St. Michael's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Toronto. For more than a century and a half, it has served as the home of the largest English-speaking diocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is one of the oldest cathedrals in the city and the most important monument of its history and architectural heritage.
The cathedral was erected in 1865 according to the project of the English architect William Thomas, who became famous precisely for the projects of religious buildings. It is curious that the cathedral, built in the style of the English neo-Gothic, became the interpretation of the 19th century of the image of the cathedral of the 14th century in York, built in the style of English Gothic. Therefore, together with the cornerstone that Bishop Michael Power laid in May 1845, fragments of the pillar stone and oak roof of York Minster were laid in the foundation of the building. The continuity is all the more obvious since before 1834 Toronto itself was also called York.
The bell tower and spire were erected after the death of Thomas by the local architectural studio Gundry & Langley, who won the competition for this project in 1865. After the completion of the construction, the spire of the bell tower was officially declared the symbol of the Confederation of Canada in 1867 and became the tallest structure in the city - 83 m.
Currently, under the supervision of the architectural firm + VG Architects, a large-scale program for the preservation and renovation of the cathedral is being carried out, the first and extremely important stage of which - the restoration and conservation of the bell tower and the western façade - was completed in February 2013.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the authenticity and quality of building materials during restoration work. Every little thing matters, and inaccuracy in the choice of material can have a fatal effect on the outcome of the whole case.
Thomas's specifications from 1845 have survived, where the architect mentions "the best selected white brick". And today, in many ways, it is the special brick, in combination with the light yellow sandstone from the Ohio deposits, that makes the cathedral distinctive, characteristic, so unlike the modern environment.
Throughout its history, St. Michael has experienced two major fires, and the harsh Canadian climate, which regularly causes freeze-thaw processes for 165 years, could not but affect the physical condition of the building. By our time, some of the bricks were completely destroyed and needed to be replaced. Fortunately, a supply of original bricks, which were used in the construction of the cathedral, was preserved in the basements, but it was not enough. An additional volume of pressed bricks was required, which would be as close as possible in color, technical characteristics and proportions to the original, and which, in addition, could be supplied by individual order.
Finding such a brick in North America turned out to be an overwhelming task, so after a long search, the restoration team found their ideal in the form of the Tap Smooth Cream brick from the English company IBSTOCK, which met all their strict requirements.
New bricks were selectively included in the masonry between the original fragments and bricks from historical reserves. In cases where modern brick had to be used on large areas of the facade, it was skillfully tinted so that the transition between historical and new materials was not noticeable.
The restorers still have a lot of work to do: work on the restoration and conservation of St. Michael's Cathedral continues. But the western façade and the bell tower have already been restored to their former grandeur and are now observing the continuation of the work from above - this time as a reference model. The rich texture of the brick façade now plays in an obvious and beneficial contrast to the shiny glass and steel of the modern towers adjacent to the cathedral. This is one of the reasons why St. Michael has retained its role as a city lighthouse, marking a place of reflection in the heart of bustling modern Toronto - despite the fact that 20th century skyscrapers overtook its spire.
The IBSTOCK brickworks group, the oldest brick manufacturer in England, traditionally supplies its products to many countries around the world. In Russia, the IBSTOCK factories are represented by the Kirill company, which offers domestic consumers 256 English brick models of different colors and textures for a variety of projects.
