Tag Archives: St Paul’s Cathedral

Nov 1 2012

27-07-1885: St Paul’s Pro Cathedral, Flinders St, Melbourne, Victoria.

Stained glass windows were, and still are, extremely expensive to make and in the case where an historical old building is eventually demolished, its reasonable to expect that any significant stained glass windows will most likely find a new home in a new church, mansion or museum. Following and investigating this trail of the historic stained glass over more than a century is a challenge and in this case, presents an interesting story in photographic evidence which I think is amazing.

The history of the Flinders street site of St Paul’s church in Melbourne dates back as far as 1836, but the first bluestone church was not consecrated until 1852. It remained a parish church during the time when the St James’s Church was known as the first Melbourne ‘Cathedral’. St Paul’s was later known as the Pro-Cathedral, until it was demolished in 1885 to officially make way for the construction of the present Cathedral on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne. The old church was known to have contained many Ferguson & Urie stained glass windows, one of which was the ‘Prince Consort’ window described in the historical article below. The window was not donated to the “Working Mens College” as intimated in the article, but eventually found its home in St John’s Anglican Church at Sorrento in 1889. The window was restored by the Geoffrey Wallace stained glass studio in 2012. Two other single light windows from the old St. Paul’s, depicted ‘St Peter’ and ‘St Paul’, and these were donated to St Paul’s Anglican Church in Warragul, Gippsland, in September 1889 (this church was re-erected in 1908). The window indicated as being a memorial to the wife of the Rev. Canon Chase, and the other “decorative” windows described, have not yet been located.

Photos taken: 25th September 2010 to 2012.

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The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil, Melbourne, Monday 27th July 1885, page 115.

“OLD MELBOURNE.
REMOVAL OF ST. PAUL’S PRO-CATHEDRAL”.

“ST. PAUL’S PRO-CATHEDRAL., which is being pulled down to make room for the new cathedral, has an interesting history. It was the third church built in Melbourne, St. James’s and St. Peter’s being the other two older edifices, and the date of it’s inception takes us back to the early days of the colony…”
“…The window in the chancel is a beautiful work of art, illustrative of the ancestry and life of the Prince Consort. The design has been most carefully studied, and every detail is in harmony with and descriptive of some national emblems or traits of Prince Albert, and only that the chancel is in an unsuitable place to disclose the beauties of the window, it would have been far more noted and prized than it is. The window was at first intended to be the gift of the public, and one of the lady members of St. Paul’s Church collected £50 towards paying for it, but the Rev. Canon Chase at that stage presented the window, and at his request the subscriptions were devoted to the general building fund. Now that the church is being pulled down, the Building Committee have placed the window at the disposal of the donor, as the subjects of the windows of the new cathedral have already been chosen; and the Rev. Canon Chase is willing to present his gift to the Working Men’s College, which it is thought it would most appropriately adorn, considering how actively the Prince Consort exerted himself in the cause of social progress. The other memorial window at the east end of the north aisle was erected by the Sunday School of St. Paul’s Church as a mournful token of the esteem in which the wife of the incumbent, the Rev. Canon Chase, was held. There are also decorative windows in the galleries which would have been spared if the ephemeral nature of the career of the church could have foreseen, but no doubt other parishes will be eager to acquire them and replace them in their mullions, which are to be carefully preserved…”

In September 1885 the Church of England Messenger gave the best detailed description of the window I have yet encountered!

The Church of England messenger and Ecclesiastical Gazette for the Diocese of Melbourne and Ballarat, Vic, Wednesday 9th September 1885, page 3.

