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
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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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