Christ Church Cathedral - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

From the plaque:
Christ Church Cathedral

The first church on this site, erected in 1832, was replaced in 1872 by the present structure, designed by King Arnoldi. It became the cathedral church of the new diocese in 1895.

From the web site:

Beginnings

Philemon Wright, a native of Woburn, Massachusetts, came to Canada in 1800. Making his way up the Ottawa River, looking for a satisfactory place to settle, he finally came to the Chaudière Falls, and was so pleased with the character of the land on the north side of the river, that he decided at once to make this his home. In later years, the flourishing settlement of Wrightstown would become the village, then later the City of Hull. Following the War of 1812, the Township of March was set aside for retired military officers and men. It was situated further up river on the south side. In 1824, Nicholas Sparks crossed the river from Hull and carved a home for himself out of the heavy timber on the high cliffs of the south shore. In doing so, he became the first citizen of what would later become Bytown, and much later, the City of Ottawa. Colonel John By and the Royal Engineers arrived two years later to build the Rideau Canal, connecting the Ottawa River with Lake Ontario.

The Early Church

In 1824, Reverend Amos Ansley, a native Canadian and the son of a United Empire Loyalist, arrived in Hull from England. Sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, his mission included the Township of March, and in later years, Bytown. Services were held in a school-house in Hull which proved to be very small and inconvenient. Through the generosity of Philemon Wright, a handsome little stone church was built, and opened on the first of October 1826. From his headquarters in Hull, Reverend Ansley served the Church population of fourteen townships bordering on the Ottawa River. By 1827, he was serving eleven preaching stations in Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario), visiting most places by water in bark canoes.

The Call

In 1828, the Bishop of Quebec, the Honourable and Right Reverend Charles James Stewart, paid a visit to Bytown. Later that same year, the Honourable and Venerable John Strachan, Archdeacon and later first Bishop of Toronto, also visited Bytown. The diaries of both these honourable gentlemen, record the fact that the Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and Methodists of Bytown were able to lay claim to small but significant places of worship to call their own; but those of the faith of the Church of England did not, "...yet (were) sufficient to deserve the attention of a missionary." Archdeacon Strachan and the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada paid a visit to the home of Colonel By, situated in what is now called Major's Hill Park. There, they discussed the problems of funding the building of the canal, and need for a place of worship for the large Protestant following in Bytown. Later, on October 6th, Dr. Strachan was able to draw up a subscription list for the proposed church building. It was not until early 1832, after it was announced at a meeting in Bytown that Nicholas Sparks had donated a site for the church (he had already given land for the building of St. Andrew's Church Presbyterian, as well as for the Methodist church), in addition to a tidy sum, that the detailed planning for the first Christ Church was undertaken. It was to be fifty feet by thirty feet in breadth, the inside wall twenty feet high from the level of the beams to the top of the wall plate, and a tower erected at the west end of the church.

The Old Church

Though formally established in 1832, it was not until 1833 that the congregation was formally organized. The first service in Christ Church Bytown took place on 21th July 1833. Due to decreased givings and pledges over the next two years, the parishioners found themselves seated on temporary rough planks for pews, and the walls and ceiling were not completed for a number of years. The Church had to be closed during the winter as two stoves were needed for sufficient heating, but only one was available. In spite of appeals, no funds were made available, and it was not until 1835 that the church finally owned its own property. By 1841, due to rapid growth in the population of Bytown, it was recognized that the church was not adequate in providing for the needs of the growing congregation. A proposed enlargement plan was drawn up, and Mr. Sparks gave the additional land required for the enlargement. On July 12 of that year, the corner stone was laid. Subscriptions were received from far and wide, and the enlargements were fully completed by October 1843. The church was consecrated and given its name - Christ's Church. Over the next quarter-century, a number of attempts were made to begin the building of a larger church. In 1865, a rectory was completed immediately west of the existing church building.

The New Church

In January, 1872, after many Vestry and committee meetings, it was decided that a new church be constructed on the site of the old church. The last service in the old church was held on March 3rd, 1872, and demolition and reconstruction started immediately. The cornerstone was laid July 3rd with a time-capsule containing monetary denominations and other artifacts. The building was formally opened September 29th, 1873 and the first service took place at 11:00am that day.

The Cathedral

In 1896, the Diocese of Ottawa was carved out of the northern part of the Diocese of Ontario. The Right Reverend Charles Hamilton was elected the first Bishop of the new diocese. On Easter Day, 1897, it was formally announced that Christ Church would become the Cathedral of the new diocese. In November, 1931, a special meeting of Vestry unanimously agreed to begin the construction of a new chancel, extended to the street line of Queen Street. The work of tearing down the old chancel began immediately after Easter 1932, and on December 22nd, thanksgiving Eucharist was celebrated in the new largely expanded chancel. The completion of the new chancel marked 100 years since the establishment of the first church in Bytown.

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1872 Age of Church building determined by?: Cornerstone or plaque If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Anglican If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 8:30 AM Street address of Church: 420 Sparks Street Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1R 5A6 Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
1) A photo of the church is required for visits to a waymark.

2) Please share some comments about your visit.

3) Additional photos are encouraged. If you can have information in addition to that already provided about this church, please share it with us.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   07/17/2019 The Burrow visited it 09/03/2017 Esiban visited it 05/24/2015 Castor007 visited it 05/08/2015 Loonwatcher visited it 09/09/2013 lindeye visited it 06/30/2013 denben visited it 06/28/2012 lison55 visited it 04/28/2012 Sires4 visited it 01/13/2012 petendot visited it 11/24/2011 Weathervane visited it 09/22/2011 Marco35 visited it 09/18/2011 GPComd visited it 04/06/2011 TigrePlus visited it 04/05/2011 model12 visited it 04/01/2011 elyob visited it 10/04/2010 Capt.Kirk + Mimi visited it 10/04/2008 monkeys4ever visited it 05/01/2008 Sakidoo visited it

View all visits/logs