The walls of the ancient Fishermen's Chapel are reputed to date from the middle of the 6th century, but some authorities give a later date. It is however only a few monastic chapels survived the destruction of over fifty others at the hands of the Reformers in the 16th century. The material used in the chapel is the same as was used in the parish church: limpet shells crushed and dissolved with boiling sea-water. The stone roof was raised in the 14th century. The monks of that period evidently found the roof too low and squat for wall paintings. These were discovered in 1918. After a severe storm, colour was revealed on the ceiling and a picture of the 'Assumption' was seen, but in a damaged condition. But underneath the plaster was found another painting, 'The Annunciation', of about 1310-1315 A.D. At the foot of this painting are seen fourteen figures, supposedly members of an old Jersey family, the head of which had paid for this painting.The floor was restored to its earlier level in the 1980s to the medieval level, and the 'low, squat' aspect of the chapel which appears in early photographs is now gone, as the proper proportions can be seen.
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Stavanger Cathedral is Norway's oldest cathedral. Bishop Reinald, who may have come from Winchester, is said to have started construction of the Cathedral around 1100. It was finished around 1150, and the city of Stavanger counts 1125 as its year of foundation. The Cathedral was consecrated to Swithin as its patron saint. Saint Swithun was an early Bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. Stavanger was ravaged by fire in 1272, and the Cathedral suffered heavy damage. It was rebuilt under bishop Arne, and the Romanesque Cathedral was enlarged in the Gothic style.
In 1682, king Christian V decided to move Stavanger's episcopal seat to Kristiansand. However, on Stavanger's 800th anniversary in 1925, king Haakon VII instated Jacob Christian Petersen as Stavanger's first bishop in nearly 250 years.During a renovation in the 1860s, the Cathedral's exterior and interior was considerably altered. The stone walls were plastered, and the Cathedral lost much of its medieval looks. A major restoration led by Gerhard Fischer in 1939-1964 partly reversed those changes. The latest major restoration of the Cathedral was conducted in 1999. Andrew Lawrenceson Smith is famous for his works here.