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This Winnipeg church first opened in the mortuary chapel of Elmwood Cemetery on Advent Sunday of 1900. Its name was chosen by the founder, Robert Cuthbert Johnstone in tribute to the British Saint Cuthbert. Services was held there briefly until a more desirable location was found, in a second-storey hall loft, known locally as ”Potter’s Hall,” atop a grocers on Lemoine Avenue (now Nairn Avenue). The congregation worshipped here for two years before building their own small church on the north side of Nairn Avenue, west of Montcalm Street (now Archibald Street), around 419 Nairn Avenue. About 1904, the church attached itself to the St. John’s Cathedral Parish, and in April 1906 of that year, Johnstone resigned on account of ill health. Through the summer of 1906, ministerial services were provided by Cathedral clergy and college theology students.
On 10 January 1907, Edmund Charles Radiger Pritchard gave his first sermon. At this time, planning commenced for a new church building and location. The chosen property was at 196 McIntosh Avenue, at the southwest corner of McIntosh Avenue and Brazier Street. Design work was handled by local architect Edward George Sherwood. The frame building, measuring 64 feet by 30 feet, was built atop a stone foundation. It featured furnace heating, electric lighting, and a small adjoining chapel. Both structures were built by the Jackson Building Company. Construction was completed at a cost of $4,500 and the church was dedicated by the Archbishop Samuel Pritchard Matheson on Thanksgiving Day, 31 October 1907. The first service in the new building was held on 3 November 1907, for which Johnstone was in attendance.
A Parish Hall was added in 1912 and, by April 1921, the church became debt-free, celebrating the milestone with a mortgage-burning party. That fall, a Rectory was added, based on designs by Sherwood, at a cost of $5,300. Construction began around September and the minister and his family moved in on 12 December 1921. The building was opened officially on 10 January 1922, celebrating Pritchard’s pastoral anniversary. The tile and stucco building continued to serve as a Rectory until the dissolution of the church. Pritchard’s last sermon was on 4 November 1922, after which he departed for the West Coast.
By the spring of 1972, the structure was in need of repairs but the congregation had dwindled to the point that it was agreed to close the church. The final service was held on 25 March 1973 and the parish boundaries of St. Saviour’s Anglican Church were extended to include that of St. Cuthbert’s. Memorial furnishings and other items were transferred to St. Saviour’s Anglican Church. The side chapel at St. Saviour’s was renamed the St. Cuthbert’s Chapel by Bishop Barry Valentine on 25 March 1973.
The St. Cuthbert’s church, chapel, and hall were demolished sometime after 1973, with the only remaining vestige being the Rectory, since converted into a private home. Residential duplexes now stand where the buildings once stood. There are records for the congregation at the Anglican Church of Canada Diocese of Rupert’s Land.
Period
Principal
1900-1906
Robert Cuthbert Johnstone (1857-1934)
1906-1907
Theology students and Cathedral Parish clergy
1907-1922
Edmund Charles Radiger Pritchard (1876-1966)
1923-1952
Robert Elphinstone Park (1885-1971)
1952-1953
Cathedral Parish clergy
c1953-c1954
W. J. Hunter
c1955-c1960
C. L. Morgan
c1961
F. W. T. Holland
c1962
?
c1963-c1965
Clifford MacPherson
1965-1973
?
The St. Cuthbert’s Mission on Nairn Avenue, 1902-1907 (no date)
Source: “St. Cuthbert’s celebrates,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 November 1915, page 23.
St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church on McIntosh Avenue, c1907-1915 (no date)
Source: “St. Cuthbert’s celebrates,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 November 1915, page 23.
St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church, Rectory and Church (December 1921)
Source: “New Rectory at Elmwood,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 December 1921, page 44.
The former church rectory, now a private residence (September 2014)
Source: Nathan KramerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.91195, W97.11303
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Saviour’s Anglican Church (690 Monroe Avenue, Winnipeg)
“Memorial services at St. Cuthbert’s mission by Mr. Johnstone,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 March 1904, page 3.
“Anglican missions,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 April 1904, page 6.
“Rev. Mr. Johnstone resigning,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 April 1906, page 12.
“St. Cuthberts dedicated,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 November 1907, page 5.
“New St. Cuthberts,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 November 1907, page 4.
“Leaders in the great cause of education - No. 2,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 May 1912, page 9.
“St. Cuthbert’s celebrates,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 November 1915, page 23.
“Cuthbert’s celebrates dedication,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 October 1916, page 21.
“St. Cuthbert’s will hold anniversary,” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 November 1917, page 29.
“St. Cuthbert’s will burn mortgage,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 April 1921, page 26.
“St. Cuthbert’s Church Rector at Elmwood,” Winnipeg Tribune, 24 September 1921, page 38.
“St. Cuthbert’s new rectory now complete,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 December 1921, page 44.
“Official opening of St. Cuthbert’s Rectory to be held on Tuesday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 January 1922, page 27.
“St. Cuthbert’s Church now 21 years old,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 October 1922, page 45.
“St. Cuthbert’s to observe Rector’s 50th anniversary,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 1951, page 17.
Rupert’s Land News, May 1973.
Henderson’s Winnipeg Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Winnipeg, St. Cuthbert fonds, Anglican Church of Canada Diocese of Rupert’s Land.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 12 April 2020
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