William Wilkinson Wardell 1824 - 1899

ASN Co Building , The Rocks, Sydney. Today Wardell's architecture (centre) is an integrated part of Australia's two principal cities

William Wilkinson Wardell (3 March 1824 - 19 November 1899) was an architect, notable not only for his work in Australia, the country to which he emigrated in 1858, but also for having s successful career as an ecclesiastical architect in England before his departure. In Australia he designed many public buildings. Most notably St Patrick's Cathedral, in Melbourne, Government House, and St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. He worked in both the Gothic and classical styles. Wardell not only constructed major works in the public sector he also maintained a large private practice building houses and business premises for private individuals. He was Director-General of public works in Melbourne from 1861 until 1878. As an architect he is often compared with his friend and English counterpart Augustus Pugin. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (614x652, 136 KB) William Wardell born 1824 died 1899. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (614x652, 136 KB) William Wardell born 1824 died 1899. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (4203x1981, 1821 KB) Buildings (including the ASN Co Building) in Circular Quay West, The Rocks, Sydney, Australia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (4203x1981, 1821 KB) Buildings (including the ASN Co Building) in Circular Quay West, The Rocks, Sydney, Australia. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne, is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, currently His Grace, Archbishop Denis Hart. ... Government House, Melbourne Government House, Melbourne is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. ... St. ... Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (March 1, 1812–September 14, 1852) was an English-born architect, designer and theorist of design now best remembered for his work on churches and on the Houses of Parliament. ...

Early life in London

A a young man he studied under the Gothic architect Augustus Pugin, Pugin became his friend and mentor, and was to inspire him not only in architecture but also in his religious convictions. Mixed in the artistic and literary circles of London he fell in with the philosophies of the Oxford and Cambridge movement, which taught amongst other things that Gothic architecture, as symbolized by the great medieval cathedrals of England was the only form of architecture, not only worthy of God, but provided fostered a spirituality that mad it easier to communicate with God. In 1843 Wardell made the then conventionally unusual decision to convert from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, adopting the motto "Inveni Quod Quaesivi"( "I have found that which I sought"). This would have been a very difficult decision to make at the time, while Catholics were not actively persecuted in Britain at the time, there was still open discrimination against the faith in certain political and business quarters. The leader of the Oxford movement John Henry Newman did not himself make the leap of faith until 1845. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (March 1, 1812–September 14, 1852) was an English-born architect, designer and theorist of design now best remembered for his work on churches and on the Houses of Parliament. ... The Oxford Movement was a loose affiliation of High Church Anglicans, most of them members of the University of Oxford, who sought to demonstrate that the Church of England was a direct descendant of the Christian church established by the Apostles. ... J H Newman age 23 when he preached his first sermon. ...

Wardell's conversion to the Roman Catholic faith was the result of a period of deep internal reflection^[1] This affiliation to a more high church ritual was manifested in his architectural interests which concentrated on the more Gothic designs of England's medieval architecture. For the remainder of his life he saw architecture as a means of praising God.^[2] He always had a room in his home set aside as a chapel for personal devotion which he visited several times during the course of a day.^[3] Dominating this room was an ancient carved wooden French cross, now belonging to the Melbourne Diocesan Historical Commission, who also own several other mementos of his persona devotion.^[4] Wardell also wrote, in particular two prayers devoted to the Virgin Mary, who he seems to have regarded as his especial saint.^[5] It is known that he frequently prayed for help and guidance when working on plans of church buildings.^[6]

On 7 October 1847 Wardell married Lucy Ann Butler, the daughter of William Henry Butler, a wine merchant and one time Mayor of Oxford. The couple married at St Mary's Catholic Church, Moorfields^[7] and are known to have had at least two sons and one daughter. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. ...

By the time of his marriage aged 23, he was already a successful architect. Between 1846 and 1858 he designed over 30 churches in England, at the rate of over two a year this a a phenomenal output. As this was an era of massive church restoration (Nikolaus Pevsner has said many churches were "over-restored" during this time) it is possible that this high figure may include churches Wardell only redesigned or restored. Whatever the true number of churches he designed in England, this was a period not only of church restoration but also building of many new Roman Catholic Churches. Wardell and John newman were by no means the only converts to Catholicism, a large number of notable intellectuals too changed their faith, this coupled with the greater freedom Catholics obtained by the Catholic Emancipation Act which restored the hierarchy and removed some of the prohibitions on Catholics which had prevailed since the time of the reformation led to the Catholic Church having a revival in Britain. Thus the newly converted Pugin and his protegè Wardell were well placed to receive the numerous commissions which came flooding in. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner CBE (January 30, 1902 – August 18, 1983) was a German-born British historian of art and, especially, architecture. ... Catholic Emancipation was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the Penal Laws. ... Mentoring refers to a developmental relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner referred to as a mentoree (sometimes vernacularized into mentee) or protégé. // Historical The roots of the practice are lost in antiquity. ...

