This is the first of a new series of posts on this blog to present the churches which were founded by Archbishop Polding during his ministry in Australia (1835-1877).
Where possible, details of the history and architectural style of the buildings will be given, together with illustrations.
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| Church of S' Francis Xavier, Wollongong circa 1890. Digital restoration by the Saint Bede Studio. |
The first in our series is the Church of Saint Francis Xavier in Wollongong. Bishop Polding visited the Illawarra and laid the first stone of this church on 13th October 1840.
The church was constructed between 1841 and 1848 of brick and stone in the Gothick style. It seems the exterior walls were rendered and painted, but leaving all the stone features exposed.It is most likely S' Francis Xavier's was constructed from plans drawn-up by the English architect Henry Edmund Goodridge, with whom Father Polding worked at Downside Abbey (Bath UK). When he was appointed to Australia in 1835, Bishop Polding brought with him plans for some small churches of Goodridge's design.
Saint Francis Xavier is an attractive example of early Gothic Revival style architecture. It was originally cruciform in shape. It is unclear whether the front porch is original or added as an after-thought. Perhaps an image exists somewhere which sheds light on this point. Although the bellcote and the pinnacled buttresses of the facade are rather crude in stylistic terms, they are nevertheless distinctive ornaments to the church. The pinnacles have strong similarities to a more well-known church of the same period : Saint Patrick's Church Hill.
Over the course of the 19th century, the interior of this church was beautifully enhanced with ornamental decorative painting.
Of all the old Australian Catholic churches, however, S' Francis Xavier's is probably the most mutilated. Several additions were made to it in the 20th century which succeeded in destroying the simple character of the building. Maybe one day these will all be swept away and the church returned to its original condition, as depicted in the restored image circa 1890 which illustrates this post.
AMDG
