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St John’s Anglican Cathedral
St John’s Anglican Cathedral
One of Australia’s finest examples of Norman Revival architecture
About the building
St John’s was declared the first Australian parish (alongside St Philip’s, York Street, Sydney), in 1802, and its first building was constructed in 1803, replacing a makeshift place of worship. The towers, designed by Lieutenant John Cliffe Watts and built in 1817–18, are the oldest remaining features today. The clock, built by Thwaites & Reed of London and installed in the north tower in 1821, is one of the earliest still-functioning timepieces in Australia. After a fierce storm damaged St John’s, the nave and chancel were reconstructed in the Norman Revival style under the oversight of architect-builder James Houison in the mid-1850s. The transepts were added in 1883, designed by Blacket & Son.
The cathedral houses various objects that tell the story of significant moments in the history of Christianity. This includes a 1599 edition of the Geneva Bible – an English translation of the Bible originally created by Protestants who fled from England to Geneva in Switzerland during the reign of Queen Mary I, a Catholic. A Māori baptismal font sent from New Zealand was a gift of thanks on the 150th anniversary of missionary (and minister at St John’s for many years) Samuel Marsden’s bringing the gospel message to New Zealand. The cathedral was also the site of the first sanctioned wedding between an Indigenous person and a European, when convict carpenter Robert Lock married Maria, the daughter of Yarramundi, the ‘Chief of the Richmond Tribes’, on 26 January 1824.
St John’s remains a lively church with hundreds of members from many nations gathering each week. The 1863 J W Walker & Sons pipe organ, restored in 1966, is still in use today.
Nearby, St John’s Cemetery is the oldest surviving European cemetery in Australia.
Talks, tours and more
Built
1803–83
Architect
Original architect: Unknown
Lieutenant John Cliffe Watts
James Houison
Blacket & Son
Find out more about this building here
St John’s Anglican Cathedral
195 Church Street, Parramatta
Entry details
Attendees will have access to St John’s Anglican Cathedral, including an area not normally open to the public: the bellringing tower
10am–4pm
3.45pm
Talks, tours and more
Need to know
Accessible featuresThere is ramp or level (step-free) entry
Toilets availableAccessible toilets are available
Photography allowed
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