Cathedral of St. Alban the Martyr

The Cathedral of St. Alban the Martyr is an unfinished Anglican church in Toronto, Ontario, which serves as the school chapel of Royal St. George's College. Completed in 1891, what stands today is only two-thirds of the planned Gothic Revival 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 as being of cultural heritage value or interest. It has the only double-hammerbeam roof in Canada.

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 getting 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, England. Even before ground was broken, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed a special act designating St. Alban's as the cathedral of the diocese. By November 1889, the crypt, chancel and choir were completed, consecrated and worship services began. In 1891, the synod of the Church of England held its general meeting at the cathedral, the first in Canada. A financial crisis in 1890,

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