St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral in Adelaide, Australia,

St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral

Charles Francis Hansom (1817-88)

1856-60

Adelaide, Australia

Photograph, caption, and commentary by Graham Lupp, who has kindly shared them with readers of the Victorian Web, who may wish to visit his site.

Thanks to Brian Andrews of Hobart, Tasmania, for providing this information about Adelaide Cathedral.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL (or cite it in a print document).]

The Catholic Cathedral of St Francis Xavier in Adelaide, built 1856-60, was designed by English architect Charles Francis Hansom (1817-88). Hansom was born and trained in York, but later was appointed Town Surveyor at Coventry. He was a close friend of Bishop William Ullathorne (1806-89), also from Yorkshire, who eventually became Archbishop of Birmingham.

Hansom never visited Australia but had many of his designs built in the colony, particularly in Victoria, by Archbishop John Bede Polding (1794-1877) first catholic bishop of Australia and novice-master and friend to Ullathorne. Based in Coventry, Hansom ran a successful architectural practice which was carried on by son Edward. Hansom's older brother Joseph (1803-82) was a more famous architect who established the magazine The Builder and who invented the Hansom cab.

Last modified 20 July 2010