The Cathedral of St. Alban the Martyr is an unfinished

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in Toronto, Ontario, which serves as the school chapel of

Royal St. George's College Royal St. George's College (RSGC) is an independent school for boys located in The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school admits boys from Grades 3 through 12. Founded in 1961 as an Anglican choir school in the tradition of t ...

. Completed in 1891, what stands today is only two-thirds of the planned

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

church designed by Richard C. Windeyer, Sr. to serve as the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. Though only the chancel was completed, the church still held cathedral status from its construction until 1936 and is still referred to as such today. The church is designated by the City of Toronto under Part IV of the ''

Ontario Heritage Act The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Province of Ontario, Canada, as being of cultural heritage ...

'' as being of cultural heritage value or interest. It has the only double-hammerbeam roof in Canada.

History

Initial planning

Since its founding in 1839, the '' de facto'' cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto and seat of the Bishop of Toronto had been the Church of St. James on King Street. However, the parishioners of St. James's were not pleased with this arrangement and refused to give up ownership of the church to the Diocese as they had financed its construction themselves. Toronto's first bishop, John Strachan, set up a cathedral establishment fund in 1843 to eventually build a monumental cathedral to serve as his seat. This vision was not realized by Strachan nor his immediate successor, and it was not until 1884 when Arthur Sweatman, 3rd Bishop of Toronto, purchased four and a half acres in the newly developed Seaton Village that Toronto appeared to be gettings its own purpose-built Anglican cathedral on par with the great cathedrals of England. The cathedral was to be dedicated to St. Alban, the first British Christian martyr. Work began in 1885 to the design of architect Richard Cunningham Windeyer, Sr. Windeyer's ambitious design was inspired by St. Albans Cathedral in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. Even before ground was broken, the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

passed a special act designating St. Alban's as the cathedral of the diocese. By November 1889, the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

, chancel and choir were completed, consecrated and worship services began. In 1891, the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Church of England held its general meeting at the cathedral, the first in Canada. A financial crisis in 1890, the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899 and Windeyer's death in 1900 halted construction.

Further construction

Work on the cathedral resumed in 1912 under the direction of American architect

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partner ...

. Cram is also known for New York City's unfinished

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

cathedral, the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood ...

. On August 27, 1912, the cornerstone of the nave was laid by The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Governor General of Canada, and his daughter,

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay, (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy officer), Alexander Ramsay, she re ...

. Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, of Casa Loma, and Edward Marion Chadwick were major benefactors of the project. The outbreak of World War I two years later halted work yet again, this time indefinitely. Postwar efforts to complete the cathedral were further hindered by Pellatt's financial collapse in the early 1920s and the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in 1929. A further setback came in 1929 when a fire suddenly broke out damaging much of the interior. In 1936,

Derwyn Owen Derwyn Trevor Owen (29 July 1876— 9 April 1947) was the sixth Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and the fifth Bishop of Niagara then Toronto. Crockford's Clerical Directory1947-48 Oxford, OUP,1947 Early life and career Educated at T ...

, 5th Bishop of Toronto and Primate of All Canada, formally cancelled all plans to ever complete the cathedral and returned the diocesan seat to St. James's. Thus, the completed chancel of St. Alban's became a parish church. A small brick narthex was constructed in 1956 by Mathers & Haldenby closing in the chancel.

School chapel

Since 1964, St. Alban's has been the school chapel of

(RSGC) which is built on the foundation of the cathedral's unfinished nave. The school was founded in 1961 as St. George's College by a group of Anglican clergy and laity, including composer

Healey Willan James Healey Willan (12 October 1880 – 16 February 1968) was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and pia ...

, choirmaster of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, who had the vision of establishing a permanent home for boys' choral music in Canada. At the suggestion of

Frederick Wilkinson Frederick Hugh Wilkinson MM (two bars), ED (1896 – 1980) was the 7th Bishop of Toronto. Life and ministry Wilkinson was born in 1896 into an ecclesiastical family and educated at the University of Toronto. He was ordained in 1925. He began ...

, 7th Bishop of Toronto, the newly established college began renting St. Alban's property. The first classes began in 1964 in the See House. Though the arrangement was originally intended to be temporary as the school looked for property in the country, in 1970–72, RSGC built their classrooms, offices and gymnasium in the

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

style on the foundation of the unfinished nave. In 1989, in recognition of the school's 25th anniversary, The Duchess of Kent, on behalf of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, granted the school use of the prefix "Royal". Today it is the only pre-university institution in Canada to bear this distinction. In 2000, the parish was disestablished and the property was bought by the school and it is now solely their private chapel. Coincidentally, the school is the

choir school This article contains a list of choir schools sorted alphabetically by country. Australia *St Andrew's Cathedral School , motto_translation = The Way of the Cross is the Way of Light , established = , type ...

of the Cathedral Church of St. James which preceded, and eventually once again succeeded, St. Alban's as the cathedral of the diocese. On September 18, 2010, a fire broke out after a workman left oily rags in the chapel which ignited. While much of the blackened woodwork, plaster and stained glass were able to be repaired, some of the original oak furnishings and a portion of the original floor were lost. The restored chapel reopened in 2011 and was featured as part of Doors Open Toronto in 2012.

Architecture

Richard Cunningham Windeyer, Sr.'s original design was a Norman inspired

cathedral with a cruciform floorplan complete with a 135-foot tower. Only one-third of his design, the chancel, was ever executed. It is of Credit Valley sandstone construction. After Windeyer's death,

was responsible for the cathedral's completion. His design, also in the Gothic Revival style, was less decorated than Windeyer's, removed the front tower and instead planned for a tower over the crossing. Only the foundation of Cram's design for the nave was ever completed. The interior of the chapel is decorated in plaster and English oak carvings. It is notable for its unique roof, the only double-hammerbeam roof in Canada.

See House

See House is a

Queen Anne Revival The Queen Anne style of British architecture refers to either the English Baroque architecture of the time of Queen Anne (who reigned from 1702 to 1714) or the British Queen Anne Revival form that became popular during the last quarter of the ...

residence next door to the cathedral. It was completed in 1887 and served as the residence of the Bishop of Toronto until the diocesan seat returned downtown in 1936. From 1898 until 1911, it housed the short-lived St. Alban's Cathedral School. After 1936, it served as the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

of St. Alban's until 1964 when it became the home of