St Paul's Cathedral, Bendigo, is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Bendigo and the

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of the Bishop of Bendigo, presently Matthew Brain.

History and architecture

The building was designed by the architect Robert A. Love. The nave was dedicated in November 1868, the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

in 1873 and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s in 1927. Originally a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, St Paul's became the diocese's cathedral in 1981.St Pauls's Cathedral, Bendigo website
Retrieved 3 October 2012 The building is constructed of red brick with stone dressings in an early

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

and is laid out in a simple

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

plan comprising a six bay nave, transepts and sanctuary. Internally the cathedral is decorated with

stained-glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, several wooden

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and an ''

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of '' pietra dura'' popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and gla ...

'' reflecting a

high church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

tradition. St Paul’s peal of eight bells was cast by

Mears & Stainbank Mears or Meares may refer to: People * Ainslie Meares (1910–1986), Australian psychiatrist and authority on medical hypnotism *Anna Meares (born 1983), Australian cyclist * Ashley Mears (born 1980), American sociologist * Bob Mears (born 1933), A ...

of London which arrived on the

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, at the end of a long period of desig ...

. They were first rung on

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, 10 April 1873. The tenor is however it is prohibited to ring the bells due to structural problems of the building itself. The 1883 organ, with its colourful pipes, was rebuilt in 1957 and further modified in the 1990s. The building suffered from structural concerns for some time. From 1880 the bell tower was unstable and bells were not able to be rung but only chimed. This eventually required the bells to be reinstalled in a lower position. In 2009 the entire building was closed to the public for seven years. The cathedral was formally renewed and reopened on 5 June 2016 by the Most Revd

Philip Freier Philip Leslie Freier (born 9 February 1955) is an Australian Anglican bishop. He was the 13th Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Archbishop of Melbourne from 2006 until his retirement in 2025. He was Anglican Primate of Australia, Primate of Aust ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pauls, Saint, Cathedral Bendigo

Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia Cathedrals in Victoria (state) Buildings and structures in Bendigo

19th-century Anglican church buildings in Australia

History and architecture

See also

References

External links