Heyington Gates

31 January 2023

Described as “one of the…handsomest and most elaborate in or around the metropolis,” St Catherine’s School’s Heyington Gates have stood as the sentinels of our School for more than a century, observing the arrival and departure of our Senior School students throughout their educational journeys.

Commissioned by Mr Mars Buckley, second owner of the Beaulieu mansion (Sherren House), and owner of Buckley & Nunn, now David Jones, the twelve-foot-high Harcourt granite piers and intricate ironwork of the Gates were designed by notable architectural firm Smith & Johnson in 1890.

The Heyington Gates are considered the last known improvements made by Mars Buckley prior to his death and the subsequent sale of Beaulieu in 1911.

The Senior School gates have welcomed students to the School since 1922, when the property was acquired by Ruth Langley and Flora Templeton, Co-Principals at the time. The gates were erected by the owner Mr Buckley in 1890, as the September 1890 publication of the Building and Engineering Journal attests (see photo below). They were much as they are today, except that the granite piers were then topped by ornamental gas lamps.

The Building and Engineering Journal of September 1890 claimed that “it reflects the greatest credit upon all concerned, the gate entrance being one of the handsomest and most elaborate in and around the metropolis”.

The School gates were used in the design of the tapestry commissioned by the Council of the City of Prahran in 1985 to mark Victoria’s 150th anniversary.