No. 1610 - Hobart - St David's Cathedral Deanery (1886)
This article is one of a series about buildings associated with Tasmania’s historical churches. These buildings include Sunday schools, parish halls, convents, schools and residences of the clergy. Ancillary buildings are often overlooked and rarely feature in published histories. My aim is to create a simple record of these buildings, including of those that no longer exist.
A Dean is appointed by a bishop to lead a subdivision of a diocese comprised of a number parishes. The duty of the dean is to watch over the clergy of the parish and to ensure that they implement the orders of the bishop and observe liturgical and canon law. The residence of a dean is officially called a deanery but it also accommodates priests serving in the parish.
The first Dean of St David's Cathedral in Hobart was the Reverend Frederick Holdship Cox who appointed in 1872. During his incumbency the foundation stone of the nave of the new cathedral was laid (January 1868) but before it was consecrated in February 1874 he resigned and returned to England. The original deanery was located near the eastern of the old cathedral and had to be demolished to accomodate the construction of the chancel of the new cathedral which was only completed in the 1890s.
The new Deanery was built on the site of the original Cathedral on Macquarie Street. The original intention was to build the deanery on the Murray Street side of the Cathedral. There was some opposition to the adoption of the Macquarie Street site with concerns about the deanery “blocking up the cathedral and exhibiting its outbuildings to everyone going to church”.
Construction of the Deanery was well underway by September 1886 when the building’s foundation stone was ceremonially laid. It was was designed by Henry Hunter and the contractor was Seabrook and Reynolds at a total cost of £3,000.
The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was described in a report in the Mercury:
“Shortly before 3 o’clock a large crowd, including a great number of ladies, had collected around the spot, and the clergy and choristers were assembled in the cathedral. At 3 o'clock a procession was formed, headed by the choir in their surplices, singing the hymn "Through all the changing scenes of life," and marched out to the works…. A harmonium, lent by Mr. C. H. James, of Elizabeth street, was placed upon the temporary floor of the building, and Mr. Maynard, the church organist, presided at it… the Bishop offered prayer and recited the special collect for the day-St. Michael and All Angels Day. The stone was then prepared, and the Bishop took a trowel and spread the mortar, after which the stone was lowered into its place. The stone was struck by a little mallet of she-oak wood, handed to the Bishop by the architect, and tested by a- pretty little level made of lightwood, both instruments having been formerly used by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, on laying the foundation stone of the new Cathedral in 1868….”.
The Deanery was built in a Victorian Rustic Gothic style using the same sandstone used to construct the new cathedral.
The heritage listed building is no longer used as a deanery but remains a part of the Cathedral precinct.
Sources:
Tasmanian News, Thursday 8 April 1886, page 3
Mercury, Tuesday 20 July 1886, page 3
Mercury, Thursday 30 September 1886, page 3
God and the City : a history of St David's Cathedral, Hobart
P. J. Boyce (Peter John); St. David's Cathedral Foundation (Hobart, Tas.), 2012
A Dean is appointed by a bishop to lead a subdivision of a diocese comprised of a number parishes. The duty of the dean is to watch over the clergy of the parish and to ensure that they implement the orders of the bishop and observe liturgical and canon law. The residence of a dean is officially called a deanery but it also accommodates priests serving in the parish.
The first Dean of St David's Cathedral in Hobart was the Reverend Frederick Holdship Cox who appointed in 1872. During his incumbency the foundation stone of the nave of the new cathedral was laid (January 1868) but before it was consecrated in February 1874 he resigned and returned to England. The original deanery was located near the eastern of the old cathedral and had to be demolished to accomodate the construction of the chancel of the new cathedral which was only completed in the 1890s.
The new Deanery was built on the site of the original Cathedral on Macquarie Street. The original intention was to build the deanery on the Murray Street side of the Cathedral. There was some opposition to the adoption of the Macquarie Street site with concerns about the deanery “blocking up the cathedral and exhibiting its outbuildings to everyone going to church”.
Construction of the Deanery was well underway by September 1886 when the building’s foundation stone was ceremonially laid. It was was designed by Henry Hunter and the contractor was Seabrook and Reynolds at a total cost of £3,000.
The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was described in a report in the Mercury:
“Shortly before 3 o’clock a large crowd, including a great number of ladies, had collected around the spot, and the clergy and choristers were assembled in the cathedral. At 3 o'clock a procession was formed, headed by the choir in their surplices, singing the hymn "Through all the changing scenes of life," and marched out to the works…. A harmonium, lent by Mr. C. H. James, of Elizabeth street, was placed upon the temporary floor of the building, and Mr. Maynard, the church organist, presided at it… the Bishop offered prayer and recited the special collect for the day-St. Michael and All Angels Day. The stone was then prepared, and the Bishop took a trowel and spread the mortar, after which the stone was lowered into its place. The stone was struck by a little mallet of she-oak wood, handed to the Bishop by the architect, and tested by a- pretty little level made of lightwood, both instruments having been formerly used by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, on laying the foundation stone of the new Cathedral in 1868….”.
The Deanery was built in a Victorian Rustic Gothic style using the same sandstone used to construct the new cathedral.
The heritage listed building is no longer used as a deanery but remains a part of the Cathedral precinct.
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| St David's Deanery on Macquarie Street |
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| St David's Deanery on Macquarie Street |
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| St David's Deanery on Macquarie Street |
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| The new cathedral with the tower of the old cathedral visible on the roofline. The old deanery is visible on the left of the cathedral and it was demolished when the cathedral's chancel was constructed in the early 1890s. Source: Libraries Tasmania - Item Number: NS407/1/58 |
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| Tasmanian News, Thursday 8 April 1886 |
Tasmanian News, Thursday 8 April 1886, page 3
Mercury, Tuesday 20 July 1886, page 3
Mercury, Thursday 30 September 1886, page 3
God and the City : a history of St David's Cathedral, Hobart
P. J. Boyce (Peter John); St. David's Cathedral Foundation (Hobart, Tas.), 2012
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