“THE memorial window recently removed from St. Paul’s Church, Melbourne, and designed to have a place in the new Cathedral, may be regarded as an interesting link between the Royal family of England and one of the most distant portions of the empire. Perhaps in future ages, when Australian federation is an accomplished fact, this record of a good prince, erected sixteen years after his death, may stimulate Australian potentates to a wise and beneficial exercise of power. The incumbent (Rev. Canon Chase) had long desired to honour the memory of the late Prince Consort by such a memorial, but had not found an opportunity of carrying out his wish until the year 1877, when the church was renovated and refurnished. The design is of a chaste simplicity, elegant in itself, and harmonious to the subject. Its working out evidences not only a cultivated taste, but a loving respect which spared no pains to make the work fitting and worthy. It is significant that this loyal testimony has been borne in the most democratic city of the Southern Hemisphere. Whilst viewing the memorial of the sweet psalmist of Israel, it is not unlikely that the prince Consort’s skill as a musician will be also pleasingly called to mind, and the two kings, Hozekia and Josiah, the great reformers of Israel’s race, will set the mind on meditation on the dark ages of the Christian era and the recovery of light by the labours of reformers, among whom was found prominent the ancestors of Albert the Good. This memento of the late Prince Consort may be some day regarded as a proof of loyalty amongst us in the early days of the colony; and it is worthy of remembrance that upon the decease of Prince Leopold the Government furnished the State-schools with tablets drawing the minds of the young to the excellences of the Queen’s youngest son. The window is thus described:-
The middle portion of the window is filled by three crowned figures under canopies. The central king holds a sceptre. Above his head is an inscription, “Oh, Lord, in Thee have I trusted.” Beneath his feet, “Hezekiah Rex.” The Royal figures on his right and left hand hold respectively a harp and the book of the law. The inscriptions above them are, “Praise the Lord” and “In Thy law is my delight.” Beneath them, “David Rex,” “Josiah Rex.” The upper portion of the window is divided (in the middle) into four small compartments, containing the emblems of England (lion), Scotland (crown held by lion), Wales (three feathers), Ireland (harp). An oval on either side displays a cherub holding a scroll lettered in black on white band, “When the righteous are in authority the people rejoyce.” The lower portion beneath the kings has three large compartments. That in the centre displays the arms of the late Prince Consort resting on those of the Queen. On the right the lion of England, in gold on crimson; on the left the unicorn, in silver on crimson. At the foot of the window, lettered in White (medieval) on black ground, the following- In memory of His Royal Highness, Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Prince Consort. Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Born August, 1819. Married February, 1840. Died Dec., 1861.
Beneath the window is a broad brass inscribed in old English, “Fear God; Honour the king.”

At the 1866-67 Melbourne Intercolonial Exhibition, the design for the Prince Consort window was presented by Ferguson & Urie as an exhibit. The article mentions that the window was intended for St Peters which is incorrect and should obviously have said St Paul’s.

The Ballarat Star, Vic, Thursday 10th January 1867, page 3.

“…Some beautiful patterns for stained-glass windows are exhibited by Messrs Ferguson and Urie, who have also sent in a design for a memorial to the Prince Consort, in the shape of a stained-glass window, proposed to be erected in St Peter’s [sic] Church, Melbourne…”

Related posts:

1889: St John’s Sorrento
03-09-1889: St Paul’s Warragul.
23-07-1883: St James’s Old Cathedral, Melbourne.

External Links:

History of St Paul’s Cathedral

Restoration/Conservation:

The Prince Consort window, now at Sorrento, underwent restoration and conservation work by Geoffrey Wallace stained glass studio in 2012.

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Sep 25 2012

13-05-1885: St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sale, Gippsland, Victoria

The Edward Crooke stained glass memorial window at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale, Victoria.

Edward Crooke was born in Liverpool, Lancashire in 1810 and arrived in Sydney in 1837. In the 1840’s he ran cattle and sheep in the Holey Plains area near Rosedale in Gippsland. He married Maria Matilda Jamison in 1860 and moved to Melbourne with his family in 1870. His son E.J. Crook later took over the Holey Plains station. Edward Crook died at his home “Rockley” in South Yarra on the 7th November 1873 and in 1885 his wife Maria initiated the erection of a stained glass memorial to him in the chancel of St Paul’s Church of England in Sale, Gippsland. The window was created by Ferguson & Urie and was erected in September 1886 beside the Dr. Floyd Minter Peck window that Ferguson & Urie had created two decades earlier in 1867.

Photos dated: 23 April 2011.

