Christ Church Cathedral

Backgrounder

Christ Church Cathedral is a highly visible and prominent urban landmark in downtown Montréal and an excellent example of Gothic Revival style in Canada. Built between 1857 and 1860, it perfectly illustrates the architectural theories of Augustus Welby Pugin and the Cambridge Camden Society, two passionate voices which dictated the form the Anglican cathedral would take in the second half of the 19th century. Christ Church Cathedral’s design is equally notable for its highly functional and rational appearance, which clearly expresses the functional and spiritual demands of the Anglican liturgy. Clarity of design also informs its interior design, materials, and structural design. Christ Church Cathedral is tied to the growth and development of Montréal through its congregation, some members of which were among the leading industrialists and businessmen when Montréal was the most important city in British North America.

Distinguished English architect Frank Wills designed the cathedral in the mid-19th century, at a time when the Anglican Church was reaffirming worship as the central purpose of the service. Church architecture of the time reflected this focus, with a return to the internal arrangement of the church as it had been in its pre-Reformation days. This change was paralleled by a return to what was considered the apex of English architecture, the Gothic style of the late 13th and 14th centuries. Wills died shortly after the foundation was laid, but Thomas Seaton Scott continued the work and Christ Church Cathedral opened for worship on 27th November 1860.

The cathedral’s exterior is noted for its cruciform plan and elevation, its simple geometric volumes beneath a steep gabled roof and for its central tower. Inside, the high ceilings in the nave and chancel direct the view to the chancel and raised altar, the focal point of the liturgy. The limestone nave piers and crossing arches carry the weight of the roof and tower. Carved ornamentation is largely confined to the capitals of the piers, the wall shafts and corbel stones beneath the arches of the crossing, imparting a vitality and grace to the otherwise highly structured space.

As the city’s Anglican cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral served a significant part of the city’s population. Its central location became a catalyst for Montréal’s northwest expansion and Sainte-Catherine Street’s evolution into the city’s new commercial core.

 

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