| Historical notes: | The ground on which Christ Church Cathedral stands has been the site of at least one other church: Christ Church, built in 1817-18. Unlike the rushed construction of Christ Church, the building of Christ Church Cathedral was a long and complicated process; it was exactly one hundred years from the beginning of construction to its consecration. John Horbury Hunt was the principal architect involved in the project, with other prominent Newcastle architects also contributing to its design.
The first known church on this site was built on the order of Governor Lachlan Macquarie to provide religious services for the civil and military officials and convicts who were posted there. The population of Newcastle had swelled following the closure of Norfolk Island in 1814, making this need more pressing.
Probably because of a combination of the haste of Christ Church's construction on a sandy site, the use of salt-impregnated sandstone quarried locally, and the largely unskilled convict labour employed, the strong winds which constantly buffeted its hilltop location so close to the sea soon exposed structural flaws in the foundations. Several years after its completion, the upper tower and the steeple were taken down because of instability. It remained in this form for a period of 43 years. With the establishment of the Diocese of Newcastle in 1847, Newcastle officially became a city, Christ Church became a Cathedral, and the first bishop, William Tyrrell (1848-1879) was appointed.
During the second half of the 1850s, with coal production greatly increasing, there was a doubling of the population of Newcastle and it was decided that there was a need for a new or expanded Cathedral. In the 1860s, Bishop Tyrrell argued that there was no need for a new building, and instead advocated an addition to the existing church. However, the Diocese disagreed and in 1868 ran a competition for the design of a new Cathedral. The requirements were that contestants design an establishment to be built of stone or brick, large enough for 1000 people and at a maximum cost of ten thousand pounds. The winners were Terry and Speechley from Melbourne. John Horbury Hunt, who had become one of Australia's most significant ecclesiastical architects during the last third of the nineteenth century, had also entered the competition and was appointed supervising architect. After the cost of the winning design was found to have been seriously underestimated, Hunt's own plans were adopted (Murray, 1991, pp. 35-38).
Hunt was influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement with its emphasis on truth to natural materials, particularly brick and timber, and asymmetry of form. Hunt's other ecclesiastical projects include the Anglican cathedrals in Armidale (1871) and Grafton (1880) as well as many parish churches in the Hunter Valley (Reynolds, Muir and Hughes, 2002). Christ Church Cathedral was the largest and most ambitious building designed by Hunt. His design for the Cathedral was for a cruciform Victorian Academic Gothic style building with a central tower over the crossing, supporting a spire (Maitland and Stafford, 1997, pp. 62-3).
Although Hunt had completed the designs for the Cathedral in 1868, work was not started on it until 1883 and the building of the Cathedral was marked by many delays and disputes. The original Christ Church remained in use until completion of the staged demolition in 1884 (Murray, 1991, pp. 39-42).
In 1882, when the commitment to Hunt's plans was made, the Parochial Council accepted an estimate of 20,000 pounds for the erection of the walls and roof, exclusive of the tower and foundations. The decision to proceed with such an ambitious plan was an expression of confidence in the future of the Church in Newcastle.
Pro-Cathedral (south side of Church Street to the cathedral's site):
As well as the need to find money for the proposed Cathedral, there was difficulty of providing temporary accommodation during construction. This was accomplished by building a pro-Cathedral on the opposite side of Church Street to the Cathedral Site - known as Horbury Hunt Hall. This building was also to replace the old Christ Church School, which had been purchased by the Dept of Public Instruction in 1882.
While Christ Church Cathedral was being constructed, A. E. Selwyn, Dean of Newcastle commissioned Hunt to also design a Pro-Cathedral opposite Christ Church. This was used until the opening of the new Cathedral for services in 1902, and is still intact (Murray, 1991, pp. 39-42). It is listed on the State Heritage Inventory (Plan number 198891).
Hunt arrived in April 1883 to peg out the Cathedral. The existing church obstructed the pouring on one of four massive crossing piers for the Cathedral. Hunt wanted to pour the four footings together to prevent differential settlement. This required cutting a few feet into the old church. Selwyn refused to do this, declaring the footing could be poured at any time. Selwyn was over ridden by the Bishop. These were the first of many interferences by Selwyn that Hunt would object to during construction of the two buildings. Matters worsened when Hunt wanted to proceed with the rest of the footings.
In 1895, the relationship between Hunt, Selwyn and the builder, John Straub, had become so bad that both Hunt and Straub were dismissed. By this stage, 27 years after Hunt had sketched the original design for the Cathedral, it was far from complete (Murray, 1991, p. 48; Reynolds, Muir and Hughes, 2002, pp. 74-77). Even so, Hunt's attention to the construction of the foundations and ensuring that brick perpends were tight and mortar-filled preserved the Cathedral's walling relatively unaffected nearly a century later when it suffered severe damage during the 1989 Newcastle earthquake (Reynolds, Muir and Hughes, 2002, p. 77). The full extent of Hunt's designs was not realised until 1979 with the raising of the tower, albeit without the spire Hunt had intended.
In 1900 John Francis Stretch replaced the late Selwyn as Dean and he appointed John Hingstone Buckeridge as the Cathedral architect. Buckeridge was responsible for overseeing the temporary roofing of the half-built nave. The Cathedral was dedicated on 21st November 1902 during a service held in the presence of the Governor, Sir Harry Rawson, and the Premier, Sir John See (EJE Architecture, 1994, p. 53).
There was great consternation in 1906-7 when severe mine "creep" in The Hill area of Newcastle damaged the foundations and brickwork of the western end of the newly-occupied Cathedral. For a time it was feared that this part of the building might have to be demolished. Repairs were required and the cost had to be met by parishioners (Murray, 1991, pp. 60-1).
The next architect assigned to work on the Cathedral project was Frederick George Castleden, prominent in Newcastle as the designer of many houses and commercial buildings in the region. Castleden's firm supervised the completion of the Cathedral between 1909 and 1928. In 1911, the ambulatory around the east end of the church and the Tyrrell Chapel was built and in 1912 the eastern walls were completed and roofed and the east window finished with yet more stained glass from the firm of Kempe & Co.
After the installation of World War I memorials, Cathedral building continued. In 1928 the Castleden firm completed further work on the arches of the church and the walls, closely based on Hunt's original designs (Freeland, 1970, p. 102). However, there were some slight departures, these being omission of the spire and addition of a castellated parapet (Reynolds, Muir and Hughes, 2002, p. 77). In 1979 the transepts and the bell tower were raised by John Sara, of Castleden & Sara, returning to Hunt's original concept for the tower (EJE Architecture, 1995, p.14).
During the early 1980s the Cathedral was further embellished with numerous works by Newcastle artists, including banners, a terracotta and wood crucifix, a tapestry of the Ten Virgins and a triptych depicting the legend of St Nicholas.
After over 80 years of use, the Cathedral was finally consecrated by Bishop Holland on 20th November 1983. (Maitland and Stafford, 1997, pp. 62-3).
The earthquake in 1989 at first appeared to have damaged the Cathedral only superficially. However, it was soon realised that the building had been significantly harmed, and in need of restoration and refurbishment. This was undertaken by Dean Graeme Lawrence and architect B.J. Collins of EJE Architecture. Work began in 1995 and was completed in 1997 (Collins and Jordan, 2009, p. 14). |