Construction of the first stone church was begun in 1843 under the direction of Aubrey Spencer, the first Bishop of Newfoundland. Little progress was made on this relatively modest edifice beyond the laying of a cornerstone before Spencer resigned due to ill health. The present cathedral was begun in 1847 by Edward Feild, the second Bishop of Newfoundland. Feild commissioned plans from a leading Gothic Revival architect, George Gilbert Scott, who envisioned a more impressive cruciform structure, with varied ornamentation in the 12th-century English style. The nave, built between 1847 and 1850, served as the entire cathedral church for 35 years. Scott's assistant, architect William Hay, oversaw the nave's construction. Construction on the choir and transept section did not commence until 1880 and was completed in September 1885, under the direction of James Butler Knill Kelly. The additions to the nave gave the cathedral the shape of a Latin cross. It continued the era of Gothic Revival architecture in the construction of nineteenth-century Anglican churches in Newfoundland. . The building was not completely restored until 1905. On July 8, 1892, the Cathedral was extensively damaged in the Great Fire of 1892. The roof timbers ignited, which caused the roof to collapse, bringing the clerestory walls and piers in the nave down with it. The intense heat caused the lead to melt in the glass windows, resulting in the complete destruction of all but two; the sole surviving window can be seen in the Sacristy. Restoration of the Cathedral commenced in 1893, again under Kelly's direction. By 1895, the Chancel and Transepts had been rebuilt, while the Nave reached completion in 1905. The restored cathedral is renowned internationally as one of North America's best ecclesiastical Gothic Revival structures. The church was re-consecrated in a service on September 21, 1905. A window in the restored Cathedral was dedicated to Kelly, who died in 1907. The Te Deum Window was donated in 1952 in memory of Bermudian-born Sir Joseph Outerbridge by his family. The Cathedral remains incomplete as the structure still lacks the spire which its designer, Scott, had envisioned. Although an engineering team has established that the proposed tower and steeple is structurally feasible, the cost was estimated to be $3,000,000. The clergy and parishioners remain committed to completing Scott's plans and are hopeful that they will see the spire erected. The cathedral was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1979 as a nationally significant example of Gothic Revival architecture. The building was also designated as a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1991, and a City of St. John's Heritage Building in 1989.
Design
The Cathedral stretches from the Great West Doors to the Sanctuary, with a -wide nave and a maximum width of at the transepts. Where nave and transept cross, the floor-to-ceiling height is ; outside, the roof stands high at the ridge.
