St Andrew's Cathedral

About

St Andrew's Cathedral (also known as St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral) is a cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales (currently the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel from 28 May 2021). The position of Dean of Sydney has been held by the Very Reverend Sandy Grant since 9 December 2021. The St Andrew's has an Evangelical ministry, holding services every day, including a weekly healing service. There is a cathedral choir of men and boys who sing during term time, as well as a company of bell ringers. The notable pipe organ has been restored and is regularly used for recitals and concerts. Designed primarily by Edmund Blacket on foundations laid by James Hume, the cathedral was built from 1837 to 1868, and was ready for services and consecrated in 1868, making it the oldest cathedral in Australia. St Andrew's is one of the city's finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture. Joan Kerr described the cathedral as "a perfect example of the colonial desire to reproduce England in Australia in the mid nineteenth century". The cathedral is located at 1400...

A cathedral was planned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie to be an impressive building in the centre of Sydney within a large square which would contain major civic buildings. He foresaw that Sydney would grow into a large city requiring a large cathedral. With the architect Francis Greenway, who had been transported to Sydney for forgery, Macquarie planned a church 61-metre (200 ft) square and probably with the seating and galleries facing inward from three sides. The foundation stone was laid with full ceremony on 31 August 1819. Only a few foundations were laid, however, before the plan was abandoned. It was later moved to accommodate development under Governor Bourke to make George Street straight rather than interrupted by a large square. Macquarie's plans were abandoned with the appointment of Commissioner Bigge to the colony and St James' was constructed in place of the proposed cathedral as a church for Sydney.

Macquarie's vision has since been realised with the construction of the present cathedral and later Sydney Town Hall.

W. M. Cowper, Dean 1858–1902 William Grant Broughton, first Bishop of Sydney Bishop William Grant Broughton, who was consecrated as a bishop in 1836, had a new foundation stone laid in 1837. The plans, prepared by the architect James Hume, were of much more modest proportions and were for a traditional cruciform church in the Gothic style. The designs, dating from the early phase of Gothic Revival architecture, did not show a great expertise in the handling of the particular architectural vocabulary. Only one notable section was completed, the façade of the south transept. However, the foundations were laid and some of the walls were constructed up to a height of about 5 metres (15 ft).

Revival of interest was partly due to the Church Act of 1836 which provided NSW Colonial Government subsidies for new church construction. In this case, £ 1,000 and finances for a dean was provided. The cathedral was the most prominent of the eight churches commenced under this scheme and the major church building designed by Hume. It was also the first attempt in the colony to produce accurate details from medieval sources. The Conrad Martens lithograph influenced much of the church design that followed. Work on the building again ceased in 1842 due to the combined effects of drought and economic depression in the colony.

Main article: Edmund Blacket In 1842 Edmund Blacket presented himself to Bishop Broughton with a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury recommending his talent as an architect and having equal facility in both the Classical and the Gothic styles. He was eventually to become known as the Wren of Sydney, having designed two universities, three cathedrals and 50 or more parish churches as well as banks, offices, bridges, mansions and countless shops, cottages and terraced houses. Blacket became the official Colonial Architect from 1849 to 1854.

Blacket was an inventive and stylish Gothic Revival architect who utilised the forms of English Medieval prototypes reproduced in the books of his architectural library to produce designs which, although archeologically "correct", are often highly original. This was just as well, because the task that he inherited from Hume was not an easy one. It took some convincing to get the bishop to accept his deviations from the original design. The problem was how to make an imposing cathedral on foundations which were only the size of a large English parish church. Taking into account what Hume had done and the fact that some of Hume's rather amateurish window tracery was already in place, Blacket designed the cathedral in the style known as Perpendicular Gothic, used extensively at the cathedrals of Canterbury, Winchester and York.

Blacket enlarged the building by two bays in length and added the central tower. He also proceeded to change the overall form and detailing of the building. In October 1850 six bishops of Australasia met in Sydney for a conference. Someone suggested that as there were six pillars in the nave of the cathedral each should bear the name of one of the bishops. William Grant Broughton, Bishop of Sydney and Metropolitan; George Augustus Selwyn, Bishop of New Zealand; Francis Russell Nixon, Bishop of Tasmania ; Augustus Short, Bishop of Adelaide ; Charles Perry, Bishop of Melbourne and William Tyrell, Bishop of Newcastle. The pillars were so named. In 1868, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (second son of Queen Victoria ), attended St Andrew's for an organ recital.

With the repetition of forms and the strongly vertical lines characteristic of Perpendicular Gothic, Blacket succeeded in creating a building which, despite its small size, is nevertheless imposing and of harmonious proportions. The western front with its layered decoration is a majestic composition, based loosely on that of York Minster. The strongly projecting rectangular buttresses, which transform by stages into lofty octagonally-sectioned pinnacles, and the complex molding around the portals casts varied shadows in the bright Australian sunlight. Kinsela describes it as “a grand façade with superb towers...Covered with a profusion of ornanament, blind traceries and tiny attached pinnacles, in a light-hearted yet elegant manner.”

