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Kildonan Presbyterian Church

201 John Black Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2V, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1993/11/22

Primary elevations, from the southeast, of Old Kildonan Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg, 2005; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 2005
Primary Elevations
Interior view of Old Kildonan Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg, 2005; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 2005
Inerior View
Contextual view, from the southeast, of Kildonan Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg, 2005; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 2005
Contextual View

Other Name(s)

Kildonan Presbyterian Church
Old Kildonan Presbyterian Church
Vieille église presbytérienne de Kildonan

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1852/01/01 to 1854/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/02/26

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Kildonan Presbyterian Church
sits in a large, well-treed property on the northern outskirts of Winnipeg. The church, of solid limestone
and now covered with stucco, was completed in 1854. It is surrounded by a historically important cemetery
containing the graves of some of the Selkirk settlers, Manitoba's earliest European farmers, and
many of their descendents. The provincial designation applies to the building and large cemetery that
surrounds it.

Heritage Value

Kildonan
Presbyterian Church, built in 1852-54, is the second-oldest standing church in Winnipeg, and the Mother
Church of Western Canadian Presbyterianism. The church served some of the province's earliest European
settlers, including many of the Selkirk settlers who arrived in the early 1800s and who inaugurated the
first halting steps toward the development of the province's agricultural economy. Built almost
40 years after their arrival, Kildonan Presbyterian Church was a significant and proud achievement for
these pioneers. The structure, the work of well-known Red River Settlement-era stonemason Duncan McRae,
is an early example of the Gothic Revival style, a familiar form of Protestant church architecture well
known by the settlers, whose small parish churches in Scotland were the models here. In this instance,
given the pioneer circumstances and the tenets of Presbyterianism, which called for restraint and even
austerity in their buildings, the result is a modest interpretation of the style. Inside, the church
retains most of its original features and details, all in good condition.

Source: Manitoba Heritage
Council Minute, October 17, 1987

Character-Defining Elements

Key
elements that define the important site characteristics of Kildonan Presbyterian Church include:
- its
placement on a large treed lot, facing south, surrounded on all sides by gravestones of the cemetery

Key
elements that define the church's modest Gothic Revival style include:
- the simplicity of the design
with its rectangular form, gable roof and large pointed windows on the east and west sides and in the
balcony level of the south-facing gable end
- the contrasting textures of the rough-hewn stone walls,
stuccoed in 1921, and the smooth-cut stone quoins and accenting around the windows

Key qualities that
define the church's modest, but eloquent interior include:
- the spacious uninterrupted nave, with
truncated gable ceiling and a small balcony at the south end with narrow access stairs
- the arrangement
of the space, with aisles leading to the chancel
- the palette of textures and colours, including light-hued
plaster walls, planked ceiling painted white, simple square columns supporting the balcony, painted white,
and contrasting woodwork stained dark brown, including floors, pews, pulpit, choir benches, tables, vestibule
screen with upper edge carved with simple fleur-de-lis outlines, etc.
- the pointed arch entrance door,
four stained-glass windows, clear-glass windows with multi-paned sashes (all openings deeply recessed)
and memorial tablets hung on the walls

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Manitoba

Recognition Authority

Province of Manitoba

Recognition Statute

Manitoba Historic Resources Act

Recognition Type

Provincial Heritage Site

Recognition Date

1993/11/22

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Building Social and Community Life
Religious Institutions

Function - Category and Type

Current

Religion, Ritual and Funeral
Religious Facility or Place of Worship

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Duncan McRae

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Main Floor, 213 Notre Dame Avenue Winnipeg MB R3B 1N3

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

P077

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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