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The fourth church to stand in its location, St. James Cathedral sits on a site steeped in Toronto history. The city's first-ever Anglican service was held on the spot in 1793, shortly after the founding of the Town of York.
The first church was built of wood in 1807 and dedicated to Saint James the Greater in 1828. The building was used as a military hospital during the War of 1812 when it was sacked by invading American soldiers. This wooden structure was replaced by a larger Neoclassical church of stone in 1832, which burned to the ground seven years later. The succeeding church was elevated to the status of cathedral in 1839 when Reverend John Strachan, a highly influential Upper Canadian political figure, was ordained as the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. This newly christened cathedral also burned down in 1849.
The current St. James Cathedral was built between 1850-1853 from designs by Frederic William Cumberland, who had won a church committee design competition conceived to supplement insufficient insurance funds. To save further costs, its finials, porches, tower, and now-iconic spire weren't added until 1873. The building is constructed of materials sourced from far and wide, including rubble stone from Georgetown, red granite columns from the Bay of Fundy, stone facings from Ohio, and intermittent freestone from Queenston.
St. James Cathedral has historically been one of Toronto's most prominent places of worship and is a modern landmark of Old Toronto's St. Lawrence neighbourhood. It was an atrium of the city's 19th-century social world, a vitality marked by the many physical commemorations and legacies held within its walls. To name a few: a special canopied pew designed to host the governor general, a stained glass window crafted by Tiffany & Co. to honour Revolutionary War Loyalist William Jarvis, and a 5,001-pipe organ built in 1863. Many major Anglican figures have visited the cathedral during the contemporary era, including Queen Elizabeth II and Rowan Williams, the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as Princesses Margaret and Diana and Princes Charles, William, and Harry.
(Research and text by Alessandro Tersigni.)