By 1858, aged 35 Wardell was in poor health, and felt that the warmer climate of Australia would be more beneficial to his health.^[8] Obtaining the position of "Government Architect" to the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, Wardell and his family emigrated.

Of Wardell's prolific work in London, several notable churches, these include

St Birinus, Bridge End, Dorchester-on-Thames which was begun in 1846, and completed by 1849. This church, in Oxfordshire was one of the first Roman Catholic churches built following the passing of the 1839 Catholic Emancipation Act. The small and simple building is an almost exact replica of a 14th century Gothic chapel. It is constructed of Littlemore stone with a Caen stone porch. The interior has rectangular nave leading in the traditional fashion through a rood screen to a smaller and lower ceilinged chancel. The nave has a vaulted ceiling supported by wooden strapwork. Lit by stain glass windows, the whole structure hardly differs from the design of Anglican churches constructed in the same period. The expected paraphernalia of the more ritualistic Catholic worship is absent, side chapels and numerous secondary altars are conspicuous by their absence. The only contemporary jarring feature not found in an English country church is the set of late Byzantine style gilt chandeliers.^[9] Dorchester-on-Thames is a village on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... Caen is a commune of northwestern France. ... A covered porch. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... A chandelier in the U.S. vice presidents ceremonial office in the Old Executive Office Building on the White House grounds. ...

Another church from this period was Our Lady Star of the Sea, Greenwich, a Gothic church begun in 1856 and completed circa 1851, is surmounted by a tower completed by an ornate spire which in turn is complemented by the smaller spire of the adjacent stair turret. The church has remarkable architectural similarities to Wardell's later and largest work St Patrick's cathedral in Melbourne.^[10] Our Lady of Victories, Clapham completed between 1849-1851, Our Immaculate Lady of Victories (also known as St Mary's) situated in Clapham Park Road, Clapham, London SW4 was built between 1848 and 1851, the same year that Wardell completed Holy Trinity, Hammersmith. A modern spire on the Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. ... Corbelled corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. ...

Melbourne

St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

Melbourne in the early 1850s was a rough and primitive place with potholed roads. Robbery was commonplace, and the poverty caused by the soaring inflation, and streets that were in 1854 described as open sewers ensured that disease was rife.^[11] It was into this environment came men seeking fortunes digging for gold. Within ten years the gold rush had transformed Melbourne from a provincial outpost of the British Empire to a wealthy and rapidly expanding city. Between 1853 and 1854 Melbourne doubled in size, however many of its new and expanding population lived in tented villages within the city. This need for building, coupled with available funding drew aspiring young architects from around the world among them John James Clark, Peter Kerr and in William Wilkinson Wardell. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 530 KB)This photo was taken by me, User:Adam Carr, and is released by me into the public domain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 530 KB)This photo was taken by me, User:Adam Carr, and is released by me into the public domain File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... John James Clark, also known as J. J. Clark (1838–1915), was an Australian architect, notable for his grand public buildings and successful design competition entries. ...

As the newly arrived and appointed Government Architect Wardell immediately began work on St Patrick's Cathedral, a task which was to occupy him for much of his life. In 1867 the Wardell Family moved into a large new house known as Ardoch, at 226 Dandenong Road, St Kilda at the time one of the smartest and most expensive residential area of Melbourne^[12] The 13 roomed two storied house in an Italianate style was built for £225 in 1864. The wardell family purchased it in 1867 and moved from their previous home in Powlett Street.^[13] East Melbourne. In 1859 Wardell had designed both the Catholic churches dedicated to St Mary in St. Kilda where he personally worshipped. The first in 1859 and it's larger replacement in 1897. St Kilda () is a inner city suburb of the Victorian capital of Melbourne. ...

In Melbourne Wardell was not only the state employed Government Architect, but also had a flourishing private practice as well, building houses, shops, and business premises for all who could afford him. He did nor work in any one exclusive style, and could design in any architectural form his patron's required - Palladian, Neoclassical plus the various forms of Gothic, including notably at the ANZ Bank the floral Venetian Gothic. A villa with a superimposed portico, from Book IV of Palladios I Quattro Libri dellArchitettura, in a modestly priced English translation published in London, 1736. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ...

