St. John's Anglican Cathedral

Description of the Historic Place

St. John’s Anglican Cathedral is a brick cruciform church that was constructed between 1912 and 1917 along the riverbank of downtown Saskatoon.

This historic place, located at 816 Spadina Crescent East, was designated as a Municipal Heritage Property in 2004. The designation is limited to the exterior of the building.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral resides in the church’s Gothic Revival architecture, a style known for representing a blend of artistic and spiritual values for ecclesiastical buildings in the Anglican tradition. Designed by the local architectural firm of Thompson, Daniel and Colthurst, it is modeled on the work of J.S. (William) Crowther of Manchester, and bears a resemblance to St. Benedict Church, Ardwick built in 1880. Its complex massing, conical tower, and fenestrations are reflective of the Gothic Revival style, as is its detailing: gargoyles, fruit-and-vine terracotta trim around the arched doorways and diamond shingling. Its building materials are both English and western Canadian, a blend of Alberta Redcliff brick, British Columbia timber, Saskatchewan granite fieldstone, fossilized Tyndall stone, with terracotta and Carrara were provided by Doulton of Staffordshire.

The interior of the Cathedral features a vaulted ceiling, stained glass triad, a rood screen and inscribed pillars, and has seen little alteration over the years. A steeple clock planned as part of the original construction was added in 2003 in celebration of the founding of the earliest Anglican parish in the city. Initial construction of the church was slow. With the Great War and the crash of the real estate market, the church was delayed in its opening until 1917.

The heritage value of St. John's Anglican Cathedral also lies in the Cathedral’s long association with the religious history of Saskatoon and its status as a city landmark. Constructed when the pioneer Anglican Church could no longer hold its burgeoning congregation, the new church was an important administrative centre, receiving full Cathedral status in 1932 when the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon was formed. The Cathedral’s prominent location on the edge of the river and its salient spire,  one of the tallest church spires in western Canada, are strong defining elements of Saskatoon’s downtown skyline.

Through the City’s Heritage Awards Program, St. John’s Anglican Cathedral received an award for the renovation of a public building in 1987.

Source: City of Saskatoon Bylaw No. 8352/ City of Saskatoon Built Heritage Database / Canadian Register of Historic Places

Character Defining Elements

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

• Its Gothic Revival style of architecture, evident in:  its tower and roof design, its clerestory windows and their tracery, gargoyles, stained glass windows above the altar, ornate exterior doors and pediments, its vaulted ceiling and inscribed pillars;
• Those elements that reflect its use as an Anglican place of worship, including its transepts, nave with baptismal fond near the church entrance, its rood screen of white Carrara ware, its high altar and the Christian symbols throughout the Sanctuary, including the angels and crosses;
• Those elements that speak to its ties to the history of Anglican worship in Saskatoon, such as the 1907 tubular chimes from the original St. John’s Church and the decorative use of Saskatchewan lilies and wheat sheaves in the sanctuary; and
• Those elements that speak to its status as a city landmark, including its orientation on its original lot and its spire.