Christ Church

Christ Church (1896) is an attractive, modest frame church in the Gothic Revival style

(with a substantial mid-century parish hall/office addition), with furnishings dating from the 1840s,

located near the south bank of the Saskatchewan River in the town of The Pas, in Manitoba's near

north. The municipal designation applies to the building on its footprint.

Christ

Church is valued for its historical connections, including its status as the successor to the original

church that was the focal point of the Devon Mission, founded in 1840 and the first self-supporting Anglican

Mission in Canada's northwest. In addition, much of its interior woodwork was carved by members

of the Richardson Rescue Party, which wintered in the area in 1846-47 on its way to search for Sir John

Franklin and his lost expedition. These furnishings were moved from the original 1840s church to the

current building. The church is also an important site associated with the transliteration of Cree into

the Latin alphabet, as it is home to four painted canvas panels, commissioned by the Reverend John West

in England and given to the Reverend Henry Budd at The Pas for use in the original Mission church. The

building is a modest expression of the Gothic Revival style, with its tall lancet windows, wooden faux

buttresses, diminutive belfry and oblong apse, but nevertheless is a major architectural highlight in

its community. The church, which remains in active use, also has a good degree of physical integrity.

Source:

Town of The Pas By-law No. 2014 118, 21 May 2014

Key elements that define the site

character of Christ Church include:

- its placement on the lot, near the river

Key elements that define

the exterior heritage character of Christ Church include:

- the basic rectangular form with a medium-pitched,

shingled gable roof, a rectangular apse, and a front porch

- the small, open belfry with a pyramidal

hipped roof

- the frame construction, with frame-constructed buttresses on the sides

- the Gothic-pointed

window openings

Key elements that define the interior heritage character of the church include:

- the

general plan,with pews on either side of a single central aisle; the chancel set off by a round arch

-

the relatively low ceiling, with a flat centre and angled sections on either side

- the beadboard wainscot;

the simple wood window and door casings; the wood floor, etc.

- the ecclesiastical furnishings, including

the four transliterated Cree panels and their carved wood frames, the carved spruce pews with fleur-de-lis

motifs, reading desk, and altar, the baptismal font, etc.

- the leaded, stained glass windows