The bell tower was built in 1838 and 1841 at the request of the abbot Photiy, but after his death. The construction was funded by the daughter of Count Orlov, the sole heiress of his vast fortune. The project was developed by the famous architect Carlo Rossi, and the construction was overseen by architect Sokolov. Notably, Nicholas I did not approve the original design, ordering the removal of the middle tier so that the Novgorod bell tower would not exceed the height of the capital's Ivan the Great Bell Tower. Its current height is 52 meters.

Previously, there were more bells on the tower. On the very top, the fourth tier, there were clocks, and seventeen bells located below marked the time. Another fifteen bells were situated even lower. The largest bell, the alarm bell, weighed over 33 tons and was called "The Burning Bush." Another bell, "The Cross," weighed 18 tons 200 kilograms and was the second largest. Currently, antennas for mobile communication are installed on the upper tier. The last restoration of the bell tower building was carried out in 2009.