The building work was marked by disputes between Butterfield and the church authorities in Melbourne, leading to Butterfield's resignation in 1884. The job was then awarded to a local architect, Joseph Reed, who completed the building generally faithfully to Butterfield's design and who also designed the attached chapter house in matching style in 1889. To fit the block, the cathedral is orientated in line with the central city grid, just off the north-south axis, rather than facing east, the traditional direction.