Christ Church Cathedral
Fredericton
View from the west
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, was built 1846-53 to the neo-Gothic plans of British architects Frank Wills and William Butterfield, in collaboration with Bishop John Medley, first Anglican bishop of Fredericton. In its cruciform plan, central tower, 3-sided porch and huge west window, it was the first Canadian building to follow closely the ideal of the Ecclesiological Society, a reformist movement of the Anglican Church which sought a return to the architecture of the Middle Ages. The cathedral is distinguished by its nave and side aisles oriented to the choir. Each part of the interior is visible from the exterior and has different roofing.
A Guide to Christ Church Cathedral
Guide de visite de la Cathédral Christ Church
East window and Altar
Our First Bishop, Bishop John Medley was born in Chelsea, England on 19 December 1804. As the first Anglican bishop of Fredericton, Bishop Medley spent 47 years building up the church physically and spiritually. He was educated at Wadham College in, Oxford, and was active in the English ecclesiological movement, which stressed the improvement of church music and architecture. Bishop Medley's High Church sympathies were viewed with suspicion by his Loyalist congregation. Consecrated bishop of Fredericton in 1845, he embarked on a series of annual parish visitations and dedicated himself to building the Cathedral at Fredericton and developing a Cathedral Choir School. The Cathedral, designed by architect Frank Wills with furnishing designed by William Butterfield, was consecrated in 1853. Bishop Medley supported free pews, free-will offerings and the development of Diocesan Synods. He was the author of "Hymns for Public Worship", first published in the Diocese of Fredericton in 1855. Bishop Medley died at Fredericton on 9 September 1892.
Medley portrait to remain in Cathedral