William Wardell: Building With Conviction by A G Evans

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Marks on foredges. Signed by author.

Born into lowly circumstances in London's East End in 1823, William Wilkinson Wardell became one of Australia's greatest architects, whose crowning works are his two cathedrals, St Mary's in Sydney and St Patrick's in Melbourne.

As well as being a leading exponent of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, he served for a period as the Chief Architect in the Victorian Public Works Department, where he stamped his character and high standards on many of Melbourne's best-loved public buildings, including his own design: Government House.

During his early years in Australia, Wardell suffered sectarian animosity and jealousy among members of his profession. Forced unfairly to leave Victoria in 1878, he was welcomed in Sydney, where he was honoured and revered as a leader of his profession.

In this first major biography of Wardell, Evans reveals for the first time his early life and influences at home in a Workhouse, his apprenticeship at sea, and his work in England and Scotland, where he was responsible for over twenty much-admired churches, schools, and private houses.