St Mary's Cathedral
Gothic Revival sandstone church with twin spires added by helicopter a century after building began.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney starts with the 1865 fire that destroyed the original building, and the young architect William Wardell, who designed a Gothic revival cathedral with twin spires modeled on England's Lichfield Cathedral. It follows construction that dragged on for decades, with the nave finally completed in 1928 and the spires left as bare stone for most of the twentieth century. Look down at the crypt's terrazzo floor, swirled into a Celtic cross telling the story of Creation.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
St Andrew's Cathedral
Gothic sandstone cathedral built over decades on foundations twice abandoned, still the country's oldest.
The University of Sydney Quadrangle (A14)
Sandstone Gothic quadrangle whose gargoyles mix medieval monsters with kangaroos and crocodiles.
The Garrison Church
Sandstone military chapel with a Belgian bell older than the colony, silent for sixty years before ringing again.
Mortuary Station
Gothic Revival sandstone terminus built for funeral trains bound to a distant cemetery.
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Castellated Gothic former stables, built for horses but scandalous enough to help end a governor's career.
Government House
Gothic Revival vice-regal mansion of turrets and battlements overlooking the harbour, still the governor's official residence.