St. Luke's Anglican Church
140 First Street South, Souris, Manitoba, R0K, Canada
Formally Recognized:
1992/01/23
Other Name(s)
St. Luke's Anglican Church
Souris & District Heritage Club Inc.
Souris Heritage Church
Choeur de l'église d'Angleterre
Club patrimonial de Souris et du District
Chancel of the Church of England
Église patrimoniale de Souris
Links and documents
Construction Date(s)
1883/01/01 to 1883/12/31
Listed on the Canadian Register:
2008/01/24
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The distinctive plum-and-chocolate-brown-coloured St. Luke's Anglican Church is a modest wood-frame building completed in 1883. Located at the southern end of Souris's business district, the church is prominently situated on the high bank of scenic Plum Creek, overlooking historic Victoria Park and the creek's juncture with the Souris River. The site's municipal designation applies to the building and the two lots on which it sits.
Heritage Value
Constructed just two years after the settlement of the Souris area, St. Luke's Anglican Church is one of the oldest church buildings in western Manitoba. It also is Souris's oldest public building and a tangible link with the town's formative years. Designed by A.T. Timewell, a Brandon architect, the Gothic Revival-style church has been restored to its original form and retains important architectural details, including classic Victorian-era colours. Repaired on the interior following a 1952 fire, moved to a new site after being saved from demolition in 1989 and now a museum and tea house, the solid little church is a fine historical landmark and an important feature of Souris's heritage.
Source: Town of Souris By-law No. 1608, January 20, 1992
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements of the Gothic Revival-style exterior of St. Luke's Anglican Church include:
- the building's L-shaped form, with a gable-roofed entrance porch and a rectangular-shaped main section aligned east-west under a high hipped-gable roof
- the basic materials and finishes, including tongue-and-groove wood siding painted plum in colour, plain wood trim painted chocolate brown, cedar shingles on the roof and basement walls clad in rubble stone
- the pointed arched windows and entrance door, including three tall lancet windows in the east elevation, a large single opening in the west end, asymmetrically aligned pairs of openings on the side walls and original storm windows
- wooden crosses on the peaks of the porch and main roofs
Key internal elements that define the heritage character of the building include:
- the nave's open box-like plan with walls and high hipped ceiling of plaster and lath painted an original plum colour, dark-stained wood door and window casings and pine flooring
- the raised chancel area, elegantly detailed with a tongue-and-groove V-jointed panelled ceiling of dark-stained clear fir, dark-stained wainscotting, the 1883 altar containing a bevelled carving of the words 'HOLY HOLY HOLY' and gold filigree, the hand-carved altar posts, bronze-painted rails, etc.
- additional features such as the 1906 stained-glass windows, the original church door with a marbleized porcelain doorknob, the porch door's metal knob with the Celtic symbol for the Trinity, floor grates, and basement post-and-beam supports
Recognition
Jurisdiction
Manitoba
Recognition Authority
Local Governments (MB)
Recognition Statute
Manitoba Historic Resources Act
Recognition Type
Municipal Heritage Site
Recognition Date
1992/01/23
Historical Information
Significant Date(s)
n/a
Theme - Category and Type
- Building Social and Community Life
- Religious Institutions
Function - Category and Type
Current
- Leisure
- Auditorium, Cinema or Nightclub
- Leisure
- Museum
Historic
- Religion, Ritual and Funeral
- Religious Facility or Place of Worship
Architect / Designer
A.T. Timewell
Builder
n/a
Additional Information
Location of Supporting Documentation
Town of Souris 100 2nd Street South Box 518 Souris MB R0K 2C0
Cross-Reference to Collection
Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier
M0076
Status
Published
Related Places
n/a