Cathedral Architecture

Building

The first bishop of Adelaide, Augustus Short, brought with him in 1848, plans for a cathedral. The plans had been drawn up by English architect William Butterfield. A copy of a Butterfield plan for the Cathedral can be seen on the wall in the passage to the northern side of the Chancel. Butterfield was very interested in polychromatic patterns of bricks and stone in his buildings. Two examples of Butterfield’s work can be seen in the reredos in the Lady Chapel and in the Font near the front door.

The Cathedral was started in 1869 and the first section was completed and opened fully for services in 1877. The change of colour in the ceiling of the nave shows where the first part ended. Photographs of the building of the Cathedral can be seen in the passage to the northern side of the Chancel. The rest of the nave was completed by 1901. The towers were completed in 1902 and The Lady Chapel was completed in 1904. The last section to be completed was the front steps in 1911.

In the 1990’s much restoration was started. The floor needed replacing; some tiles were retained and others made in England to match were used. The roof, of Welsh slate had to be replaced, again with Welsh slate. The pinnacles around the Lady Chapel have been removed until funds are available to repair the damage done over a century’s exposure to the atmosphere. Restoration is a continuing activity in any building of this nature.

Architects

Butterfield was not happy with the decision to build the cathedral mainly in local stone so he withdrew from the project and Edward John Woods took over the planning and the building. The current building is longer than in the original plan, has more windows and has spires. The front of the building is believed to have been modelled on the front of the Church of St Jean-Baptise de Belleville in Paris which itself has many similarities with Notre Dame de Paris. Woods had studied in Paris and lived close to this church which was built in the neo-gothic style which was in vogue and promoted by the French architect Viollet-le-duc.

The architects of the cathedral after Butterfield have been:

• Edward.J. Woods 1869 – 1916
• Walter.H. Bagot 1916 – 1945
• James.C. Irwin 1945 – 1974
• Reginald.G. Steele 1974 – 1978
• Richard.B. Peacock 1978 – 1981
• Douglas.P. Michelmore 1981 – 1983

Funds

Bishop Short brought with him funds from England to buy land and to build the Cathedral. The cathedral was built in sections as money became available. Some well-known Adelaide people, e.g. Barr Smith, Elder, Sims, Bonython. Mortlock, Pope were very generous in their contribution to the building of the remaining sections of the cathedral. In the late 20th century Mrs Colleen Beinl and Santos have been very generous benefactors to the cathedral.

Windows

The cathedral’s windows range from mid 19th century work to early 21st century work. Many of the windows were made in England, however, two of the earliest windows, the Rose Window in the eastern wall and the window of Edward the Confessor were made in Melbourne. The lower windows in the Nave depict people who have, in their lives , been significant in some way to the English Church from early times right up to 19th century martyrs. A leaflet about these windows is available on the stands by the doors.

The windows in the Lady Chapel are of a different style from those in the nave and were made early in the 20th Century. These windows show a different version of some of the scenes on the High Altar reredos and that scene in the newest window.

The high clerestory windows, with South Australian themes as well as Biblical references were designed by Cedar Prest and made in Adelaide. A booklet about these windows is available from the Shop in the Cathedral.

The newest window, the Magdalene window, celebrating both the resurrection and the work of women in the church was designed and made in Melbourne by David Wright. Compare this window with the north-western window in the Lady Chapel. A leaflet explaining this window is available from the stands by the doors.

Sculptures

The Reredos

The wooden sculptures on the High Altar Reredos were executed in England and depict people and angels who have been important for some reason to the people of the British Church.

The two stone heads on the top of the pillars which mark the ending of the first section that was completed are of Bishop Short, the first Dean of Adelaide and possibly the architect and builder of the first section of the cathedral.

The Rood hanging above the choir area was made by a Hungarian Australian, Andor Meszaros, and is made of Queensland Maple The Christus Rex hanging below the early South Australian flags and guidons is enamel on copper made by a Czech-Australian Voitre Marek . The Madonna in the Lady Chapel, also enamel on copper was also made by Marek.

Timber in the Cathedral

The timber in the ceiling of the cathedral is probably Baltic Pine. Some of the timber for the wood work in the Chancel and Sanctuary is made of English Oak. The reredos was built in Exeter, England, but most of the timber work in the Chancel and Sanctuary was carved and built in Adelaide. The Cathedra, made in the 90’s is made of Australian timbers.

Photographs of some of the various art work are beautifully shown in the booklet which can be bought from the shop.