The+Architect



William Wilkinson Wardell

lived 1823 – 1899 was a civil engineering and architech notable not only for his work in Australia the country to which he emigrated in 1858, but also for having a successful career as a surveyor, and an ecclesiastical architect in England and Scotland before his departure. As a young man, Wardell studied under the Gothic architect Augustus Welby Northmore pugin and William later became friends and his mentor and was to inspire him not only in architecture but also in his religious convictions. Mixed in the artistic and literary circles of London, he fell in with the philosophies of the Oxford and Cambridge movement, which taught (amongst other things) that Gothic architecture, as symbolized by the great medieval cathedrals of England, was the only form of architecture worthy of God and fostered a spirituality that made it easier to communicate with God By the time of his marriage aged 23, he was already a successful architect. Between 1846 and 1858 he designed over 30 churches in England, at the rate of over two a year, a phenomenal output. As this was an era of massive church restoration By 1858, aged 35, Wardell was in poor health, and felt that the warmer climate of Australia would be more beneficial to his health.Obtaining the position of "Government Architect" to the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, Wardell and his family emigrated. St patricks cathedral William wardell was the architch who designed the cathederal Contrary to common belief, Wardell was not uniquely responsible for the design. Bishop Goold instructed him to incorporate into the design as much as could be saved of the previous church Thus he was forced retain the existing floor level, rather than raising it five metres which would have kept it on a level with the nearby street rather than below it St Patrick's Cathedral became Wardell's life's work and his most notable commission. The original plans remained unaltered during construction. The nave and its aisles were completed just ten years later, and the building was finally consecrated for use in 1897. At the time of his death in 1899, Wardell was still working on designs for the minor altars and fixtures and fittings. The spires which today adorn the building are not by Wardell.