This 28-foot-high monument within St. John’s Anglican Cemetery on the grounds of the St. John’s Anglican Cathedral in Winnipeg, was designed by local architect Samuel Hooper and built in 1891 to commemorate Manitoba Premier John Norquay.
A base of Tyndall stone, and set in concrete, is five feet wide by ten feet long and four feet high, with the word “Norquay” on one of the upper tiers, has a central die made of polished red granite. At the corners of the die are four small polished grey granite pillars with carved oaps, from which springs a Gothic arch, in the centre of which is the provincial coat of arms. From the arch is a plinth to carry the large column of polished red granite, 17 feet in height and 17 inches in diameter, on which is a cap, surmounted by a cross of Tyndall stone.
The inscription engraved in the central polished red granite die reads:
To the memory of
THE HON. JOHN NORQUAY,
who was for many years
PREMIER OF MANITOBA.By his sudden and all too early death
his native land lost an eloquent speaker,
an honest statesman and a true friend.Born May 8, 1841.
Died July 5, 1889.This monument is a public expression of his sterling worth.
The monument was unveiled officially on 1 August 1891 at a ceremony led by Anglican Canon Samuel Pritchard Matheson and attended by Provincial Secretary Daniel McLean, Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories Joseph Royal, Manitoba Historical Society President John McBeth, Dean of Rupert’s Land John Grisdale, American Consul James Wickes Taylor, and lawyer Isaac Campbell.
Architectural design for the Norquay monument (1891)
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 23 March 1891, page 4.
Norquay Monument (circa 1900)
Source: Art Work: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Part 11 by William H. Carre
Norquay Monument (July 2025)
Source: Jordan MakichukSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92052, W97.12527
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Samuel Hooper (1851-1911)
Memorable Manitobans: John Norquay (1841-1889)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. John’s Anglican Cathedral and Cemetery (135 Anderson Avenue, Winnipeg)
“The Reportorial Round. - The committee of the Historical Society having in hand the erection of the Seven Oaks Monument,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 March 1891, page 4.
“The public recognition of a statesman’s services. Unveiling of the Norquay Memorial - programme of the ceremony,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 August 1891, page 5.
“The Norquay memorial,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 August 1891, page 1.
John Norquay, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk, Kenneth Ingram, and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 July 2025
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