Description du lieu patrimonial

St. John’s Anglican Cathedral is a Municipal Heritage property occupying a .8 hectare parcel of land on the riverbank of downtown Saskatoon. It features a brick cruciform church constructed in 1912-1917. Designation pertains to the exterior of the building.

Valeur patrimoniale

Heritage value of St. John’s Anglican Church resides in the Cathedral’s Gothic Revival architecture, popularized as representing the proper blend of artistic and spiritual values for ecclesiastical buildings in the Anglican tradition. Designed by the local architectural firm of Thompson, Daniel and Colthurst, it is modeled on the work of J.S. (William) Crowther of Manchester, and bears a resemblance to St. Benedict Church, Ardwick built in 1880. Its complex massing, 44.2 meter conical tower, fenestrations and diamond-patterned shingling are reflective of the Gothic Revival style, as is its detailing: gargoyles, fruit-and-vine terracotta trim around arched doorways and diamond shingling. Its building materials are both English and western Canadian, a blend of Alberta Redcliff brick, British Columbia timber, Saskatchewan granite fieldstone, fossilized Tyndal Stone, with terracotta and Carrara ware provided by Doulton of Staffordshire. The interior of the Cathedral features a vaulted ceiling, stained glass triad, a Rood Screen and inscribed pillars, and has seen little alteration. A steeple clock planned as part of the original construction was added in 2003 in celebration of the founding of the earliest Anglican parish in the city.

Heritage value also lies in the Cathedral’s long association with the religious history of Saskatoon and its status as a city landmark. Constructed when the pioneer Anglican Church dedicated to St. John the Evangelist no longer could hold its burgeoning congregation, the new church was an important administrative centre, receiving full Cathedral status in 1932 when the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon was formed. The Cathedral’s prominent location on the edge of the river and its salient spire, the tallest church spire in western Canada, are strong defining elements of Saskatoon’s downtown skyline.

Source:

City of Saskatoon Bylaw No. 8352.

Éléments caractéristiques

The heritage value of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to its Gothic Revival architectural style, such as its tower and roof design, its clerestory windows and their tracery, gargoyles, stained glass windows above the altar, ornate exterior doors and pediments, its vaulted ceiling and inscribed pillars;
-those elements that reflect its use as an Anglican place of worship, including its transepts, nave with baptismal fond near the church entrance, its Rood screen of white Carrara ware, its high altar and the Christian symbols throughout the Sanctuary, including the angels and crosses;
-those elements that speak to its ties to the history of Anglican worship in Saskatoon, such as the 1907 tubular chimes from the original St. John’s Church and the decorative use of Saskatchewan lilies and wheat sheaves in the sanctuary;
-those elements that speak to its status as a city landmark, including its orientation on its original lot and its spire.