St. John's Anglican Cathedral is, rather unusually, a twin-spired church. The site on which the church stands has been used continuously for a house-of-worship since 1803. The foundation stone of the first church on this site was laid in 1799, during Governor King's term of office. It was the only church in the colony until 1809.

It became the church of Reverend Samuel Marsden, whom history has given the moniker ‘The Flogging Parson’. This was due to his passionate detestation of sin and his conviction that Parramatta’s morality could be preserved only by the most rigorous disciplinary measures.

The twin steeples were completed in 1819. The building fell into disrepair and it was found necessary to completely rebuild the church. Only the steeples and tower remain today as part of the earlier church. The north and south transepts were added in 1883 by Colonial Architect, Edmund Blackett