St John's Cathedral (Brisbane)

Vision and design William Webber – the third Bishop of Brisbane and previously a vicar in London – was instrumental in initiating the Brisbane cathedral project. In 1885–86, he commissioned John Loughborough Pearson to make sketch plans for Brisbane cathedral. The Brisbane cathedral movement began in earnest in 1887 as a celebration of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee – St John's was to be paid for by public subscription In 1903, Bishop William Webber died and in 1904 Frank Pearson submitted his final plans to the cathedral chapter. (The building was re-consecrated after each stage of its construction. but construction ceased after the laying of the foundations. In 1965 the second stage was commenced. To ensure enough supply of sandstone for the project, the cathedral authorities purchased a sandstone quarry at Helidon, from Brisbane where each piece of stone was cut and finished and then trucked to the cathedral site in Ann Street. The quarry was sold in 2012 for $250,000. The third stage of construction cost A$40 million which was raised by public donations, bequests and grants from the federal, state and local governments. The copper-clad western spires were lifted into position on 1 March 2008 and subsequently blessed by Bishop John Parkes. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, St John's Cathedral was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat". Consecration The Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Aspinall, officially reconsecrated the completed cathedral on 29 October 2009, attended by about 1,500 people, 108 years after the laying of the foundation stone. On 27 November 2014, a hailstorm struck Brisbane causing widespread damage throughout the city totaling $1.1 billion. St John's Cathedral suffered extensive damage to its roof-tiles and leadlights, as well as damage to the copper sheeting on the front spires and the southern and eastern sides of the bell tower. The cathedral's eastern wall had also bowed approximately 2.5 mm from the force of the wind, leaving it in danger of structural failure. Restoration repairs commenced in early June 2015, and were not completed until November 2018. In 2015, a series of statues carved by Rhyl Hinwood, costing $45,000 each, were purchased and blessed by Archbishop Aspinall before being installed on the cathedral's facade. On 20 September 2022, St John's Cathedral held a service of thanksgiving marking the reign of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. ==Design elements==

The cathedral was designed in the Gothic Revival style by John Loughborough Pearson, one of England's leading church architects of the late 19th century and bears similarities to Truro Cathedral in Cornwall, also designed by Pearson, although the architecture of St John's is more decidedly French Gothic in inspiration. The external walls are of randomly arranged brown, pink and mauve Brisbane tuff stone from the O’Connelltown Quarry in the (now) suburb of Windsor, while the interior is primarily dressed sandstone (Helidon freestone) from Helidon near Toowoomba. The granite and basalt used in the foundations and at the base of the columns came from Harcourt and Footscray in Victoria and the sandstone for the window dressings, doorways and arcading came from Pyrmont, New South Wales. The north and south aisles, representing a bird's folded wings, are separated from the nave, or body, by Pearson's slender piers. The nave terminates at the crossing. The central tower rests on four large piers and is directly above. The north and south transepts (the transverse part of a cruciform church, crossing the nave at right angles) representing outstretched arms are to the left and right and the most sacred part of the cathedral is ahead. However, as yet the baldacchino has not been constructed. In front of the altar in the sanctuary floor are two pieces of mosaic from the Holy Land, brought back after being uncovered during the First World War by the Australian Light Horse Regiment. One of these is part of the floor of a 6th-century synagogue at Jericho. The other is a fragment from the floor of a 6th-century Christian church at Gaza and is part of a larger mosaic now housed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Beyond the high altar the cathedral ends in a semicircular apse and ambulatory (processional aisle), a link to the architecture's French-Norman past. Many features beyond the crossing including the altar, cross, candle sticks, pulpit, canopy, clergy stalls, pendant lights and litany desk were designed by Frank Pearson. He also designed the carved organ case and the rose window in the north transept. Many Brisbane architects were commissioned to design liturgical furniture for the cathedral's three chapels, the Lady Chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament. The initial design called for a galvanised iron roof; this was changed to terracotta roof tiles in 1907. The resolution of unfinished design elements continues to pose challenges. Pews are being replaced by free-standing chairs. The baptismal font, previously in the north transept, has been moved to the west end of the nave. == Bells ==

The cathedral has a peal of 12 bells hung for full circle ringing with the tenor weighing 16 hundredweight. The first bells were made by John Warner & Sons in 1876 with funds raised by public subscription. Ringing takes place before the 9:30 am Sunday service, to mark special occasions, and for weddings. The bells are rung by members of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers. The bell tower is equipped with sound control and electronic simulator equipment which is utilised for Monday night ringing practice and to aid in the teaching of new ringers. The bells are named after deans and administrators of the cathedral since 1925 when the role was separated from that of the Bishop of Brisbane. Bell names, weights, and pitch are listed as follows: ==Other buildings==

Buildings associated with St John's include Webber House, Church House, The Deanery (formerly Adelaide House) and St Martin's House. These buildings provide the traditional experience of only having a full view of the cathedral when quite close (after having wound one's way through narrow medieval city streets) thus adding to the impact and feeling of grandeur. Webber House , 2020 Webber House was built in 1904. It was designed by Robin Dods (1868–1920). The stone used in the Webber house came from the old St John's Pro-Cathedral in William Street. Webber House was formerly known as School House and housed St John's Primary School until 1941. Adelaide House The oldest building in the precinct is The Deanery, also known as called Adelaide House, built in 1853. From the verandah of this building the first Governor of Queensland, Sir George Bowen, read the proclamation declaring Queensland a separate colony on 10 December 1859. The building then became Queensland's first government house. Designed by Lang Powell the design was strongly influenced by the cathedral and adjacent buildings. This is evident through the choice of building materials, roof forms and architectural motifs. St Martin's is sited to protect St John's from noise and visual intrusion from the city and forms a quiet courtyard beside the cathedral. St Martin's shows similarities to the "Red Brick House" designed by Philip Webb for William Morris. ==Deans of Brisbane==

The role of dean was separated from that of bishop in 1925. ==See also==