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22 Church Hill, St. John's Construction of the cathedral in St John's, Newfoundland was begun in 1843 by the first Bishop of Newfoundland, Aubrey Spencer, but a major St. John's fire in 1846 rendered unusable the stone imported from Cork, Ireland. The second Bishop of Newfoundland, Edward Feild, raised funds in England to restart the project. The nave was consecrated in September 1850 which served the Anglican community for 35 years until the fourth Bishop of Newfoundland, Llewellyn Jones, raised funds to complete the transept and tower in 1885. On July 8, 1892 a great fire swept St John's, 10,000 were left homeless, including Bishop Jones and 5 clergy, and the cathedral roof, floor and all but 2 of the windows were destroyed. By 1895, the chancel and transept had been rebuilt but the financial collapse of the colony of Newfoundland that year meant that it was not until 1905 that the nave was fully restored. |
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The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is 200 feet long, with a 60-foot wide nave and a width of 99 feet at the transept. Where nave and transept cross, the floor-to-ceiling height is 57 feet; outside, the roof stands 80 feet high at the ridge. St John the Baptist Cathedral, Newfoundland was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1979. |
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