Earl Rögnvald founded the cathedral, and work began in 1137 under the direction of Kol while the Norse Earls ruled Orkney. It continued for about 300 years. The article attributes the Norman-style masonry to English masons who may have worked on Durham Cathedral. The east end was extended with vaulting in the late 12th or early 13th century.
The building is red and yellow sandstone, quarried near Kirkwall and on Eday, often laid in alternating courses. It is 160 feet (50 m) high, in Romanesque style with later Gothic pointed arches. In 1908 a taller copper-clad spire replaced a dumpy slated pyramid on the tower.
It is a Church of Scotland parish church owned by Orkney Islands Council, and a Category A listed building. A new west window was unveiled in 1987.
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