same time as Father Therry ministry in that city.  EN 7   This was the Church of Saint George in Hardwicke Place, Dublin.  This is a building in the Classical style or English baroque, of which style other splendid churches of the 18th century are to be found in London. EN 8   Ignoring the classical portico and Baroque detailing of the tower of Saint George's, significant similarities are to be observed with Father Therry's "Rough Outlines".

Figure 4.  The Church of Saint George, Hardwicke Place, Dublin.
A very early photograph of 1843.
Image : The Bodleian Library Oxford University.

Great, then, were Father Therry's aspirations !  But this design never progressed to the stage of being built.  Like Francis Greenway's small and stylistically correct design for Saint Mary's, what came to be built opposite Hyde Park bore almost no resemblance to the "Rough Outlines".  The drawing alone survives as a curious indicator of Father Therry's Grand Designs;  but it is also amongst the earliest examples of design in the Gothick style to have been drawn in Australia.  If for no other reason than these, the drawing is of great historical significance.

In the following part of this post, we will attempt to determine how old Saint Mary's took on the form and appearance it did and who was responsible for the eventual design.

AMDG

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ENDNOTES

EN 1  Architectural historians Joan Kerr and James Broadbent reiterated this theory in their study Gothick Taste in the Colony of New South Wales, David Ell Press, Sydney 1980.  

EN 2  This unkind description is found in most articles about old Saint Phillip's church.  Old Saint Phillip's church stood in what is now Lang Park, directly opposite Saint Patrick's Church Hill.

EN 3  The whereabouts of the original sketch is not presently known, but it was reproduced in Father Eris O’Brien’s biography of Father Therry, published a century ago.

EN 4  The term Gothick came to be used of a revived style of architecture of the 18th century.  This revival was part of a romantic movement in the arts and architecture and was initially domestic rather than ecclesiastical.  These romantic beginnings gave away to a more scholarly attempts to reproduce mediaeval architecture.  This second school is called The Gothic Revival.  

EN 5  We must remember that Catholicism in Ireland was still officially an illegal religion before the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829.  This prevented Catholics from constructing anything that even looked   like a church.  After 1829, however, new Catholic churches sprung up everywhere across Ireland and often in this revived style of the mediaeval period.  Father Therry did not have the benefit of seeing this blossoming : he had left Ireland in 1820, and never returned.

EN 6  Old Christchurch, Newcastle, was largely completed by 1818 and also in a rustic style of ecclesiastical architecture.  Its splendid tower and spire had to be taken down because of the effect of buffeting winds on a very exposed site.  The first stage of this modification was in 1820.  For this reason, it can only be a conjecture that Father Therry saw the church before these modifications.

EN 7  Father Therry was ordained in 1815, after several years study at Saint Patrick's College in the city of Carlow.  After ordination, Father Therry ministered to Catholics in the city of Dublin, before returning to his native city of Cork circa 1818. 

EN 8  Saint George's church, Dublin is regarded as a "daughter" of the famous church of Saint Martin's-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, constructed early in the 18th century.

 

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Morton, Herman, The Early Australian Architects and Their Work, Agnus & Robertson, Sydney, 1954.

Kerr, Joan and Broadbent, James, Gothick Taste in the Colony of New South Wales, David Ell Press, Sydney 1980.

O'Brien, Eris, The Life and Letters of Archpriest John Joseph Therry, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1922.

Historic Images of Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals : 20

Image : State Library of NSW

We continue our series of historic images commemorating the bi-centenary of Saint Mary's Cathedral (1821-2021) with this crayon sketch made around 1915.  Thank you for your interest in the work of the Archbishop Polding Guild in publishing these historic images.  Please share the posts with others who might also be interested and take a look at the many other history posts on this blog.

The image in this post differs from most of the previous ones because it illustrates the present Cathedral from another angle, in Hyde Park, looking North-east.  

When this sketch was drawn, the remaining walls of old Saint Mary's had been carefully dismantled in preparation for the construction of the nave and southern towers.  But this image reveals what the temporary wall looked like which was constructed on the south side of the Crossing Tower in the 1880s.  It is shewn on the right side of the drawing.  The wall - always a temporary arrangement - was not of dressed stone like the fine walls of the Cathedral, but of an undressed stone, with an uneven surface.  The temporary wall was pierced with a window and a door, even though they are not shewn in this sketch.  As work on the enlargement of the Cathedral proceeded in the 1920s, the temporary wall was demolished and the new work was unified with what had been constructed in the 1880s and 1890s.

In our previous articles, we posted photographs illustrating the stages of the construction of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral, to be found at the following links :

1871              1882             1883             1886

1887              1890             1892             1895

1896               1901             1902            1905

1907               1910            1914             1915  

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 State Library of NSW.  Thanks are due to Special Collections of the State Library for undertaking a search to locate this and other rare images.  Please do not reproduce these unique images without permission. 

Historic Images of Sydney's Catholic Cathedrals : 19

Image : State Library of NSW

We continue our series of historic photographs commemorating the bi-centenary of Saint Mary's Cathedral (1821-2021) with this street photograph taken after 1915, somewhat similar to our previous post.

This photograph, taken from the corner of Prince Albert Road, shews the Cathedral as it appeared in its completed state of 1900.  On the left are the familiar walls of the NSW Lands Department offices.  

A close view of the photograph reveals that the facade of old Saint Mary's - which was visible above the tree-line in previous posts - has disappeared.  The cherished old building was demolished in stages 1913-1914.  But the unfortunate outbreak of the Great War in August 1914 slowed down considerably all the work on the new stage of the Cathedral. 

In our previous articles, we posted photographs illustrating the stages of the construction of the present Saint Mary's Cathedral, to be found at the following links :

1871              1882             1883             1886

1887              1890             1892             1895

1896               1901             1902            1905

1907               1910            1914             1915  

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 State Library of NSW.  Thanks are due to Special Collections of the State Library for undertaking a search to locate this and other rare images.  Please do not reproduce these unique images without permission. 

Archbishop Polding Commemorative Card

Image : The Saint Bede Studio

The Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev'd Anthony Fisher O.P., has approved the publication of a prayer card commemorating the life of his predecessor, ARCHBISHOP JOHN BEDE POLDING O.S.B. (1794-1877).  The Archbishop indicated that he wished to see devotion to Archbishop Polding spread throughout the Archdiocese, Australia and beyond.

Part of the commemorative card is shewn below.  Artwork for the card was carried out by The Saint Bede Studio.  The commemorative card will be distributed to Parishes of the Archdiocese.  

Please visit look over this blog for posts about the life of Archbishop Polding and featuring his homilies and pastoral letters.

AMDG.