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The left light in the group of three is the Edward Crooke memorial window described in the articles below. The centre light is a memorial to Dr. Floyd Minter Peck which was also created by Ferguson & Urie some twenty years earlier in 1867 and originally installed in the previous church building. The right light, ‘Good Shepherd’, window was made by William Montgomery, Melbourne; “The right hand light was by William Montgomery c.1888.  It was one of the first group he made for the Anglicans after he arrived in Melbourne in December 1886”.- (Dr. Bronwyn Hughes, Stained Glass Historian, email, 25 Sept 2012).

Gippsland Times, Vic, Wednesday 13th May 1885, page 3.

“Our readers will no doubt remember that when the Church of England in Cunningham-street was built, the stained glass window that had been put in the old church to the memory of the late Dr. Peck was removed and placed in the central light in the chancel of the new church. We are now pleased to learn that Mrs Crooke, of Holey Plains, is about to fill one of the side lights with a similar window in memory of the late Mr Crooke. The subject chosen will be one that will harmonise with the present window, and will greatly improve that end of the church. It will, however, to complete it, need the other side light filling, and perhaps some member of the church will consider the propriety of doing this. We are sure that no more suitable memorial of departed friends than one of this kind can be found.”

Gippsland Times, Vic, Monday 20th September 1886, page 3.

“In our columns some months ago we mentioned that Mrs Crooke, of Holey Plain, had intimated her intention of putting a stained glass window in St. Paul’s, in memory of her late husband. This has been done, and a rich and beautiful work now adorns the left opening of the chancel window. The central panel is a life-size figure representing the Saviour as the Light of the World. The outer flowing robe around the body is of rich antique ruby, the folds fall gracefully round, while the inner garment has a cream-like tinge. Over the head there is a canopy of blue. Under the figure are the words, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” In the top panel appears the sacred monogram I.H.S., surrounded by a Crown. On the lower panel there is a medallion exhibiting a lamb with a banner and cross, and on either side are the words “Agnus Dei.” We need scarcely say that the window was very much admired by the congregation yesterday. The third light should now be filled in, and then the large window at the eastern end would be complete. Perhaps the good example set by Mrs Crooke will be followed by some other members of he community. The work was done by Messrs Fergusson [sic] and Urie, of Melbourne.”

Gippsland Times, Vic, Wednesday 2nd February 1887, page 3.

“ST. PAULS CHURCH OF ENGLAND”

“The yearly meeting of the congregation of St. Paul’s Church of England was held in the old church building on Monday evening. There was a moderate attendance, and the Rev. Canon Watson occupied the chair. The following report was read:-…”

“…The board are glad to report that during the year a very handsome stained glass window was placed in the chancel by Mrs Crooke, of Holey Plain, to the memory of her late husband…”

Gippsland Times, Vic, Tuesday 11th November 1873, page 3.

“CROOKE.- On the 7th inst., at Rockley, Toorak, Edward Crooke, of Holey Plain, Gippsland.”

Related posts:

21-09-1867: St Paul’s Cathedral, Sale, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.

External links:

Biography: Edward Crooke (1810-1873)

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Feb 20 2012

21-09-1867: St Paul’s Cathedral, Sale, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.

The Dr. Floyd Minter Peck memorial stained glass window was created by the Ferguson & Urie stained glass company of North Melbourne and was erected in St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Sale, Victoria, in September 1867.

Gippsland Times, Saturday September 21st 1867, page 2.

