On Sunday November 25, Daphne Penalver is giving an illustrated talk on some of the folk memorialised in stained glass windows in St Saviour’s Cathedral.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The $10 per person charge for this informative talk starting at 2pm, goes to the Cathedral’s upkeep.
Stained glass windows have been included in the design of buildings for over a thousand years. The original art of making stained glass was ‘lost’ for hundreds of years and has only been found again in the relatively recent past.
Glass was difficult and therefore very expensive, to make. Windows with stained glass were found only in chateaux, castles and palaces of royalty or of the very wealthy – and of course in religious buildings such as cathedrals or monasteries.
Traditionally, windows installed in religious buildings were used to illustrate stories from the Bible or to honour religious saints. Often the donor and his family were depicted in the window as supplicants seeking blessings or as dominant parts of a crowd scene. Craft Guilds which had participated in the construction of the building would also have been seen in some windows. Folk in those days would have recognised these additions to the windows and known the significance of their inclusion. The contribution of such donors to the beautification of the building would have been much appreciated.
In more recent times, with the ability of congregations to read, the pictorial inclusion of donors into window iconography has largely been replaced with words, either written into the glass or on an adjacent plaque. These texts however often provide names but little more. So it becomes difficult for the viewer today to know why the window was donated, what either the donor or the person memorialised did for a living or why they had a link to the place ….
Mesac Thomas was consecrated Bishop of Goulburn on March 25, 1863 and installed here on April 8,1864. Before leaving England, he had taken a great interest in the building of churches. We can presume that as the inaugural Bishop of Goulburn he would have arrived in the colony with firm ideas of what HIS cathedral should look like.
Fortunately he engaged the services of Edmund Blacket, Colonial Architect, a man with considerable experience in designing buildings for the climate and conditions of New South Wales. The resulting building, the Cathedral Church of St Saviour, is described as Edmund Blacket’s finest building, one of which he was justly proud. Blacket died before the Cathedral was completed, the final stages being managed by his sons Cyril and Arthur. Local architect Edmund Manfred, a pupil under Blacket, was Clerk of Works.
To finance this Cathedral, immense funds were needed and Bishop Thomas was a master fund-raiser. He wrote letters to school and clergy friends in England, to parishioners pleading first for funds for the building and then for its fitting-out (of altar, bishop’s chair, organ, pews, stained glass windows). The acclaimed stained glass windows in St Saviour’s Cathedral depict stories from the Bible and important events in the life of the Christian church or saints.
When the windows were installed, parishioners would have known and remembered the folk being memorialised. Over time, much of this knowledge can be lost. Who were the people who donated many hundreds of pounds, for the windows that add glory and brilliance to St Saviour’s Cathedral? Why are Mort’s Dock and Campbell’s Wharf in Sydney, the Warragamba Dam and Bradley’s Mill in Goulburn all part of our local ‘window history’? Members of Goulburn District Historical & Genealogical Society Inc. are hosting this illustrated talk that provides a different look at Goulburn’s history - the early settlers, farmers, business men, members of parliament, church workers, civic leaders all remembered in the windows of our Cathedral. Behind each person is a life story: of triumphs, tragedies, good deeds done, opportunities missed and community building.
To reserve your place at the talk on November 25, RSVP historygoulburn.events@gmail.com subject line: St Saviour’s
While you're with us…
Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.