Description of Historic Place

St. Margaret's Anglican Church, erected in 1940, is a small log building in Mafeking. The municipal designation applies to the church and its grounds.

Heritage Value

St. Margaret's Anglican Church, a practical wood-sided log structure set on a corner lot in Mafeking, a village in a sparsely populated area of western Manitoba, represents the fulfillment of aspirations common to small isolated congregations everywhere. Built by local volunteer labour, this charming little house of worship was originally served by itinerant lay missionaries known as Bishop's Messengers of St. Faith's. The church closed in 2002 and its interior, still fitted with handmade pews, now houses a museum, which includes tributes to Agnes Edwards, the first St. Margaret's `Messenger', as well as articles relating to church and community history.

Source: Rural Municipality of Mountain By-law No. 03-04, June 9, 2004

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the St. Margaret's Anglican Church site include:
- the corner location in residential area on the southern edge of the small community of Mafeking
- the building's east-west alignment within a tree-sheltered lot

Key exterior elements that define the church's restrained utilitarian style include:
- the compact, unadorned form, including the rectangular gable-roofed main volume and the lower gabled porch and hip-roofed apse
- the ordinary materials and finishes, including the log construction, low concrete foundation, painted horizontal wood siding and plain trim, the glass and wood-panelled front door, etc.
- the orderly arrangement of tall single rectangular sash windows in wood surrounds

Key elements that define the church's understated interior character include:
- the scaled-down plan consisting of a small vestibule, a compact nave with an angular vaulted ceiling and a narrow, slightly elevated sanctuary
- the functional furnishings and fixtures, such as the bench-like wooden pews, handmade and painted; the turned balustrade fronting the altar; the portable organ and handmade stand brought by the first missionary; etc.