The Cathedral was commissioned by Queen Adelaide during a visit to Malta in the 19th Century when she found out that there was no place of Anglican worship on the island. Prior to this Anglican services were held in a room in the Grand Masters Palace. Built on the site of the Auberge dAllemagne, the cathedral was designed by William Scamp and was built between 1839 and 1844. Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone on 20 March 1839 and her banner hangs above the choir stalls. The original plans were designed by Richard Lankasheer however the building proved unstable thus work had to resume on plans by Scamp in 1841. Scamps designs located the altar on the west side of the church however the Bishop of Gibraltar had a more conservative view, thus the designs were altered and Scamp designed an apse inside the great doors to hold the sanctuary on the east side.