Broughton did not live to consecrate St Andrew's. He died while on a trip to England in 1853 and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral. The second Bishop of Sydney, Frederic Barker, consecrated the completed building on St Andrew's Day, 30 November 1868. Seven out of nine Australian bishops were present at the opening. By 1874 the cathedral was substantially complete, including the western towers. The external form of the building had been finished, the building was furnished and changes had already commenced to the interior. Problems were detected due to water and ventilation which Blacket attended to with varying degrees of success.

Minor work was still taking place to the cathedral building from 1874. Fifteen years after opening, large scale cleaning and maintenance of the fabric and furnishings was required, to which Blacket responded.

Within 10 years of the 1874 completion the question of size was raised. Attendances at services had grown and on special occasions hundreds were turned away. In 1886 Bishop Barry said enlarging the cathedral was a question to face. He suggested the possibility of doubling its size. During 1883 proposals were made for a suitable memorial to Bishop Barker the second Bishop of Sydney. The chapter house was decided on, to be also used as a synod hall. This suggestion was aligned with Barker's advocacy of synodical government. The building was designed by the Blacket Brothers and was opened by Lord Carrington and used for the first time at the general synod in October 1886. In the meantime, St Andrew's Cathedral School was established in 1885 to provide choristers to sing at daily services, a strong tradition that has continued.

During 1884, J. Pearson was commissioned to prepare designs for the reredos. Work was finally completed in November 1888 following delays with approval of design, carving and erection of the reredos.

In 1898 a meeting was held at Government House and a committee formed to clear off a debt of 7,200 pounds on cathedral property. Further changes to the cathedral proceeded up to 1900. Ongoing problems were encountered with the stonework and water damage. In 1903 the choir stalls were relocated to Blacket's original plan. It seems constant maintenance and deterioration of the building reached a point of frustration for Blacket who provided a detailed explanation of how the building weathered and suggested remedies. A maintenance person was not engaged.

A number of minor works were undertaken over almost 10 years then in 1916, the next major change took place. The chapter house and new vestries were completed. From 1924 to 1941 works continued when proposals to relocate or enlarge the building were mooted. A series of actual and proposed land resumptions by the Sydney City Council and New South Wales Government Railways took place in the 1920s and 1930s and discussions took place as to whether the cathedral should be moved to another area of the city. In 1935 the St Andrew's Cathedral Site Act fixed the cathedral site to the land between Kent, George and Bathurst streets and the town hall, providing security of tenure. The St Andrew's place subcommittee was formed to recommend treatment of the newly acquired space. In 1937 a competition was launched for proposals to increase the size of the cathedral to seat 2000 to 3000 people. Thirty designs were entered and first place was awarded to R. A. P. Pickney and A. F. E. Gott of London. Much discussion and negotiation took place and some endorsements were made in principle by the St Andrew's building committee. In 1940 the decision was made not to reappoint the building committee and vest its powers in the standing committee. This committee appointed a sub-committee to report on the issue. In the meantime war had broken out and extensions to the cathedral were abandoned as were plans for redevelopment of the site. There was some discussion as to rearranging the interior of the cathedral. The most likely explanation for this change was the geographic changes. When the cathedral was built it was central to its population and had its main entrance in "a street of churches". By the 1930s there were fewer living west of Kent Street and the convenient approach for most people was probably the east. In 1941 the cathedral was reoriented. Between 1942 and 1960 emphasis shifted to work on the exterior of the building taking precedence over any other. During World War Two the cathedral was involved with major activities such as the CENEF huts and has had on ongoing social program operating since.

Restoration of the cathedral: 1968-present

By 1970 a more comprehensive plan addressing maintenance was required as problems had accelerated. The architects Anchor Murray and Woolley were engaged to prepare a report which was presented to the cathedral chapter in February 1972.

A synopsis of the report sets the basis for the work that took place over 15 years. The report addressed the structure, fabric, fixed furnishings and interior elements. Ancher Mortlock and Woolley reported again in 1979. All work was carried out in conjunction with the National Trust and the government architect.

Expenditure on restoration totalled approximately 1.2 million dollars. No further work took place until 1990 when a detailed maintenance study was prepared by Partridge and Davies, architects. This study detailed a long term maintenance program addressing small scale works on a long-term basis rather than large scale projects. Work has since been carried out by craftsmen and tradespeople on the basis of funds available. It is hoped a long term stonework program be developed over the next year which is urgently required.

In 1999 work to the building reversed the orientation and reinstated the surviving Edmund Blacket fitout and removed all of the 20th-century fitout.