Christ Church Anglican

Description of the Historic Place

Christ Church Anglican is a large brick church with a fieldstone foundation. The church exhibits a Gothic Revival architectural style with Norman architectural influences. Built in 1954, the church is situated in the neighbourhood of Caswell Hill at 515 28th Street West.  

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Christ Church Anglican lies in its architecture. The exterior of the church is a Gothic Revival style, named for its revival of a style of architecture characterized by great cathedrals, pointed arches and richly decorated fenestrations. The church also exhibits strong Norman influences, including its central lantern spire and numerous stained glass windows. The original foundation has immense granite stone buttresses of natural colored fieldstones. The church was designed to be impressive, as its congregation once hoped it would be the Anglican cathedral for the Diocese. Christ Church Anglican is also known as the “Soldier’s Church’’ as it still displays the colours of the Saskatoon Light Infantry from World War II and two flags from the 5th Battalion.

The heritage value of Christ Church Anglican also resides in its value as a religious and cultural landmark in Saskatoon. The land for Christ Church Anglican was donated by John Ashworth and Joseph Holmes, whom also gave the church thirty residential lots which were disposed of over the years whenever the church found itself in financial difficulties. The church itself was one of the three mission churches founded by Reverend George Exton Lloyd when he arrived in Saskatoon with the Barr Colonists. 

The original architect for Christ Church Anglican was C. E. Cordery. In 1907, the church’s parishioners hauled granite rocks from the riverbank and began building a one metre thick foundation. Each foundation boulder was hand cut to fit in its place. The basement, with its low stone walls, was finished by October of 1907. It was at this point that the congregation experienced financial issues and did not have additional funds for completion of the church.  A low roof however was constructed to cover the basement, and the congregation began holding services in the "Dug-Out-on-the-Hill" Church. In 1954, a fundraising campaign generated the necessary money to complete the Christ Church Anglican church and construction resumed. A new plan for the superstructure was designed by Webster and Gilbert, which unlike the original plan did not include the Norman tower. The new church was built over the original foundation. The cost to construct the church in 1954 was $100,000.

Source: City of Saskatoon Built Heritage Database

Character Defining Elements

Key elements which contribute to the heritage value of this historic resource include:

• Its Gothic Revival style of architectural, with Norman influences, evident in: its steeply pitched roof with steep cross gables, and pointed arch style windows;
• Those elements that reflect its historical and cultural importance including its brick façade, stone foundation and stained glass windows; and
• Those elements that speak to its status as a neighbourhood landmark, including its orientation on its original lot within Caswell Hill.