Description of Historic Place

St. Mary’s Anglican Church is a Municipal Heritage Property situated prominently on the corner of Jasper Street and Second Avenue in the Town of Maple Creek. The property features a gable-roofed brick church that was built in 1909. An attached parish hall, built in 1997, is a non-contributing resource.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of St. Mary’s Anglican Church lies in its association with the historic development of Maple Creek, and in its long service to the community’s Anglican congregation. In the years following Maple Creek’s establishment in 1883, members of the Anglican Church (then the Church of England in Canada) held services in business establishments and homes. In 1887, the congregation built its first church, a wood-frame structure on Jasper Street, the town’s main thoroughfare. As Maple Creek grew, a more commodious facility was soon needed. On July 27, 1909, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan A. F. & A. M. (Masons) laid the cornerstone for a new brick building on Jasper Street one block south of the old church. Dedicated on January 9, 1910, St. Mary’s church was an impressive facility that reflected the town’s growing prosperity. At the dedication service, Bishop John Grisdale remarked that the new church was one of the finest in his Diocese of Qu’Appelle. Now nearly 100 years old, St. Mary’s continues to serve Maple Creek’s Anglican residents.

There is further heritage value in the church’s architecture. The building’s narrow, rounded-arch window openings, plain brick exterior and simple massing project a restrained and dignified air. The sobriety is relieved, however, by a welcoming portico with a Tudor-inspired gable, a Gothic-style rose window, and a bell tower and spire that bespeak the building’s religious function. The church’s long history as a place of community worship is further emphasized by recently installed stained glass windows that memorialize early congregants and suffuse the church interior with warm, soft-hued light. With its prominent main street location, orange brick exterior and tall spire, St. Mary’s Anglican Church has long been one of Maple Creek’s most striking and valued community landmarks.

Source:

Town of Maple Creek Bylaw No. 2004-MC-22.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of St. Mary’s Anglican Church resides in the following character-defining elements:
-elements that identify the building as a place of worship, including the belfry with its decorative woodwork; the tall spire with finial; the rounded-arch window openings; the interior spatial arrangement of nave, raised chancel, and vaulted, open-beam ceiling; and the original stained glass windows in the east and west walls;
-elements that speak to the church’s connection to Maple Creek’s history, including the dated cornerstone, the fieldstone foundation, and the memorial widows;
-elements that reflect the church’s architecture and landmark status, such as its original corner location; its form and massing; the portico with square wood columns, brackets and gable decoration; and the orange brick exterior.