This little one time Anglican church was both designed by the Anglican bishop of the time and consecrated by said Bishop, the Right Reverend George Anderson Wells. Construction took place during 1938 with the dedication coming about at 3:00pm on Sunday, August 31, 1938.
The year being 1938, it can be assumed that money was in short supply for the Anglicans. As a result, this church was, and is, entirely bereft of adornment, lacking even Gothic windows. While it was given a small bell tower, it is minimalist in the extreme. While it did once hold a bell, that was removed in the 1990s.
It appears that the building has been expanded since it became a residence in the 1990s, both in length and in width. The small white building to the north (left) is reputed to have been the parish residence
ST. CHRISTOPHER’S ANGLICAN CHURCH
The building you see before you was built in 1938. This church was designed by Right Reverend George Anderson Wells, second bishop of the Cariboo, who also consecrated the church at 3:00pm on Sunday, August 31, 1938. The building and its furnishing were a gift from Reverend R.J. Gill of Surrey, England and had his daughter’s name, Madeleine, engraved on the bell. Between 1927-1938, prior to this building, the old schoolhouse which was found on the adjacent property was rented by numerous clergymen for $6.00 per month (later raised to $8.00) for religious services.
In 1929, the first resident clergyman to be appointed for the area was the Reverend John A Lloyd with pastoral care of St. Christopher’s Church, Clinton, with the Bonaparte Mission. Deaconess Robinson was the first to hold services in the new building and served the Parish from 1938–1944. The area served by a clergy was a very large one and they often travelled large distances to visit families, hold services, and baptize children, including out to Jesmond (Coldwell Ranch), OK Ranch, and 74 Mile House.
At 7:00pm on Sunday, April 22, 1990, the Right Reverend John SP Snowden, sixth Bishop of the Cariboo, released this building from sacred use, enabling it to continue to serve in a new capacity.
The little parish building to the left housed the Pine Tree artifacts until the present museum was opened. St. Christopher’s Anglican Church was sold to Bruce Vallance who removed the church bell prior to selling the building to the United Native Nations in the early 1990’s.
From the Clinton Walking Tour