Simultaneously with the construction of the cathedral, a 37-meter bell tower with a tented roof was built nearby. All the bell towers of Gorokhovets at that time looked alike, like twin sisters. The project envisioned a tall octagonal structure with a tented roof on a low square base. Interestingly, a similar design is found in some wooden bell towers of northern Russian churches. It is possible that the architect was from the northern regions, as one can reach Lake Beloye via the Volga and Sheksna rivers, and the Arkhangelsk region is not far from there. Unlike the cathedral, the bell tower is adorned with traditional Russian stone elements, concentrated on the ringing tier and the tent. The faces of the octagon are finished with a transverse belt of cornices, two on each face, above which are eight arches with kokoshniks. The faces of the tent have two tiers of lucarnes, with the upper ones being blind. The edges of the polyhedra are highlighted by a profiled tie on the tent and by pilasters on the octagon.

It is possible that different architects built the bell tower and the cathedral, as Ershov might have invited a fashionable metropolitan architect. In the late 1690s, already in old age, he sold his distilleries and donated part of the proceeds to monasteries. There is a version that he took monastic vows in one of these monasteries. With the remaining money, he hired Moscow architects, explaining that he wanted to leave a good memory of himself on his native land. The metropolitan builders, following fashionable trends, erected a cathedral that had never been seen in Gorokhovets before. It turned out to be strict, imposing, and overwhelming in its power.