In 1877 Sir Graham Berry became the premier of Victoria. His mission, considered radically left wing at the time, was to redistribute the grazing land of Victoria; and introduce a bill providing for the payment of members of the Assembly, which would enable working class candidates could to be elected. When his aims were rejected by the council, he embarked on a public campaign of "coercion". "We coerce madmen," he said, "We put them into lunatic asylums, and never was anything more the act of madmen than the rejection of the Appropriation Bill.". On 8 January 1878 known after "Black Wednesday" his "coercing" began using the reasoning that without his bill civil servants could not be paid Berry began to dismiss public servants, starting with police and judges. Wardell's was one of the many heads which fell - dismissed from office he left Melbourne to seek employment in Sydney. Sir Graham Berry Graham Berry (28 August 1822 - 25 January 1904), Australian colonial politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

During his time in Melbourne Wardell designed numerous buildings, including 14 parish churches in both the private and public sectors, while St Patrick's Cathedral is the largest and best known other notable buildings include the following below.

St Patrick's Cathedral

Main article: St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

This Melbourne Cathedral is the largest Church to have been commenced and brought to near completion, anywhere in the world in the 19th century. Construction of a church on the site had begun in 1850 by Bishop Alipius Goold. Building was delayed by the fror of the Gold rush. Then in 1858 Goold laid the foundation stone for a second, but larger, church on the site. After only eight months of construction, work on the 2nd church ceased. Goold then instructed the newly arrived Wardell to design a cathedral on the site, and just a month later in December 1858 the new plans were accepted and work commenced. St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne St Patricks Cathedral, Melbourne, is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, currently His Grace, Archbishop Denis Hart. ... A California Gold Rush handbill A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ...

Wardell's Gothic ANZ Bank (corner of Queen Street and Collins Street

Contrary to common belief Wardell was not however uniquely responsible for the design, he was instructed by his patron, Bishop Goold, to incorporate into the design as much as could be saved of the previous church on the site. Thus he was forced retain the existing floor level, rather than raising it five metres which would have kept it on a level the nearby street rather than below it. [3] Image File history File linksMetadata Gothic_bank_melbourne. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Gothic_bank_melbourne. ...

Wardell's overall design was in Gothic Revival style, paying tribute to the mediaeval cathedrals of Europe. The nave being in Early English in style, while the remainder of the building is in the Decorated gothic style, a somewhat later Gothic style. Victoria Tower at the Palace of Westminster, London: Gothic details provided by A.W.N. Pugin The Gothic revival was a European architectural movement with origins in mid-18th century England. ...

St Patrick's Cathedral became Wardell's life's work and most notable commission. The original plans which remained unaltered during construction. The nave and its aisles were completed just ten years later. The building was finally consecrated for use in 1897. At the time of his death in 1899, Wardell was still working on designs for the minor altars and fixtures and fittings. The spires which today adorn the building, are not by Wardell, and are felt by some to be out of proportion to the design.

Gothic Bank

Wardell's ANZ Bank, Collins Street Melbourne is often considered the finest Gothic revival building in Australia. Designed to accommodate to the new English, Scottish and Australian bank. The manager George Verdon was housed in an apartment above the bank. The massive banking hall was supported by iron columns with gilded heraldic motifs. The bank at 386-388 Collins Street was built in 1883 and is of Venetian Gothic Revival style. With loggias and small balconies in a style known as Venetian floral gothic.

Government House

Main article: Government House, Melbourne

Government House, Melbourne

Wardell's neoclassical interior at Government House

Government House in Melbourne is an example of the period in Wardell's career when he found his "newly discovered love for Italianate, Palladian and Venetian architecture".^[14] Designed to be the official residence of the Governor General of Australia in what is commonly described today as the Italianate style, cream coloured Government House— except for its machiolated signorial tower that Wardell crowned with a belvedere— would not be out of place among the unified streets and squares in Thomas Cubitt's Belgravia, London. One of the best-known buildings in this style and the possible inspiration was Queen Victoria's summer residence Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, England. Osborne was built between 1845 and 1851, based loosely on the palazzi of the Italian Renaissance. As the serving Inspector General of the Public Works Department, Wardell was the obvious choice of architect; work commenced in 1871 and lasted for five years. Government House, Melbourne Government House, Melbourne is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3368x2172, 4186 KB) Government House, Melbourne. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3368x2172, 4186 KB) Government House, Melbourne. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3396x2184, 3993 KB) Interior staircase (detail), Government House, Melbourne. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3396x2184, 3993 KB) Interior staircase (detail), Government House, Melbourne. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... Belvedere in Italian literally means fair view. ... Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855) was an architect and builder who specialised in the late Georgian and early Regency styles. ... Belgravia is a district in the City of Westminster in London, to the south-west of Buckingham Palace. ... Osborne House and its grounds are now open to the public Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. // History The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire. ... The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la Cité, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. ...

