THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY 1847
This church was made possible by a gift from Mary Lambert Swale of Yorkshire, England, who stipulated that 'the seats be free and unappropriated forever'. At that time most other Anglican churches charged pew rentals. John Simcoe Macaulay donated the land, then on the outskirts of Toronto. Bishop John Strachan consecrated the church and Henry Scadding was first rector. Henry Bower Lane, architect, designed the modified Gothic church in the ancient cruciform plan. Bricks were hauled from the Don Valley and timbers from the surrounding forests. The roof slates came as ballast in British sailing vessels. In the twentieth century the church developed a tradition of ministry to the needs of people in the inner city.
From: Wikipadia
Church of the Holy Trinity
The Church of the Holy Trinity is a church in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a church of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Origins
The simple Gothic Revival architecture structure was built in 1847, by architect H.B. Lane, who also designed Little Trinity Anglican Church on King Street and St. George the Martyr Church in Toronto.
The funds for its construction were a gift by Mary Lambert Swale of Settle, England. Swale had originally made the donation anonymously, but her name was eventually revealed. She had provided the gift with the stipulation that the church be open to the public, with no reserved pews.
Holy Trinity was the fourth Anglican church in Toronto, after St. James' Cathedral, Little Trinity, and St. George the Martyr Church.
The church's first rector was Henry Scadding.
The lands for the church were given by the Honourable John Simcoe Macaulay in 1845. Macaulay's cottage, 'Teraulay' was then situated on an estate named' Macaulay's Fields which extended from present day Yonge to Bay (then known as Teraulay) Streets from today's Albert Street (then known as Jeremy Street) to just south of Dundas Street. Building lots filled in the edges of the property to the north, south and west of the Trinity site, and the central portion of the property was donated for the construction of the church. Eventually the east side of the Trinity site was sold to permit retail frontage on Yonge Street, enclosing Trinity Church, although a roadway connected Trinity to Yonge Street..
Location and community involvement
The church is located at 10 Trinity Square, next to the west side of the Toronto Eaton Centre. The original Eaton Centre construction plans called for the church to be demolished as well, but the parishioners successfully resisted and forced the mall's design to be changed.
Since its construction, the city of Toronto has expanded so that the church now finds itself in the middle of Toronto’s urban core. As a result, the church has tailored its ministry to the urban homeless and needy, and maintains a memorial outside the church doors which lists the names of homeless people who have died on the streets of Toronto.
The church also has an active outreach to Toronto's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Prior to acquiring its first building in 1985, the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto worshipped there, and the church vocally supported Anglican priest James Ferry after he was inhibited by the Anglican Church in 1991 when his sexual relationship with another man was discovered.
Holy Trinity has also become an important venue for artistic events. The church participates as a venue in Toronto's annual Nuit Blanche, and presents a weekly series of classical, choral and jazz concerts throughout the year, as well as a dramatization of the Christmas story every December since 1937.
Due to the church's excellent acoustics, Canadian rock band Cowboy Junkies recorded their 1988 breakthrough album The Trinity Session at the church on November 27, 1987. In 2006, they returned to record a 20th anniversary edition of the album, Trinity Revisited.