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St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019 · 3 min read

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.

St Paul’s Cathedral is situated in the hub of downtown Melbourne, Australia and its neo- Gothic, transitional style has been influenced by many of the grand Cathedrals of Europe.

The distinguished English revival architect, William Butterfield designed the Melbourne Cathedral, and many consider St Paul’s to be Butterfield’s final masterpiece.

St. Paul’s was erected on the site of where the first public Christian service in Melbourne was held by Dr. Alexander Thomson in 1836. And since then, it has been an integral part of Christian faith in the city of Melbourne.

This is the superbly beautiful stained glass door to the entrance of the Cathedral. The decorative tiles on the floor were just as impressive.

The site used to serve as a corn market for the fast growing city of Melbourne from 1836 to 1848 and then it was granted to the Anglican Church to build the bluestone St. Paul’s Parish Church. It was consecrated in 1852 and used until 1885 when it was demolished in order to make way for the liturgical West-end of the present Cathedral.

In 1880 the first foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid. After eleven years of labour, St. Paul’s Cathedral was consecrated on 22 January, 1891.

The three spires were built in 1926 and these were based on a revised design by John Barr of Sydney instead of the original design of Butterfield’s octagonal central tower and gable west end towers.

The central spire is the second highest in the Anglican Communion, after Salisbury Cathedral.

Traditional craftspeople are needed to maintain this historical building, just as they do for European Cathedrals.

In 1989, St. Paul’s magnificent organ was restored. And the first restoration of the exterior took place in the 1960’s.

If you are wondering just how much it is to maintain a Cathedral of this magnitude here is proof that it costs $5750 per day. The ability to wander through the interior of St. Paul's with permission to take photos was worth more than $5 to me.

This is just one of the many spectacular stained glass windows which adorn the outer walls of the Cathedral. Each one tells their own historic story and I can only imagine the time and expertise that has gone into the making of each one.

The wood work throughout the building has been lovingly crafted and polished.

Extensive renovations took place in 2009 on both the exterior and interior of the Cathedral and more recently, the historic office buildings at St. Paul’s house which is situated adjacent to the Cathedral was extensively restored. This provided new ministry and administrative facilities for both the Cathedral and Diocese of Melbourne.

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Comments

shasta @shastaJanuary 2019

Oh my goodness these are some wonderfully
beautiful photographs ❤ @trudeehunter!!

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

Thank you @shasta Much appreciated. I'm glad you enjoyed this post.

TravelFeed @travelfeedJanuary 2019

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Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

Thanks very much indeed @travelfeed

Jonboy @jantonJanuary 2019

Howdy trudeehunter! Oh my gosh how magnificent! I love castles and cathedrals but I didn't think of Australia as having cathedrals! This is a wonderful surprise. Beautiful photos and excellent descriptions of this fantastic building!

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

I'm so glad you enjoyed viewing these images @janton Yes, there are some magnificent cathedrals situated around Australia and New Zealand......with some cities having more than others. Both countries have significant English heritage where architecture is concerned but obviously on a much smaller scale than England. I would absolutely love to visit The British Isles one day and get lost (temporarily) in their grand old castles and cathedrals. They have such a rich history.

Jonboy @jantonJanuary 2019

howdy tonight trudeehunter! Oh wow, just think of the posts you could make while traveling around that part of the world visiting castles and cathedrals! I'm about drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it, I think you should go! lol. talk to your husband today and see what he says. :)

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

Haha......I don't need to ask John about traveling to England or anywhere further than a comfortable car ride for a while because we are planning on a trip back to New Zealand later in the year to catch up with friends and family. That will have to suffice for the time being.......but we can dream can't we?

Jonboy @jantonJanuary 2019

Howdy again trudeehunter! yes! I mean the trip to New Zealand is this year so I'd start planning a trip to England for next year. lol. Easy for me to say, that has to be pricey!

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

True! Easy to say. Hard to come up with the cash @janton

Jonboy @jantonJanuary 2019

But not if Steem goes up to $50! lol. Would that do it?

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

Haha.....that would do a lot......but expensive holidays are not on my list of priorities. But as I said earlier......it's good to dream (lol)

Jonboy @jantonJanuary 2019

oh ok..dratts! I was hoping you'd jump right into it and head for England if the price is Steem hit $50!
What ARE your list of priorities? Or your top couple ... or few.

fotosdenada @fotosdenadaJanuary 2019

Nice shots! The woodwork in that one is pretty impressive. That railing with the quatrefoils must have taken quite a bit of skill to produce.

There's an interesting one the middle ove nowhere in South Dakota, USA. It's one of our least populated states and, in the town of Hoven there's a huge cathedral. The population of the town is 380 people. I never got out to take photos, because it was five hours from where I lived and the cathedral is the only thing there worth seeing.

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

Thanks @fotosdenada I underestimated how much time I needed in order to take in all that beauty and skill of the craftsmen. NO wonder it took so long to build.

J Collicott McGuigan @redheadpeiJanuary 2019

The inside is even more beautiful than the outside design. Love the stained glass and elegant woodwork. Yes, well worth 5 bucks to scroll around and take in the inside of the cathedral. Resteemed.

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

The interior was magnificent Jo, and I really appreciated the wonderful workmanship throughout the entire Cathedral.

Alison Lee Cousland @allyinspiritJanuary 2019

So grateful to have seen your photographs now Trudee.

The outside of St. Paul’s Cathedral has only been seen through these eyes that see and almost ignore the 'familiar.' I had no idea of just how beautiful the interior of this cathedral is. LOVE the stained glass doors and tiled floor. Obviously, I need to go there and allow myself to be completely immersed in its beauty next time I visit Melbourne. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

Comments like these are so very rewarding Ally. Thank you. Yes, I'm glad we were able to fit in a visit to this beautiful cathedral with limited time available. It was hard to choose which photos to submit as I have lots more available, but I will probably do another post one day.

Thank you for taking the time to view this blog and for sharing your appreciation.

Alison Lee Cousland @allyinspiritJanuary 2019

My pleasure Trudee. I haven't been in the actual city of Melbourne for many years. Tend to avoid it ~ But it's definitely on my list for next time. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎

Grammy @farm-momJanuary 2019

Absolutely beautiful...thanks for sharing

Trudee Hunter @trudeehunterJanuary 2019

I'm so glad you enjoyed this blog @farm-mom and really I appreciate receiving positive comments like this. Have a great week.