Church of St. John the Evangelist - Ottawa, Ontario - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

History of the Church:

In 1853, the Duke of Newcastle, in a letter to the Earl of Elgin (then Governor-General of the Canadas), deeded a piece of land on the corner of Sussex Drive and Mackenzie Street for the construction of a chapel for Anglican soldiers stationed in Bytown. In 1861, a small school and “chapel of ease” was built, under the direction of the parish of Christ Church. Dr. Lauder was the first Incumbent of this house of God.

The original St John's, Sussex Drive Bytown 1871, the chapel of ease was named St John’s and Bishop John Lewis wished to establish it as the pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Ontario. St John’s soon became known as The Bishop’s Chapel, a name it was to have until 1874. In that year, when the congregation of “goodly and godly” people was sufficiently large, the Parish Church of St John the Evangelist was consecrated and the Reverend H. Pollard was installed as the first Rector.

In 1889, a furore erupted in St George’s Church which was to have a dramatic effect upon the life of St John’s. A small core of thirty people left St George’s over a dispute centering on the liturgy, and this group bought a piece of land at the corner of Elgin and Somerset Streets from James McLaren of Buckingham, Quebec. Mr. J. Hames was hired as the architect and construction began on a new Anglican church. The total agreed cost of the new church was $20,000 and the cornerstone was laid on October 21, 1890.

Within three months, a small congregation was worshiping in the unfinished structure. The first baptism was held on May 15, 1890, when the Rector, John Gorman, christened his son, John. At the annual Vestry of 1891, Father Gorman agreed not to tamper with either the theology or the liturgy of the parish without a two-thirds agreement from the parish. In March, 1891, the church was completed and consecrated as Grace Church.

At this time, St John’s (Sussex Drive) established a small mission church in Lowertown and this was known as St Augustine's, Anglesea Square. The church and property were sold in 1921 and the mission was soon demolished. In 1907, the federal government offered to purchase St John’s in order to erect new government buildings. The people continued to worship at St John’s until January 12, 1912, when fire destroyed the building. After the fire, it was suggested that St John’s join with St Luke’s (Somerset Street), an idea which did not appeal to either congregation. A union was then proposed between St John’s and Grace Church, and on November 3, 1913, a new parish was constituted by Vestry and became known as St John the Evangelist Church. The Reverend J. Gorman was Rector, assisted by Canon Pollard as Rector Emeritus.

Reference: (visit link)

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 10/21/1890 Age of Church building determined by?: Church website 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: 8:00 AM Street address of Church: 154 Somerset Street West Ottawa, Ontario Canada Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed

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