Edmund Blacket (1817-1883) was the most important architect of colonial Sydney and the major exponent of the Gothic style in the country.

Blacket was born in the UK and eventually trained as an engineer and “became incidentally a skilled draftsman and surveyor”. Newly married, he and his wife Sarah reached Sydney in 1842. On arrival, he received a number of church commissions and eventually set up an architectural practice.

He succeeded Mortimer Lewis as Colonial Architect (1849 – 1854) but resigned this post to take up an offer by the University of Sydney Senate to design its first buildings. The University’s Great Hall and the adjoining eastern elevation of the main building are regarded as Blacket’s masterpiece.

Blacket is remembered as a great ecclesiastical architect. Although not regarded as an innovator, he was revered for his ability to perfectly site a building.

Blacket was prolific and his other work includes:

• St Marks Church