Upon touring the town of Fernie one will find that each and every church of any age in the town was built between 1908 and 1910. This was not a coincidence. On August 1, 1908 Fernie suffered a
devastating fire which burned the entire town, save for the present town hall, the Western Canada Wholesale warehouse and the Catholic priest’s residence (all concrete structures which managed to withstand the blaze). 100 businesses, 700 residences and all the churches and public buildings burned to the ground. Beginning almost immediately the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Salvation Army and Lutheran congregations began to rebuild. All their buildings were of brick and/or stone, at least in part because immediately following the fire the town passed an ordinance requiring all buildings in a ten block area to be built of fireproof material.
Thus we have the buff brick Christ Anglican Church resting on a tall concrete foundation. Several brick wall buttresses along the sanctuary indicate the church's age, as does the framing of the roof inside. Several wrought iron brackets are used to connect the members of the roof trusses, something not seen in many years. We wish we could find a bit more information on the church as we suspect that the style of the roof framing may replicate that of the first church. The style is definitely pre 20th century. The iron brackets may even have been salvaged from the original. According to
Fernie Fix the finishing touches were put on the church in 1910.
While there are six Gothic Revival windows, with tracery, down each side of the sanctuary, only one is filled with stained glass. It is a beautiful large, triple window, dedicated to Edwy Kenny and Mary Nash Stewart.
The church was built without steeple or bell tower, but at the front has been added an asymmetrical narthex.
Established by 1899, the parish of Fernie has included Baynes Lake, Coal Creek, Michel and Newgate among its outstations. The parish of Michel was attached to Fernie at various times, but in 1963 was made a separate parish. In 1987 St. Barbara, Sparwood with St. Luke, Blairmore, Alta. (in the Diocese of Calgary) were linked together with Christ Church, Fernie under one rector.
From Memory BC