Goulburn in Glass

Pamela J Ferrar

A Pictorial History

Apart from the state capitals, Goulburn is one of Australia’s most historic cities. Much has been written about its history – its initial settlement, its development, its agriculture and its industries. The city also boasts many fine buildings, some very old, and there is a great deal of information about their construction and their architecture. But one fine aspect of these buildings has been largely ignored – their fine lead-lighted and stained-glass windows.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries many houses had beautiful and intricate lead-lighting in their windows, with a variety of stained glass pieces set within the lead-lighting. Patterns developed over time, until lead-lighting went out of fashion. Cathedrals, churches and other houses of worship also contained sets of fine stained glass windows, often large and magnificent, showing biblical figures and stories, or sometimes commemorating individual people.

All this craft is part of Australia’s history, but its documentation has been somewhat neglected. The present work is an attempt to show what was created in one significant Australian city – Goulburn.

The project was begun in the distant past of 1987. It is not a comprehensive collection of stained glass windows in Goulburn, though this was my original plan, particularly for the houses of Goulburn. The collection does include churches, some public and private buildings, several of the larger (estate) homesteads and a selection of Goulburn houses. The houses represented were determined by the positive responses received from owners of all houses identified at that time with stained glass windows. .

 

Goulburn Churches Represented

Anglican Saint Saviour’s Cathedral (Bourke Street)
Saint Nicholas, North Goulburn (Kinghorne Street)
Christ Church, West Goulburn (Addison Street West)
Roman Catholic Saints Peter and Paul Former Cathedral (Bourke Street)
Church of Our Lady of Fatima, North Goulburn (Lagoon Street)
Uniting Church Goldsmith Street (formerly Methodist Church)