St Paul’s Cathedral Spire, Melbourne

Spire_St-Pauls.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

St Paul’s Cathedral Spire, Melbourne

Subject

Anglican, Arch, architect, architecture, blind tracery, cathedral, church, church building, Church of England, Diocese of Melbourne, gothic architecture, gothic revival, James Barr, Joseph Reed (1823-1890), lancet arch, lancet window, masonry, neo-gothic, sandstone, spire, tower, tracery, VIC, Victoria, Victorian Gothic, William Butterfield (1814-1900), window

Description

A close-up of one of the ornately decorated neo-gothic spires at St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Construction of the spires began in 1926. This was thirty years after the initial building had been completed, and consequently they are slightly darker in colour than the sandstone used for the rest of the Cathedral. They were designed by Sydney architect James Barr, and differ from the more modest single spire and two towers proposed by the Cathedral’s original architect, William Butterfield. In the early twentieth century, these spires dominated the Melbourne skyline.

About St Paul’s Cathedral:

St Paul’s Cathedral is located at the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street in central Melbourne. It was built in a Victorian Gothic architectural style to the design of prominent English architect William Butterfield. The foundation stone was laid in 1880 and the Cathedral was consecrated in 1891. Butterfield oversaw the building remotely until 1884, when he resigned following disputes with the Church authorities in Melbourne. The remainder of the construction was supervised by well-known local architect Joseph Reed. Other distinctive features of St Paul’s include its multiple lancet windows, decorative blind tracery, chequered tiling on the wall above the entrance and elaborate stained glass processional doors inside the entrance doorway.

Creator

McEwan, Joanne

Date

25 April 2011

Rights

No Copyright

Format

Digital Photograph; JPEG

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Digital Photograph; JPEG