Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

A history of the Cathedral

then as the First Trinity Church -- is laid.1887: The church is destroyed in a fire set by an arsonist.

then as the First Trinity Church -- is laid.

1887: The church is destroyed in a fire set by an arsonist. The ruins of the old church are demolished and work is begun on the Cathedral Church of The Most Holy Trinity.

1894: The still unfinished church is given the status of the Cathedral Church of the Diocese on July 24 by an Act of the Bermuda Legislature.

1896: The Trinity Sunday School was founded by Mary Harvey Brett on Palm Sunday.

1905: The tower is completed.

1911: The Cathedral is consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda.

1925: Bermuda is constituted as a diocese. The Rt. Rev. Arthur Browne, Bermuda's first Bishop, is consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey on June 11.

1926: A new copper roof was installed to replace the Cathedral's original red tiles.

1938: A campaign to rid the Cathedral of termites begins.

1949: The Rt. Rev. John Arthur Jagoe is enthroned as Bermuda's second Bishop.

1956: The Rt. Rev. Anthony Williams is consecrated in Westminster Abbey. The Cathedral bell is restored by Mr. Sidney Spurling after its housing was destroyed by a hurricane.

1957: The unfinished North Aisle of the Chapel is converted into a Memorial Chapel commemorating Bishop Arthur Heber Browne.

1959: As part of Bermuda's 350th anniversary celebrations, an appeal for 20,000 is launched by Bishop Jagoe and the Cathedral Chapter to insert a "reredos'' -- an ornamental screen -- behind the High Altar and to build a chapter room, choir vestries and chapter office.

1961: Miss Byllee Lang begins work on the reredos. The cost of the central figure with six supporting figures is 150,000.

1963: The Rt. Rev. John Armstrong is enthroned as Bermuda's fourth Bishop.

1964: Plans for new vestries and a chapter house are prepared by architects Mr. James Gardner and Mr. Hinson Cooper.

1965: The sound system is modernised and the Cathedral Electoral roll is established. A memorial service for Sir Winston Churchill is held at the Cathedral on January 30.

1966: Restoration of the fabric of the Cathedral begins when master masons arrived from England.

1967: Mr. Thomas Bowie is commissioned to complete the figures of the reredos at his studio in Washington Lane after the death of Miss Lang. The west door is dedicated to the Rt. Rev. John Jagoe.

1968: The Archbishop of Canterbury delivered the sermon at a Thanksgiving Service for the restoration of the Cathedral. Restoration work was almost finished at a cost of 58,688.

1970: The Rt. Rev. Eric Trapp, Bermuda's fifth Bishop, is enthroned in the Cathedral. Work begins on the maintenance of the organ.

1971: Nine floral coats of arms were made for the Festival of Flowers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Garden Club of Bermuda. Trinity Hall is sold and plans are drawn up to build a new hall.

1972: The Cathedral Hall is opened by the Mayor of Hamilton, the Rt. Wor.

Graham Gibbons.

1974: A new baptistry is donated by the Butterfield family in memory of Doris Butterfield.

1976: Bermuda's sixth Bishop, The Rt. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Robert Wright Stopford is enthroned on February 8. He dies in August the same year.

1977: The Warriors Chapel in memory of those Bermudians who served in the two World Wars, was dedicated by the Rev. Canon Peter Hartley for the use of military personnel of all nations and as a memorial to Bishop Stopford. Rt.

Rev. Anselm Genders is enthroned in the Cathedral.

1978: Plans are drawn up to restore the west end of the Cathedral and the tower. An appeal committee was formed. he first Cathedral Walkathon in aid of the restoration fund raised $6,511.92. An exorcist, the Rev. Dr. Donald Omand, visited Bermuda and attempted to exorcise the Bermuda Triangle. The Corporation of Hamilton is granted permission to set traps in the tower to catch pigeons. Repairs to the interior of the Cathedral are estimated to cost $75,000.

1979: The Cathedral's second walkathon raises more than $3,000. Work on the organ is begun by restorer, Mr. Thaddeus Outerbridge. The Archbishop of Canterbury visited Bermuda in October.

1982: Bishop Genders resigns.

1983: The Rt. Rev. Gerald Ellison becomes Vicar General of the Diocese of Bermuda.

1984: Rev. Ellison returns to England after a one year tenure in Bermuda. The Rt. Rev. Christopher Luxmoore is the first Bishop of Bermuda to be consecrated in Chichester Cathedral.

1985: Bishop Luxmoore is enthroned as the eighth Bishop of Bermuda. Canon James Francis becomes the first Bermudian Canon Residentiary at the Cathedral.

1986: The diocesan flag and flagpole are dedicated in memory of the Marques , the tall ship which disappeared off Bermuda in June, 1984 with 17 crew members on board. The new diocesan office is completed.

1988: The Most Rev. Brian Hennessy, Catholic Bishop of Hamilton takes part in the ordination of Rev. William Hayward at the Cathedral.

1989: Bishop Luxmoore resigns as Bishop of Bermuda.

1990: The Rt. Rev. William Down, Bermuda's ninth Bishop is enthroned on March 25. Princess Margaret visits the Cathedral on November 4.

1991: The Living Landmark Appeal was launched to fund the restoration of the Cathedral on October 1.

1992: An open air service of the Eucharist "Forward in Faith'' is conducted by Bishop Michael Marshall.

1993: Nine Canadian Bishops visit the Cathedral. The City of Hamilton celebrates its 200th anniversary with a service in the Cathedral on June 11. A World AIDS Day Service is held.

1994: Prince Philip visited the Cathedral. The Cathedral celebrates its Centenary.

1995: Bishop Down resigns as Bishop of Bermuda.

1996: Father Ewen Ratteray, is enthroned as the Island's tenth Bishop on May 19, making history as the first Bermudian to hold that post.