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Sign from out front of St. John's Church Thorold.

History

Our building is the third place of worship for this Christian community. The first building, known as The German Meeting House, was a log structure erected in the 1790s. This was followed, in 1832, by a small stone church known as St. Peter's.

 

The first rector of The Church of St. John the Evangelist, Thorold, was Thomas Brock Fuller, appointed to this parish in 1840. He later went on to become the first bishop of the Diocese of Niagara.

 

Although it has never been confirmed for certain, the architect for the what we now know as St. John's Church, Thorold was probably Kivas Tully, a renowned architect of the day. The corner stone was laid in 1853; the first worship service was held on September 14, 1856. The spire was added as a memorial addition later.

A parish hall was constructed in 1924, named "Memorial Hall", in memory of the Thorold men who fell in the first Great War. 

 

Major renovations to the Church were not uncommon through the years and in 1967, Canada's Centennial, an extensive program of restoration was carried out with Peter John Stokes as consulting restoration architect.

On November 20, 2004, our church sustained a tragic fire which damaged the church proper and destroyed our administrative/programme facility.

 

The new structure was opened in January 2007.

For in depth research into family history or to visit the church archives, contact archives@mcmaster.ca.

Click the arrow to the right (below) to see more historical photos.

Click on any photo to make it bigger. 

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