Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (633 Ninth Avenue South, Virden)

Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

An Anglican church was established in Virden soon after its founding in 1882, holding services in the homes of parishioners. In August 1885, the North West Land Company, acting on behalf of the Canadian Pacific Railway, gave the Anglican community a parcel of land at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Queen Street. A wooden structure was erected on the site by December 1885 and the Parish of St. Mary the Virgin, in the Diocese of Brandon, was officially created in April 1886.

The original church remained on the site until 1891 when it was sold and removed. The present church was constructed of fieldstones from the Assiniboine River valley. Construction began in 1892, with a corner stone (containing a tin box with local newspapers, building plans and other documents) laid by Nina Gertrude Watts, wife of the Rector. It is believed that Winnipeg architect Walter Chesterton based his design on a small church on the Isle of Wight. The church was consecreated in 1905 by Archbishop Samuel Pritchard Matheson. It features a large stone tower, numerous stained glass windows (including two windows designed by artist Leo Mol) and impressive woodwork throughout.

Additions have included a fieldstone fence built in the 1950s, and a cloister and roof extensions to protect exterior sidewalks. The foundation under the tower was upgraded in the late 1970s.

Beautiful memorials tablets, stained glass, and framed scrolls inside the church commemorate parishioners who were killed during military service in the First World War and Second World War.

Rectors

Period	Rector
1885	F. F. Davis
1885-1890	William John Garton (1856-1937)
1890-1896	Henry Watts
1896-1901	Edward L. King
1901-1916	W. H. Robertson
1916-1926	George F. Findlay
1928-1929	H. J. Tompkins
1929-1932	Arthur E. Minchin
1933-1939	Cecil C. Landon
1939-1940	T. J. Kelly
1941-1949	Alfred H. Cummings
1949-1952	Herbert H. Vines
1952-1958	W. H. Gregory
1958-1960	?
1960-1963	Lloyd Victor Gedge (1923-2015)
1963-1969	John A. Pilling
1969-1973	Donald A. Varcoe
1973-1977	George E. House
1978-1985	Richard Condo
1985-1988	Philip Wadham
1989-1995	Grahme Spear
1996-2005	Kim Salo
2006-2016	Don Bernhardt
2017-present	Matt Koovisk

Associate Priests

Period	Associate Priest
2016-present	Anna Sproule

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2016-0065 St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (July 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (October 2017) Source: George Penner St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (May 2022) Source: Rose Kuzina Interior of St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church (October 2017) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.84692, W100.93343 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Frederick Edward James Bailey [Virden]	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 October 1889	21 August 1917
Thomas James Bond [Reston]	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	6 July 1885	2 September 1918
Thomas Bradshaw	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 January 1895	21 August 1921
John Alured Carr [Agricultural College, Virden]	Student	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 April 1896	9 October 1916
Lorne Edgar Carscadden [Virden]	General Merchant	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	14 December 1890	21 August 1917
Frank Walter Collier [Virden]	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1 June 1872	5 July 1917
William Henry Corfield [Virden]	Teamster	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	26 May 1892	14 September 1917
Henry Cottrell DCM [Virden]	Farm Labourer	28th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	15 June 1884	6 July 1917
Percival Charles Richard Day [Virden]	Farmer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	2 November 1888	26 October 1917
Otto Boris Wladdimir Raoul Ducos De La Hitte	Farm Labourer	88e Régiment d'Infanterie, French Army	Soldat	10 May 1898	18 February 1919
James Francis Durham [Virden]	Labourer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1889	23 April 1915
Wellington Roy Elliott [Virden]	Rancher	31st Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Sergeant	22 June 1888	29 March 1917
Paul Edmund Gunby [Virden]	Farm labourer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 September 1894	15 October 1916
William Frederick Richard Hart-McHarg MinD [Brandon Armoury]	Barrister-at-Law	7th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant Colonel	16 February 1869	24 April 1915
Thomas Henry Jackson [Carmel Presbyterian, Virden]	Laborer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	5 December 1893	5 June 1916
John Walter Jones [Virden]	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 November 1895	8 November 1917
John Stanley Joslin [Virden]	Hardware Merchant	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	6 April 1890	29 September 1918
Percival Harold Lobb [Virden]	Carpenter	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	10 April 1885	28 September 1916
Alfred William Manning [Lenore, Virden]	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 January 1890	27 April 1918
Harold Macdonald Pineo [Virden]	Student	42nd Wing, Royal Air Force	Lieutenant	23 May 1895	18 December 1918
Ernest Charles Staines [Elkhorn]	Cook	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	5 March 1878	27 July 1917
George Ernest Venner [Virden]	Baker	2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	30 November 1893	24 September 1992
John Vickery [Virden]	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	21 January 1890	6 November 1917
Arthur Russell Warren [Virden]	Bricklayer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	15 August 1884	6 November 1917
Fred G. Warren [Virden]	Teamster	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	23 March 1893	27 September 1916

Second World War Casualties

Name	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Arthur William Abbott	205 (RAF) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Flying Officer	24 November 1918	5 April 1942
Wilfred David Brown [Virden]	Royal Canadian Air Force	Warrant Officer Class I	13 October 1919	19 September 1943
Arthur Charles Hales [Virden]	Veterans Guard of Canada	Corporal	19 December 1890	9 July 1942
Nelson Stanley Hawes [Virden]	14th Canadian Hussars, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps	Corporal	13 March 1908	23 August 1944
Norman A. Hauk [Virden]	Royal Canadian Corps of Signals	Corporal	19 March 1921	6 June 1944
Allison Frank Kilborn [Virden]	Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Sergeant	13 September 1908	11 March 1945
Lloyd Charles Powell [Virden]	Royal Canadian Air Force	Flight Sergeant	23 November 1913	16 January 1942
George A. Price [Virden]	Lake Superior Regiment (Motor), Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Private	15 August 1920	9 August 1944

Sources:

Promotional brochure, St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church.

Rev. Lloyd Victor Gedge, FindAGrave.

We thank Rev. Matt Koovisk, Roger Harrison, and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Darryl Toews, and George Penner.

Page revised: 16 November 2022

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