St. William's Cathedral

St. William's Cathedral is a church in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was built in 1612 by Augustinian friars to replace a wooden chapel. It is known for its Italian Renaissance design and its Sinking Bell Tower, which sinks into the ground at a rate of an inch a year.

The church has an unusual two-storey facade, supported by two pairs of columns on each side of the arched entrance. The top of the facade holds a recessed niche that showcases the image of the city's patron saint, San Guillermo (Saint William). It has windows made from capiz with wrought iron screens.

The cathedral was built to support a growing Christian population in Laoag, which was known as Ylaua at the time. The settlement was a mission detachment of Vigan during the Spanish era. The church was originally built using lime mixed with molasses for strength, with big stones, gravel and sand. Wood was used for trusses to support the roof, which originally was made of cogon grass and was later replaced with nipa. Much later the roofing was again changed to "taleb", a corrugated galvanised iron sheet made with whole bamboo.

The church was damaged by hurricane in 1640, by earthquake in 1706, by fire in 1843. The church was restored in 1880.