While Christ Church Cathedral was being constructed , Selwyn commissioned Hunt to also design a pro-cathedral opposite Christ Church ( now Horbury Hunt Hall ) . This was used until the opening of the new cathedral for services in 1902 and is still intact . It is listed on the State Heritage Inventory . In 1895 , the relationship between Hunt , A. E. Selwyn , Dean of Newcastle , and the builder , John Straub , had become so bad that both Hunt and Straub were dismissed . By this stage , 27 years after Hunt had sketched the original design for the cathedral , it was far from complete . Even so , Hunt 's attention to the construction of the foundations and ensuring that brick perpends were tight and mortar-filled preserved the cathedral 's walling relatively unaffected nearly a century later when it suffered severe damage during the 1989 Newcastle earthquake . The full extent of Hunt 's designs was not realised until 1979 with the addition of the tower , albeit without the spire Hunt had intended
1989 Newcastle earthquake
1989 Newcastle earthquake
Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle