St John's Anglican Cathedral

The stone church, built in 1926 and expanded in 1959, is surrounded by its early 19th century cemetery on a large tree-protected site on the Red River. The Cathedral Church of Saint John, the fourth church built on its property, represents the oldest Anglican parish in Western Canada. Established in 1822 by John West, a Church of England clergyman sent to the Red River Settlement by the Hudson’s Bay Company, the church ministered to the needs of settlers and fur traders and became the centre of the Anglican Church’s missionary, educational, and administrative activities in the West. The Cathedral also is an excellent example of the Late Gothic Revival style. Its dignified design by Winnipeg architects Gilbert Parfitt and Edgar Prain reflects the medieval vernacular tradition of English parish churches through its sprawling horizontal mass, Norman tower and pointed window and door openings. Of additional significance are the building’s magnificent stained-glass windows and the stone and other features it incorporates from earlier churches on the site.