Orkney Church

The Orkney Church is a Municipal Heritage Property located approximately 7 kilometres northwest of Yorkton within the Rural Municipality of Orkney No. 244. Consisting of a 4160 square metre parcel, the property features a stone church constructed in 1893-94 and a cemetery.

The heritage value of The Orkney Church resides in its connection with the district’s Scottish homesteaders who emigrated from the Orkney Islands. The early decision to build a church reflects the importance these settlers placed on their Presbyterian faith. Constructed adjacent to a fieldstone school between 1893 and 1894, this church became an important religious and community gathering place. Many of these pioneers are interred in the cemetery.

The heritage value of The Orkney Church also resides in its stonemasonry. Stonemasonry was a relatively inexpensive alternative to wood-frame construction in the North-West Territories during a time when lumber was often scarce and costly. The rectangular footprint and unadorned fieldstone walls make the church a good example of Scottish stonemasonry.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Orkney No. 244 Bylaw No. 174.

The heritage value of The Orkney Church resides in the following character-defining elements:

-those elements reflecting the church’s stonemasonry, such as the use of fieldstones, the rectangular footprint, sharp corners and regular massing;

-those elements reflecting the church’s association with the homesteaders, such as its orientation and the cemetery headstones.