Wardell's plan included the three-storey principal block containing the state rooms for official entertaining, and the secondary two-story wing to the north intended to contain the private apartments of the vice-regal family.^[15] The facade of the principal block or corps de logis is of six bays, the pedimented windows of the first and central floor being larger than those below and above thus indicating the piano nobile. The hipped roof is concealed by a balustraded parapet. The principal block is flanked by two lower asymmetrical secondary wings that contribute picturesque massing, best appreciated from an angled view. The larger of these being divided from the principal block by the belvedere tower. The smaller, the ballroom block, is entered through a columned porte-cochere designed as a single storey prostyle portico. The ballroom is said to have been the largest in the British Empire.^[16] A State Room in a large European mansion, is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed to impress, they were the most luxurious in the house and contained the finest works of art. ... A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. ... Blenheim Palace, unscaled plan of the Corps de logis. ... Kedleston Hall. ... Stairs, staircase, stairway, flight of stairs are all names for a construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps. ... A parapet consists of a dwarf wall along the edge of a roof, or round a lead flat, terrace walk, etc. ... A Porte-Cochere is the architectural term for a porch or portico like structure, at the entrance to a building, through which it is possible for a horse and carriage or motor vehicle to pass, in order for the occupants to alight under cover and protected from the weather. ... The National Bank, Oamaru, New Zealand, built 1871. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... // The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

The interior of the house was in contrast to the classical interior. Fireplaces of Carrara and black Belgian marble were inset with Minton tiles in the Victorian style, while the elaborate plaster ceilings have deep recessed panels and moulded cornices at odds with the classicism of the design of the mansion. However, despite is heavy handed interiors the state rooms adequately fulfilled their purpose. Government house was declare open at a ball attended by 1400 people in 1876.^[17] Carrara is a city in the Massa Carrara province of Tuscany, Italy, famous for the white or blue-gray marble quarried there. ...

Sydney

St. Mary's from the West side. The Bell tower is seen in the top right.

Wardell arrived in Sydney in 1878. He designed many buildings the most notable being St Mary's Cathedral. This Cathedral is slightly larger than St Patrick's' Cathedral, and is the largest ecclesiastical building in Australia. Wardell designed the cathedral in the Gothic style, work began in 1868 while Wardell was still based in Melbourne. Work continued throughout Wardell's lifetime, the cathedral finally being completed in 1928. In 2000 the spires Wardell had intended, a scheme abandoned due to lack if finance, were finally constructed. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 584 KB)St Marys Cathedral in Sydney. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 584 KB)St Marys Cathedral in Sydney. ... St. ...

The ASN Co Building (see illustration at top of page) is a large warehouse at 1-5 Hickson Road, The Rocks, Sydney. Designed by Wardell for the Australasian Steam Navigation Co Building in 1884. It had distinctive Flemish gables and a bell tower, which has ensured it has "long been regarded as a significant Sydney landmark".^[18] Inside Green Logistics Co. ... George Street, the main street of The Rocks The Rocks is a tourist precinct and historic area near the central business district (CBD) of Sydney, Australia. ...

Architectural Legacy

Upton Grange, Sydney. Wardell's home where he died in 1899

Wardell died at his home, Upton Grange, North Sydney on the 19th November 1899 of heart failure and pleurisy. He is buried in the Catholic section of Gore Hill cemetery. He did not live long enough to see the final finishing touches to St Patrick's cathedral, and St Mary's cathedral was far from finished. His legacy to Australia has been to give that country two cathedrals which rank among the finest modern examples of gothic.^[19] St Patrick's Cathedral is considered one of the few Australian buildings to be of world significance.^[20] However, Wardell's work was more than the design of two cathedrals, his work was versatile and skilful in both the Gothic and classical styles and has given both Sydney and Melbourne some of their most distinguished 19th century buildings. Image File history File links Upton_Grange. ... Image File history File links Upton_Grange. ... Gore Hill is an urban locality close to St Leonards, in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. ...

Notes

• A Quest for Perfection William Wilkinson Wardell and St Patrick's Cathedralaccessed 28 August 2006.
• Government House Official website
• Melbourne, built on gold accessed 28 August 2006

External links

• Pictures of St Birinus Church. Henly on Thames
• Picture of Our Lady star of the sea, Greenwich