The original design was for a church with a hall beside it. The design is described in a booklet by Margaret Barker as a hall in the gothic style with pinnacles and finials, together with a magnificent Gothic parish church with a spire on the northern side to stand next to the hall.
The Cathedral was designed by the Diocesan architect F L H (Frank) Fleming, in a Romanesque-Italian style, with the exterior finished in sandstone. The interior, rising some four to five storeys high, is dominated by soaring white-plastered columns and arches, parquet floors, stained glass windows, and simple wooden seats. The church holds Cecil Skotnes linoprints, and the pulpit carvings are by Joe Kekana.
There was clearly an ecclesiastical feeling to the design of the hall, which was in fact used for public worship pending the construction of the church. The hall has aisle passages and narrow galleries in recessed arcades to each side, with a large gallery at the west end, under which were accommodated such facilities as offices and cloakrooms. There were galleries to house an organ on the north side, and choir opposite. The elliptical barrel roof was found to be excellent for acoustics.
Although nowadays the Cathedral merges visually with the surrounding buildings, in the early years St Mary’s stood out tall and magnificent on Wanderers Street. In recent years, the surrounding environment has also been blighted by urban grime and decay.
In 1911 Johannesburg became the centre of a new diocese and St Mary’s was to become the cathedral. However, the rector, who was also the arch-deacon, wanted the hall to be paid for before any further schemes were looked into. He made the suggestion that Fellowes Prynne’s design for the church was not acceptable, and that a simpler building be envisaged. The new cathedral, whose eventual design does seem to reflect some of the ideas of Fellows Prynne, was dedicated in 1927 and completed in 1929.
St Mary’s Cathedral is renowned for its contribution to the struggle against apartheid. Since the 1950s, this was one of the few non-racial churches in downtown Johannesburg. The closing of St Cyprian’s Church a few kilometres away led black congregants at that church to join the services at St Mary’s.
Well known white democrats associated with the St Mary’s Cathedral include Helen Joseph, who attended services there, and Beyers Naude, who served as a priest at the church.
The adjoining Darrah House, which belonged to the church, was a venue for protest meetings around the 1950s. Again in the 1970s and 1980s, meetings in support of the struggle were held there, when Archbishop Desmond Tutu was dean of the Church.
In April 1993, the body of the former ANC president O R Tambo, lay in state at St. Mary’s Cathedral, before he was buried in Benoni.
General Protection: Section 34 (1) Structures under the National Heritage Resources Act NHRA) of 1999.
A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.
Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.
