THE WINDOWS
No two of the larger windows are the same, and of the paired clerestory windows up high, each one is identical to its twin and to no other. The Great East Window resembles a paisley fabric design. Some of these traceries are standard medieval patterns and some Blacket designed himself. More ...

THE DOORS
There are many doors, some large and some small but each different. The door below is the entrance to the bell tower.
One door, the entrance to the Ascension Chapel, even has an ogee arch, one that reverses its curve as it reaches the apex.

• Home > 
• Our Cathedral > 
• Architecture > 

Architecture

St. Saviour's Cathedral is one of the most beautiful Gothic Cathedrals in Australia. The style is technically known as "Decorated Gothic".

From every viewpoint, St Saviour's is a graceful building. The size of a large English parish church, St. Saviour's is cross-shaped, having a nave, transepts with chapels, a choir and a sanctuary, and an intended 60 metre spire at the southeast corner. All these distinct parts can be picked out from exterior views. Elegant pinnacles on the comers offset the rich traceries of the windows. The white Marulan freestone has weathered to golden, a little more so on the north side than on the south, as this picture shows.

The first idea for the Cathedral was to build a direct copy of the parish church at Heckington in Lincolnshire – a most florid style of church, and quite the opposite of the “bush-Gothic” of the old St Saviour’s. However, Bishop Mesac Thomas asked Edmund Thomas Blacket to make a design after the style of Heckington. Blacket was architect of Sydney’s Cathedral of St. Andrew and of the main buildings of Sydney University. He gladly followed the style of Heckington, the most ornate period of English Gothic.

St. Saviour’s Cathedral is a product of Edmund Blacket's mature years. It expresses the grace, care and forethought of an architect in full control of his line and of building styles.

It also expresses the principle of 'unity in diversity', which Blacket enshrined in his design of the windows and doors (see description in the right hand column) and even the pew end carvings, as can be seen from this picture.

The Cathedral is classified on the National Heritage List and with the National Trust of New South Wales.

Learn more about some of the highlights of the Cathedral, such as its splendid organ, its bells, or its beautiful stained glass windows.

Or take an online tour of the interior of the Cathedral.