Description of Historic Place

Rugby Chapel is a Municipal Heritage Property comprising a parcel of land on the University of Saskatchewan campus adjoining College Drive. It features a wood frame, single-storey chapel constructed in 1911.

Heritage Value

Heritage value of Rugby Chapel resides in its association with the history of Anglican education in Saskatchewan, and of the University of Saskatchewan. Constructed after the move of the Anglican Emmanuel College from Prince Albert to Saskatoon in 1908, Rugby Chapel is the first Anglican permanent place of worship built on the campus of the nascent University of Saskatchewan. Built with funds raised by students in Rugby, England, the chapel has served the needs of the Anglican community on campus for 54 years, gradually becoming a repository for religious artifacts associated with the Anglican tradition in Canada.

Heritage value also lies in the chapel’s architecture and its historical integrity. Built in the Gothic Revival architectural style, it resembles the design of many English stone-built churches featuring a Norman tower with parapet, tracery and stained glass windows and exposed rafters. It is one of the few remaining Anglican places of worship in Saskatoon that is constructed of wood and one of the few wooden buildings still remaining on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan. Its interior and exterior have remained virtually unchanged since its construction.

Source:

City of Saskatoon Bylaw No. 6807.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Rugby Chapel resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements reflecting the Chapel’s association with the history of Anglican education and the University of Saskatchewan, especially its placement on its original site;
-those elements reflecting the Chapel’s Gothic Revival architecture, such as its tower, window design, the cruciform layout of its interior, its vaulted ceiling and its Emmaus stained glass window;
-those elements reflecting the Chapel’s historical integrity, such as its wood frame construction, particularly the hand-hewn beams, the wainscoting, wood panelled ceiling, exposed timbers, hardwood flooring and the central stained glass window.