Re: Re: the work of J.J. McCarthy
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St. Patrick’s in St. John’s, Newfoundland
The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Church was laid on September 17, 1855, by Bishop John T. Mullock and other distinguished clergy from Canada and the United States. American financier, Cyrus Field, contributed £1,000 to help with construction costs. The church was designed in the late Gothic Revival, also termed Neo-Gothic, style by J.J. McCarthy, a prominent Irish architect, and was built by T. O’Brien, local architect and mason.
In 1864 nine years after the cornerstone was laid, work officially began on the structure with the construction the foundation from stone taken from the Southside Hills in St. John’s. Further problems prevented work on the project from advancing beyond the 1864 stage for a decade. Additional stone was donated in 1875 and construction began once more. Construction continued as funds and materials permitted and the church was completed in 1881. After more than two-and-a-half decades, St. Patrick’s Church was consecrated on August 28, 1881.