An Open Door

Two Entrances, One Church

St Paul's Anglican Cathedral,

Cnr Flinders and Swanston Streets,

Melbourne.

www.stpaulscathedral.org.au

Exploring St Paul's Cathedral - Melbourne

I've walked past St Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Central Melbourne on almost every visit to the city. This time I decided to go inside. I was well rewarded with a dizzying display of detail and architectural extravagance. I particularly loved the intricate floor tiles - like layers of Persian carpets overlaid on each other.

St Paul's is built on the site where the first public Christian services in Melbourne were led by Dr Alexander Thomson in 1836. It's a magnificent building - described as Gothic Transitional, being partly Early English and partly Decorated. It was designed by distinguished English architect, William Butterfield, who was well known for his ecclesiastical work.

The foundation stone was laid in 1880 and the cathedral was finally consecrated on January 22, 1891. The spires though, were not started until 1926 and they were designed by John Barr of Sydney. The Cathedral is known for its magnificent ring of 13 bells - one of the few peals of 13 bells outside the British Isles. They were cast in London and arrived in Melbourne in 1889. You can read more about the cathedral on their website - www.stpaulscathedral.org.au

Church Architecture Returns

Cathedral, The Octagon, Dunedin. May 2009. Ajr

It seems forever since I presented you with a nice piece of Kiwi church architecture. I think I put it into hibernation when some of my friends started accusing me of 'going all religious.' In fact, my love of photographing churches is a matter of architecture over religion. I'm not religious at all. I just love the extraordinary extravagance of much church architecture - the heft, the bulk, the detail. This the very magnificent St Paul's Anglican Cathedral on Dunedin's Octagon. The Gothic Revival beauty was designed by architect Edmund Sedding and built between 1915-1919. I normally photograph it from the front but there was something very appealing about this hefty side view. www.dunedinnz.com

Architectural Bulk

The Octagon, Dunedin, August 2008. Ajr

Another view of some bulky Dunedin architecture.

To the left is St Paul's Anglican Cathedral.

To the right, the hefty dwelling of Dunedin i-SITE.