Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral
When it was formed the Diocese of Quebec covered both Upper and Lower Canada. Today, its territory covers 720,000 km in the central and eastern parts of the province of Quebec but does not include the area around Montreal. It has 7,817 Anglicans on the parish rolls in 93 congregations. The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989 and plaqued in 1993. It has also been designated under provincial heritage legislation.
History
The Diocese of Quebec was founded in 1793. Its first bishop, Dr. Jacob Mountain, gave his early attention to the erection of a cathedral. The completed building, designed by military officers William Robe and William Hall, was built between 1800 and 1804. It was consecrated on August 28, 1804, becoming the first Anglican cathedral to be built outside of the British Isles.
In 1859-1860 William Carter served as the cathedral's organist, and staged what was then the largest Handel Festival ever presented in Canada in April 1859.
Design
Designed in the neoclassic Palladian style, the cathedral was modeled after the St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, London, and the Marylebone Chapel (now known as St Peter, Vere Street). King George III paid for the construction of the cathedral, and provided a folio Bible, communion silverware, and large prayer books to be used for worship.
The bell-tower is home to eight bells founded by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1830, which are the oldest change-ringing peal in Canada. Due to deterioration, they were brought down in 2006, sent to Whitechapel in London for retuning, and reinstalled in April 2007.
Burials
- Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond (1764–1819)
- Jacob Mountain, 1st Anglican bishop in Canada (1749–1825), responsible for the building of the cathedral
Gallery
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Interior
