The land for the cathedral was granted by Sir William Muir, the lieutenant governor of the North Western Provinces; thereafter Elizabeth Huntly Wemyss, his wife, laid the foundation stone on 10 April 1871.

[2] British architect Sir William Emerson was employed to design the building, he had already designed the Crawford Market, Bombay, and followed this with the Muir Central College, Allahabad (1872–78), which is now part of the Allahabad University[3] According to The Building News, 25 November 1887, the cathedral was commenced some 15 years previously, and was at first intended for the cathedral of the North-Western Provinces and to have an open verandah and ambulatory all round.

Following the extension of the railway network, Allahabad has grown to the extent that it has been found necessary to provide for the addition to the transept and choir of a nave accommodating a much larger congregation that was originally expected[4] The general simplicity of detail was necessitated by the class of workmen obtainable in this part of India at the time of construction.

The cathedral also houses many plaques which depict the death of different British nationals for a variety of reasons during their rule in India.

Narrow aisles were made in the building thus giving a total internal width of about 56 feet.