“During the past week the central lights of the east window in the chancel of St. Paul’s has been filled with stained glass. The window, which is sixteen feet high and three feet wide, has been erected by a few friends as a memorial to Dr. Peck, one of the earliest trustees and an earnest supporter and benefactor of the church. The painful circumstances of his death, in the prime of his manhood, are still fresh in the recollections of the inhabitants of the district. His death was caused by disease in conducting a post-mortem examination, and was justly regarded as a public misfortune. A subscription was initiated to erect a tablet to his memory, but it was afterwards resolved that a testimonial to his worth would be most appropriately placed in the new church, for which he had worked so long and zealously in raising funds; the present form of memorial was then wisely determined on. The general effect is extremely pleasing; the hues are clear, brilliant, and admirably arranged, and give to the church the colour so much needed. It is lancet shaped; the border is of green leaves; the lancet contains a fine scroll, with the words “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” The centre is filled with a large figure of Christ as the Saviour of the world, with a nimbus round the head, and holding and orb typical of sovereignty; underneath are the words “Salvator mundi;” the lower part is filled with grisaille, enclosing a shield with the following inscriptions, in early English characters:- “Erected by subscription, in pious memory of Floyd Minter Peck, surgeon of this town, who died January 17 [sic], 1864.” A bright monogram of the Alpha and Omega shine at the apex of the window. The diapering and tracery generally are, very light and effective, and reflect great credit on the artists who executed them. It is a further subject of congratulation that this splendid window has been designed and chiefly manufactured in the colony by Messrs. Ferguson, Urie, and Lyon, of North Melbourne, who have been for some time past actively engaged on the work, which they have now brought to such a creditable conclusion.”

The centre light of the three windows in the chancel is the Dr. Floyd Minter Peck memorial window by Ferguson & Urie. It originally came from the first church built in Raymond Street Sale. The article above has the date he died incorrect and so does the memorial text on the window. He actually died on the 7th of January 1863. The left light is also by Ferguson & Urie and is a memorial to Edward Crooke, but was created nearly two decades later and erected in September 1886. In 1887 Melbourne stained glass craftsman William Montgomery created the right light depicting the Good Shepherd and is a memorial to Menie Peck, the second wife of Dr. Ffloyd Minter Peck.

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Geelong Advertiser, Vic, Thursday 26th September 1867, page 2.

“During the past week the central light of the east window in the chancel of St. Paul’s Church, Sale, has been filled with stained glass. A local contemporary explains that the window, which is nineteen feet high and and three feet wide, has been erected by a few friends as a memorial to Dr Peck, one of the earliest trustees and earnest supporter and benefactor of the church, and whose death was caused by disease incurred by conducting a post mortem examination, and was justly regarded as a public misfortune. The general effect of the work is said to be extremely pleasing; the hues are clear, brilliant, and admirably arranged, and give to the church the colour so much needed. It is lancet shaped; the border is of green leaves; the lancet contains a fine scroll, with the words, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” The centre is filled with a large picture of Christ as the Saviour of the world, with a nimbus round the head, and holding an orb typical of sovereignty; underneath are the words “Salvator maudi;” [sic] the lower part is filled with grisaille, enclosing a shield with the following inscription in early English characters:- “Erected by subscription, in pious memory of Floyd Minter Peck, surgeon, of this town, who died January 17, 1864.” It is a subject of congratulation, as our contemporary remarks, that this splendid window has been designed and chiefly manufactured in the colony by Messrs Ferguson, Urie and Lyon, of North Melbourne.”

Monumental memories : Sale Cemetery / by Glenys Wain, Kylie Rhodes, Linda Barraclough:

"Dr. Floyd Minter Peck (c1818-1861) was the son of a doctor from Newmarket, England. He came to Australia with his brother in law Dr. Hedley, Dr. Reeve of Snakes Ridge and his brother James Peck. Dr. Peck married Anna Maria Robertson (1823-1859) who died in Sale soon after her arrival there, following the birth of her sixth child. Dr. Peck then married Menie Campbell (1820-1884), a sister in law of Robert Thomson. However shortly after their wedding Dr. Peck contacted an infection while performing an autopsy, and died five days later. Dr. Hedley took over his practice afte his sudden death. James Peck (c. 1833-1884) was the younger brother of Dr. Floyd Minter Peck, and lived at "Bowerette" near "Grassdale". He married Ada Minter (C.1846-1918), the daughter of a doctor from Mount Moriac, and became a successful stock agent. Near these two family plots are family plots for the Smith and Minters, who are related. All plots have similar fences, with gateways."

Related posts:

The 1885 Edward Crooke memorial window at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sale by Ferguson & Urie.

External links:

Paul Saban: “The Medical History of Newmarket”, Ffloyd Minter Peck (1820-1867)

The 1887 Menie Peck memorial window at St Paul’s Cathedral, Sale, by William Montgomery.

Homestead: Grassdale. Home of Floyd Minter Peck

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