St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

St Patrick's Cathedral is a very large church in Melbourne, Australia.

It has tall pointed spires and dark stone walls.

St Patrick's Cathedral stands on Eastern Hill in East Melbourne, Australia. The architect William Wardell designed it in the Gothic Revival style. The heritage register links his work to the architect Augustus Pugin and his writings on medieval architecture.

Building began in 1858, and Melbourne Catholic says it went on for more than 40 years. The Victorian Heritage Register calls it the largest Gothic Revival building in the state of Victoria.

The Victorian Heritage Register lists the St Patricks Cathedral Precinct in East Melbourne (VHR H0008, registered in 1974). It calls the cathedral the largest Gothic Revival building in Victoria and one of the finest works of the architect William Wardell, praising its 'impressive scale and masterly handling of space'.

The register's history: construction began in 1858, the nave and aisles opened in 1869, the rest of the church was completed in 1897, and the spires were added and the west door rebuilt in 1936-40. Melbourne Catholic says the work went on for more than 40 years.

Look at the tall spire in the middle. It points up into the blue sky!

Two more spires stand on the left.

In this photo, a tall pale spire rises from a tower in the middle of the cathedral. Two more spires stand to the left, and many small pointed tops and pointed roofs crowd around the lower walls.

The walls below are dark, with paler stone around tall windows that have pointed arches.

The photo shows the cathedral from its east side, as the file's title says. A tall pale spire rises from the central tower, two more spires stand to the left, and clusters of slender pointed pinnacles and steep pointed roofs ring the lower walls, which are dark with paler trim around tall pointed-arch windows.

That mix of dark walls and pale details is the contrast Melbourne Catholic describes between bluestone and freestone.

This photo shows the cathedral on a sunny day.

In front there is a pool of water, and tall city towers stand behind.

This photo looks at the cathedral from the east on a clear, sunny day. In front lies a pool of still water that mirrors the building, with a low gray building at the left and green street trees at the right.

Behind the cathedral rise the tall towers of central Melbourne.

The photo (by the Commons user Donaldytong) looks toward the cathedral from the east under a clear blue sky: a pool of still water in front reflects the building, a low gray building runs along the left, and street trees line a road at the right, with the towers of central Melbourne behind.

The heritage register notes that the offices which replaced St Patrick's College (demolished in 1971) were designed low and mostly underground, with water ponds on the roofs facing Victoria Parade, a design that lets the cathedral dominate the area around it.