Provincial Heritage Site No. 53
Beginning in 1828, Archdeacon William Cockran, who established the Anglican Church in Manitoba, held services
in settlers’ homes. In 1829 he had a permanent residence at Grand Rapids on the Red River, and by 1831 had built a small wooden church. But since his growing congregation of English mixed bloods and retired Hudson¹s Bay Company personnel required a larger building, he designed St. Andrews. It became the centre of missionary activity in Rupert¹s Land, and is now the oldest Gothic Revival church in western Canada.
The building’s design relies on the centuries-old traditions of the British parish church. Its basic form became the favoured style, with variations and different materials, for church buildings in Manitoba into the 20th century.
Much of the work was done by the stonemason Duncan McRae, who suffered a serious accident here. McRae was responsible for the construction of many of the best stone buildings in the area during this early settlement period, including Old Kildonan, Little Britain and St. Peter’s Dynevor churches.