Christ Church Cathedral, is at 930 Burdett Avenue, just a few blocks from Victoria's Inner Harbour.

Origins — The Hudson's Bay Company Era (1849–1856) The cathedral's story begins not with grand stone but with a frontier trading post. The Hudson's Bay Company hired Robert John Staines, a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, to teach the children of Fort Victoria and serve as chaplain. He arrived with his wife Emma in 1849, though he was eventually discharged in 1854. Wikipedia The Company then appointed Edward Cridge — a college friend of Staines — as his replacement. Cridge and his wife arrived from England on April 1, 1855. The company church, designed and supervised by J. D. Pemberton, Colonial Surveyor, was finally ready for use on August 31, 1856, and was initially known as the Victoria District Church. The Diocese Is Born (1858–1865) Beginning in 1858, Victoria was overrun with gold seekers heading to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, bringing intense growth to the city. On December 12, 1859, Queen Victoria issued Royal Letters Patent creating the Bishopric of British Columbia. On February 24, 1859, George Hills was consecrated in Westminster Abbey as the first Bishop. Wikipedia Hills had to choose between two churches to designate as the cathedral. Christ Church had a capacity of 400, but an apse and south aisle were added in 1862, and a north aisle in 1865. On December 7, 1865, Hills consecrated Christ Church Cathedral, opting for its better location, and appointed Cridge as its first Dean. The Great Fire & Rebuild (1869–1872) On the night of September 30, 1869, the cathedral burned to the ground. The communion vessels and organ were rescued, and the vestry books survived. The parish used a vacant Presbyterian church for several years while they rebuilt. The cornerstone for the new building was laid on May 20, 1872 by Lieutenant-Governor Joseph Trutch. It was another wooden structure, approximately 100 ft by 50 ft with a tower of 78 ft. Construction took just over six months The Famous Cridge Schism (1872–1874) One of the most dramatic chapters in the cathedral's history unfolded here. At evensong on December 5, 1872 — the very day of the new cathedral's consecration — Dean Cridge hotly disputed a guest preacher's sermon endorsing ritualism, in breach of canon law. Bishop Hills tried Cridge in ecclesiastical court; on September 22, 1874, Cridge was found guilty of 16 of 18 charges and his licence was revoked. Wikipedia The case went before Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Baillie Begbie — a mutual friend — who granted an injunction against Cridge acting as a priest. Much of the Cathedral's congregation, including prominent figures like Sir James Douglas and Dr. J.S. Helmcken, voted to follow Cridge and form a new congregation called the Church of Our Lord. Wikipedia The Current Stone Cathedral (1920s–1991) In 1891, an international design competition was held for a larger, more enduring stone edifice. In January 1893, architect J.C.M. Keith of Victoria was announced as the winner. He designed a 13th-century Gothic style building with a spire, though the congregation's building fund was insufficient. Efforts were discontinued until 1920, by which point Keith had altered the design to include two west towers and a central lantern tower — the latter of which was never built. Wikipedia A Cathedral Buildings Campaign for $250,000 was authorized in 1919. The cornerstone was laid on September 9, 1926 by Arthur Winnington-Ingram, the Bishop of London. Funds were just sufficient to construct the nave, narthex, and lower portions of the northwest and southwest towers. Vaulting was brick rather than stone and was flattened by two feet to reduce costs. This much was consecrated on September 28, 1929. Wikipedia Fun historical footnote: Winston Churchill visited the construction site on September 9, 1929, several weeks before consecration, and was quick to help when the superintendent asked him to lay a stone on the north tower. Wikipedia The Robin Story: During construction, a robin nested atop scaffolding next to the top of one of the main nave pillars. Work in that area was deferred until the end of nesting season. R. W. Marsh, responsible for producing the cast stone interior elements, suggested a sculpture of the robin be placed atop that pillar. Reginald Dove, the architect's assistant, sculpted the bird and nest in clay, and a stone casting was installed on the capital of the pillar — where it remains today as one of the cathedral's most charming details. Wikipedia