'Good taste and sound judgment’ – Bishop Goold and the building of Catholic Victoria

During his almost 40 years long episcopacy, James Alipius Goold laid strong foundations for the Catholic church in Victoria. The diocese of Melbourne counted only two churches and two chapels when he arrived, but, during his lifetime, clergymen claimed he laid as many foundations stones as Saint Patrick himself. Goold’s architectural patronage exemplifies the evolution of Gothic taste in Victoria and his ambition culminated with the realisation of St Patrick’s cathedral to William Wardell’s grand design. Additionally, the English architect was commissioned to provide plans for at least a dozen parish churches ranging in size and refinement for city parishes and rural districts alike. Retracing the networks that Goold developed with leading manufacturers in Europe, and his patronage of architect Wardell, this paper highlights the bishop’s contribution to the built environment of Catholic Colonial Victoria.