city, Hamilton was only granted that right with the addition of a Cathedral.

And so it was, that the yet-unfinished monument was given the status of the Cathedral Church of the Diocese by an act of the Bermuda Legislature.

The seat of the Bishop of Bermuda, the Cathedral was originally intended to replace the Holy Trinity Church as a Chapel-of-Ease for St. John's Church in Pembroke after it was burnt beyond repair in 1884.

Until 1839, the Island belonged to the diocese of Nova Scotia. But this was not an ideal situation as the bishops of Nova Scotia rarely visited the Island. In that year, Bermuda and Newfoundland were made one bishopric, first under Bishop Spencer and later under Bishop Edward Feild who came to the Island every three years.

Under the direction of Bishop Feild, a plot of land where the Cathedral now stands, was bought for 25 from the Corporation of Hamilton with the intention of building a much-needed church for the town which was rapidly expanding as the capital of Bermuda.

But the church, which took 39 years to build, was burnt down a year after its completion by an arsonist. Plans to rebuild the church were immediately submitted after it was considered too costly to try to restore the original church. The church vestry accepted designs by ecclesiastical architect William Hay of the Scottish firm, Hay & Henderson, for a larger church capable of seating 1,200.

According to an essay by historian Joyce Hall, on Church of England links between Canada and Bermuda, there was already a strong association between the Mayor of Hamilton, Thomas Reid and Mr. Hay.

Mr. Reid, originally from Scotland, was the nephew of William Hay's wife and had been educated by Mr. Hay in Canada.

In July 1885, Mr. Reid, who was also Secretary of the Building Committee and responsible for spearheading the campaign to build the new church, went to Scotland at his own expense to confer with his uncle, Mr. Hay, and to discuss the recruitment of skilled workmen.

Upon his return, it was agreed by the Building Committee that the new church would consist of a nave, north and south porches, a central tower and a choir.

It was also decided that the size of the church would be increased to cope with the growing population of the Island as by 1885, Bermuda had become increasingly important as a leading naval station of the British Empire and popular as a winter retreat for visitors.

A year after the fire, the remains of the old Trinity Church were cleared and work began on what is today known as the Cathedral Church of the Most Holy Trinity.

Members of the Building Committee researched at length the type of stone best suited to the proposed size of the church. It was eventually decided that stone cut from the Par-la-Ville quarry, not far from the building site, was the best on the Island and the quarry was freely tendered by James Perot.

In May 1886, the foundation stone was laid by Chairman of the Building Committee, the Right Reverend Llewellyn Jones, Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda.

Eight years later, the church, still unfinished, was given the status of the Cathedral Church of the Diocese by an act of the Bermuda Legislature. In 1911, the completed church was consecrated as the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity by Bishop Jones on St. Thomas Day.

According to Mrs. Hall, a special committee visited the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1924 to discuss at length, Bermuda's future within the Anglican Church.

While the Archbishop considered Bermuda too small to be made a separate diocese, representatives from Bermuda, Canon Henry Marriott, Rev. A.V.

Sullivan and Hon. Harry Watlington, argued otherwise saying: "Bermuda possessed an importance altogether out of proportion to its size; that politically and commercially, it had stood alone all that time, and that therefore, the great majority of the Synod strongly wishes Bermuda to remain separate and distinct ecclesiastically.'' The Archbishop finally agreed, and the following year, Bermuda's first Bishop, the Rev. Dr. Arthur Heber Brown, was enthroned in the Anglican Cathedral.

Trinity Church, 1884 The Cathedral GOVERMENT GVT 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY ANN