Thomas D. Costley
Within the cathedral are a number of truly fine stained glass windows, each one dedicated to the memory of one or more parishioners past. The large, three panelled window is an original, which is in the 1888 section of the sanctuary. All the other windows are post 1924, installed after the sanctuary was moved to Nicola Street and additions made.
This is the
Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock Window. It was dedicated to the memory of Thomas Downey Costley and his wife, Ellen Isobel.
An enterprising gentleman, he won a contract to supply the CPR with ice in 1891. A contract of this size required the harvesting and storing of well over one million pounds of ice from the Thompson River every winter.
Thomas Costley was a simple blacksmith.
He owned a little shack on West Victoria Street near the railroad when Kamloops was just a baby.
Costley was just getting by until, as luck would have it, the railway company was expanding and looking to run the track right through where his shack stood.
The company offered Costley a pittance for his trouble, but he was a smart man and turned it down.
He decided to hold out.
The move paid off when he was eventually bought out for an amount that allowed him to retire.
With his new wealth, Costley built a sizable house in 1912 at the corner of First Avenue and West St. Paul Street and quickly climbed the social ladder, even marrying the daughter of Sibree Clarke, the first mayor of Kamloops.
From Lac Le Jeune
In about 1926, after enjoying a cabin on the lake for many years, Costley bought a fishing lodge at Lac Le Jeune and immediately built a newer, larger one on the lake.
ST. PAUL'S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL
360 Nicola Street - 1888/1924
The first Anglican church in Kamloops was built in 1888 in the 100 block Main Street (Victoria Street West). In 1924, the building was moved to the Nicola Street site at 4th Avenue, and additions made to the original building. The cornerstone contains relics from the original church together with coins and documents. The stained glass window on the east wall is part of the original 1888 sanctuary.
Some thirty years later, the building underwent structural changes. The chancel was enlarged, the altar moved from east to west, and a vestry, chapel and parish hall incorporated. A steeple was erected atop the main entrance. The sanctuary ceiling is supported by magnificent beams and rafters. The pride of the building is its beautiful stained and leaded glass windows.
From the sign at the building
Biographical History
St. Paul's began as the headquarters of the Kamloops Missionary District which was established in 1884. This field of activity included all points south of Kamloops to the international boundary and east to the Rocky Mountains, as well as Ashcroft and the Nicola Valley.
By 1892 the Kamloops Missionary District had been divided, creating four new missions: Ashcroft and Nicola; the Okanagan Missionary District, including Enderby, Vernon and Penticton; Donald and Golden Missionary District; and Kootenay (or Nelson) Missionary District.
By 1917, with the removal of the Thompson River Mission into a separate pastoral responsibility, St. Paul's became a single congregation urban parish. In 1935 Bishop George Wells designated Kamloops the See City and St. Paul's Church the Cathedral. St. Paul's was also responsible for services at St. Peter's, Monte Creek from 1966 until the mid-1970's.
From Memory BC