William Wardell

William Wilkinson Wardell (1823–1899) was a noted architect who practiced in the second half of the 19th century, and is best known for a series of landmark buildings in Australia in Melbourne and Sydney.

Following a successful career in the 1840s -50s as an ecclesiastical architect for the Catholic church in Britain, Wardell emigrated to the Colony of Victoria in 1858. He then designed the Catholic cathedrals in both the major cities, St Patrick's in Melbourne and St Mary's in Sydney, as well as St John's College, at the University of Sydney, and numerous parish churches in Victoria. His Gothic Revival church designs have been compared favourably with his friend, English architect and Gothic pioneer Augustus Pugin. He also served as the Chief Architect of the Victorian Public Works Department from 1858-1878, personally designing Government House, Melbourne, and ensured refined classicalism was the predominant style for most public buildings. Wardell also maintained a private practice, designing a mansion, and a series of banks for the ES&A, most notably the Gothic Bank in Melbourne.