The new cathedral was designed by Basil Spence, and HM The Queen laid the foundation stone on 23 March 1956.

In keeping with tradition, the cathedral was filled with art from the leading artists of the time. Graham Sutherland's tapestry of Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph dominates the East End of the cathedral, whilst John Hutton's screen of Saints and Angels allows the spirit of the Ruins to pervade the new cathedral.

Coloured light streams through John Piper's Baptistry window and Epstein's St Michael and the Devil guards the cathedral steps.