Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady

The Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady is a heritage-listed former Anglican church and now Greek Orthodox cathedral located at 242 Cleveland Street, Redfern, New South Wales, Australia. The church was designed by Edmund Blacket and the rectory was designed by John Burcham Clamp and built from 1848. It is also known as the Greek Orthodox Cathedral; St Paul's Anglican Church; St Paul's Church of England; Cathedral of the Annunciation of Our Lady Theotokos. The property is owned by Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 17 April 2012.

As the Sydney township expanded after the first phases of colonial settlement, the suburbs of Redfern and Chippendale were soon subdivided to accommodate the developing industry and population. To service these new communities, land was quickly selected and dedicated for the construction of essential government facilities - namely a church and school. By 1846, the prominent corner location had been selected for the construction of an Anglican church and, in 1847, Bishop William Broughton - Australia's first (and only) bishop - had awarded the commission of the construction to Edmund Blacket, the diocesan architect for the Church of England in Australia. Blacket had a particular interest in the gothic style of architecture and designed St Paul's Church in the Decorated Gothic form. During the colonial period, architecture was commissioned by the British settlers and was often designed to reflect the buildings of their homelands. The ecclesiastical building models were symbolic of Christianity and Blacket, in keeping with other colonial architects of the time, took inspiration from the design of established churches in England. The elevations and dimensions for St Paul's Church were taken from a lithograph of St Barnabas' at Homerton in East London - designed by Arthur Ashpitel. Following the laying of the foundation stone on St Paul's Day in January 1848, construction of St Paul's Church soon followed but work proceeded slowly due to the economic depression in the colony and the high demand for skilled labour. Built in stages, the church was - in the most part - complete by its consecration in August 1855 but almost immediately underwent further expansion to accommodate the greater population numbers now residing in the Redfern and Chippendale areas. By 1858, the southern aisle of the church was complete and, by 1875, the tower was finished. During the second half of the nineteenth century, Redfern and Chippendale continued to be mixed suburbs of both residential and industry and it was not long before living conditions began to decline and these inner-city areas turned into slums. Efforts to improve these conditions were largely spurred by Reverend Francis Bertie Boyce who was appointed to the parish of St Paul's in 1884 (and who remained as an active and vocal leader for social reform until his retirement in 1930). A champion for clearing slums, improving living conditions, promoting pensions and alleviating working class distress, Boyce became a notable and innovative public figure in campaigning for the social improvement of his parish. During World War II, when it was St Paul's Church, they operated a hostel for service personnel on leave in Sydney. They had 50 beds, 20 volunteers and were open on Friday and Saturday nights. The cost was 1/- and came with morning tea. By February 1944 they had slept 1,500 men in previous 12 months. They did this in partnership with the Church of England National Emergency Fund. By the outbreak of the World War II, the population decline of Redfern and Chippendale was acute with its residents leaving for the new and expanding outer suburbs of Sydney. The ethnic composition of the inner-city was

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