Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, Australia (1868-1979) - view from the South East in Church Street Image by the author THE ADAPTATION OF GOTHIC REVIVAL ARCHITECTURE TO CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA Ian Philip Eckford BArch (Newcastle); DipUrbRegPlan (New England) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Architecture) The University of Newcastle, Australia School of Architecture and Built Environment This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship November 2017 1 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the work embodied in the thesis is my own work, conducted under normal supervision. The thesis contains no material which has been accepted, or is being examined, for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to the final version of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 and any approved embargo ------------------------------------ Ian Philip Eckford November 2017 2 ABSTRACT Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, is the largest Anglican cathedral in New South Wales, and the third largest in Australia. It is a State heritage-listed building and has national significance. The cathedral is relevant in the history of Newcastle and is an important example of Australia’s architectural and cultural heritage. Canadian born, American-trained architect John Horbury Hunt was the first of eight architects/architectural practices involved in the cathedral’s design over almost 130 years. Despite its significance, the architecture of the cathedral remains under-examined, and Hunt’s designs for it minimally explored. This thesis investigates Hunt’s adaptation of Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture to Newcastle cathedral. The research will investigate the current literature and the primary source material available on the cathedral and on Hunt, to identify their present positioning and the gaps in knowledge for both. From these sources, it will explore and evaluate the critical influences on Hunt and the development of his architectural design principles. The validation of these principles will be determined through a critical examination and analysis of Hunt’s two designs for this cathedral. In doing so, this thesis evaluates Hunt’s stylistic progression towards a cathedral design suitable for Australia in the nineteenth century. The research will therefore provide a new and expanded understanding of the cathedral and its primary architect, and reposition both in the context of Australian architectural history. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A thesis addressing the design and construction of an iconic cathedral naturally involves the support of numerous people. My thanks to the University of Newcastle and to Professor Michael Ostwald for supporting my enrolment to carry out this research and for his advice on research and presentation. My gratitude and special thanks to my principal supervisor Dr Tessa Morrison. Throughout this research, Dr Morrison offered tremendously constructive commentary, advice and counselling, with remarkably prompt responses to draft submissions. The input from my first co-supervisor Dr Catherine Smith was concise and detailed, and the advice from second co- supervisor Professor Mark Taylor improved the thesis content. Dr Jill McKeowen patiently taught me further writing skills. My thanks to the Confirmation/ Upgrade Committee, Professor Mark Taylor, Dr Helen Giggins and Associate Professor Graham Brewer. I am also most grateful to Maria Roberts for her editing/ proofreading skills. My appreciation to library staff Lisa Ogle, also Anne and Jane for their advice and support and to library archivist Gionni di Gravio and Dr Ann Hardy for advice on sources of information on local history. The staff at the State Library of New South Wales and Mitchell Library enabled access to documents on the cathedral and Hunt not examined in detail by previous historians. The support services provided by the staff at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment and the Office of Graduate Studies of the University were of great benefit. My thanks also to the First Wednesday PhD Coffee Club for their friendship, advice and suggestions, particularly Rob, Brian and Ken. The Deans and administration staff at Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle (Very Reverend Stephen Williams, Acting Dean Dr David Cole, Dean Katherine Bowyer and administrator Lisa Cater) provided enthusiastic encouragement. The Dean’s Verger, Robert Gummow, facilitated access to all parts of the cathedral and passed on his unique knowledge of the building. Cathedral guide Brenda Dryden taught me about aspects of the cathedral that are not written anywhere. Past members of the now disbanded Horbury Hunt Club supported this research, providing information that they had collected over a 30-year period on both Hunt and Newcastle cathedral. One member in particular, Robert Irving, co-author of A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture1, provided precise information on the stylistic classification of the existing cathedral. Jan Reid supplied a list of publications relating to Hunt. 1 Richard Apperly, Robert Irving, and Peter Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1995). See author’s Editorial Note on page 6 4 Architect Antony Deakin provided unlimited access to St Peter’s Anglican Cathedral, Armidale, and its archives in which was discovered an original drawing of Hunt’s overall design for the cathedral not previously identified. The information provided by Bernard Collins2, the current architect for Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, is gratefully acknowledged. His unreserved provision of drawings and documents relating to the cathedral restoration has been valuable to this research. Bernard invited this author to contribute to the Revised Conservation Master Plan for the Cathedral (2015) during the course of this research. My thanks to Phillip Williams for his images of Albi Cathedral, France, a building recommended to Hunt as a model for his second design for the cathedral. The research for this thesis benefitted from a five-week long period of study in England examining medieval cathedrals, minsters and abbeys. This aspect of the research provided an understanding of the elements of layout, style, use of materials, ornamentation and construction of medieval Gothic cathedrals. The theorists intended the adoption of these design elements in Gothic Revival cathedral designs. Thanks go to the public relations departments and guides for the English cathedrals of Canterbury, Durham, Ely, Oxford, Salisbury, Wells, Winchester and at Westminster Abbey and York Minster for their unlimited access, which provided invaluable first-hand background information for this research. I am also indebted to Dr Timothy Brittain-Catlin’s plain-English publication Churches,3 which explained how to identify the traditional characteristic features, the terminology and styles of medieval cathedrals. This publication gave direction to the author for further research into the elements of these styles in order to interpret and understand the designs for Newcastle cathedral. I cannot express enough gratitude to my wife Barbara for her tremendous encouragement and support throughout this research. She enthusiastically shared the whole adventure, including the fieldwork in English and Australian cathedrals, abbeys and minsters. Her experience as a former librarian was beneficial in accessing numerous libraries for research. Her language skills in translating aspects of the works by Viollet-le-Duc and Blondel enabled a better understanding of the value of these publications. Our sons Andrew and Michael provided suggestions on research and presentation techniques and numerous publications on Gothic architecture. The author’s family has historical links to Christ Church Cathedral, giving this research personal significance. 2 Bernard Collins is a director of EJE Architecture, a Newcastle-based multi-disciplinary practice in architecture, heritage, and interior design. Bernard, a heritage architecture specialist, was the director in charge of the Cathedral restoration following the 1989 Newcastle earthquake, and worked together with fellow director Peter Campbell, who managed the contracts and on-site administration of restoration works. The author of this research was the founding director of this architectural practice. 3 Timothy Brittain-Catlin, Churches (London: Collins, 2008). 5 My thanks to the staff at the Accident and Emergency Department and the Cardiac Care Unit at John Hunter Hospital Newcastle for their immediate and literally life-saving skills during the course of this research. Without their prompt attention, this thesis may not have been completed. My sincere thanks to all who contributed to my research for this thesis. Ian Eckford November 2017 Author’s Editorial Notes: 1. Footnotes throughout this thesis have been generated using EndNote X8.1 (Bld 11010) Windows User Licence Number 3091850001. 2. Citations/ Notations: Due to the historical nature of this research and the examination of numerous nineteenth century publications, the author