Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. John’s Anglican Cathedral and Cemetery (135 Anderson Avenue, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

St. John’s is the oldest Anglican parish west of the Great Lakes. A plaque, installed at the southwest corner of the Cathedral building in 1988 by the Manitoba Heritage Council, recognizes the long-term use of the site by the Anglican Church. The first church at the site, a simple structure made of logs, was erected in 1822. It was replaced in 1833 by a stone church that became a cathedral in 1853 after the establishment of the Diocese of Rupert's Land.

This building was severely damaged in a Red River flood in 1852. Using stone from the 1833 building, construction of a new cathedral began in the summer of 1861 and was completed in 1862.

In 1913, with the 1862 cathedral deteriorating, the congregation moved to a renovated former parish hall and used it for services until 1926, when the present cathedral building was erected. In the spring of 1926, the old cathedral was demolished and construction of a new cathedral designed by local architects Gilbert Parfitt and Edgar Prain began. Its cornerstone was laid on 6 June 1926 and the first service was held on 5 December 1926.

The cathedral is now a municipally-designated historic building. Inside is a list of parishioners killed during military service in the First World War.

The graveyard around the massive church contains a veritable “Who’s Who” of Manitoba society from the 1800s through to the present. Among the noteworthy people buried here are the following: James A. M. Aikins, William F. Alloway, James H. Ashdown, E. L. Barber, Douglas Cameron, Edward L. Drewry, William Sandford Evans, Colin Inkster, John Inkster, Alexander Logan, William F. Luxton, Hugh John Macdonald, Robert Machray, Samuel P. Matheson, J. D. McArthur, Andrew McDermot, Augustus M. Nanton, John Norquay, John C. Schultz, Margaret Scott, David A. Stewart, William Whyte, and Errick F. Willis.

Rectors

Period	Rector
1820-1823	John West (1778-1845)
1823-1838	David Thomas Jones (c1796-1844)
1838-1849	William Cockran [William Cochrane] (1796-1865)
1849-1864	David Anderson (1814-1885)
1865-1904	Robert Machray (1831-1904)
1904-1920	Samuel Pritchard Matheson (1852-1942)
1920-?	William Cecil De Pauley (1893-1968)
?-1982	?
1982-1990	James Ernest “Jim” Setter (1930-1990)
1991-1996	Ralph Esdale Baxter (1932-2020)

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of the third St. John’s Anglican Cathedral completed in 1862 (no date) Source: Milan Lukes Postcard view of the third St. John’s Anglican Cathedral and Cemetery (no date) Source: Milan Lukes St. John’s Anglican Cathedral and Cemetery (2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough St. John’s Anglican Cathedral and Cemetery (July 2019) Source: George Penner Interior of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral (2016) Source: Desiree Rolfe Royal Winnipeg Rifles monument in the St. John’s Anglican Cemetery (June 2019) Source: Darryl Toews Plaque inside the St. John’s Anglican Cathedral for First World War casualties (December 2019) Source: Darryl Toews Plaque inside the St. John’s Anglican Cathedral for People's Warden John Bruce (May 2023) Source: Glen Toews Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92081, W97.12420 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Lestock Handley Adams	Master at St. John's College	1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, British Army	Lieutenant	10 September 1887	22 April 1918
John Henry Allen [Next of Kin]	Clerk	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	20 August 1897	25 October 1916
Oswald Ballendine [Next of Kin]	Lather	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	9 August 1887	2 September 1918
J. Bevan	?	?	?	?	?
Harold Edward Black	Customs Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	11 June 1894	19 November 1917
James Basil Fean Broadbelt [Next of Kin]	Civil Engineer	2nd Company, Canadian Machine Gun Corps	Private	23 November 1883	3 June 1916
Felix William Burton	Farmer	85th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	2 July 1895	27 June 1917
Ernest Care	Freight Checker	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Corporal	30 September 1888	16 August 1917
Edward Jasper Code [Next of Kin]	Student	4th Canadian Division Trench Mortary Battery, Canadian Field Artillery	Gunner	8 July 1898	2 September 1918
Archie Elverum [Next of Kin]	Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	28 February 1884	9 April 1917
Hubert De’Arze Gill [Law Society, Minnedosa]	Barrister at Law	2nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	25 November 1892	13 October 1915
James Humphreys [Electric Railway]	Gas-stoker	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	7 August 1880	10 April 1917
John Kelsall	Clerk	5th Siege Battery, Canadian Garrison Artillery	Gunner	19 December 1889	4 March 1918
Reginald Alexander Leonard [Stovels]	Printer	Canadian Field Artillery	Gunner	23 August 1895	1 December 1918
Charles Knight Lloyd [Next of Kin]	Commercial Traveler	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	29 February 1892	29 September 1918
William Murison [Electric Railway, Next of Kin]	Car Conductor	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	11 November 1891	24 June 1917
George Newsome Murray [Electric Railway]	Cashier	Canadian Field Artillery	Bombardier	2 September 1895	28 August 1918
Cyril Hodnett Pierce [Next of Kin]	Printer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	17 June 1897	14 June 1916
John Prendergast Roberts [Next of Kin, Vimy Ridge]	Banker	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	12 November 1895	31 March 1917
A. Rogers	?	?	?	?	?
Harry Rutland	Clerk	Canadian Army Service Corps	Private	4 February 1894	15 April 1920
Sidney Francis Salmon [Next of Kin]	Telegraph Operator	Lord Strathcona's Horse	Private	18 March 1895	2 April 1918
John Edward Severn [Pembina Crossing]	At College	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	16 February 1899	4 October 1918
Vernon Nicholl Severn [Pembina Crossing]	Banking	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lieutenant	28 May 1890	26 October 1917
William Smith	?	?	?	?	?
Alexander Souter [Next of Kin, Rosery School]	Poster	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	2 November 1895	18 October 1916
Robert Edmund Struthers [Law Society, Next of Kin]	Student at Law	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	7 August 1890	12 August 1918
Spencer Edward Waugh [Next of Kin, Osler Hammond & Nanton, St. Andrews, Selkirk]	Fireman	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	8 October 1891	25 October 1916
John Reginald Wigginton [Next of Kin]	Clerk	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	8 December 1895	30 October 1917

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. John’s Anglican Parish Hall / St. John’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral (181 Church Avenue, Winnipeg)

Memorable Manitobans: Gilbert C. “Gil” Parfitt (1886-1966)

Memorable Manitobans: Edgar Prain (1881-1958)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Birthplace of the Anglican Church in Western Canada Plaque (135 Anderson Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Royal Winnipeg Rifles North West Rebellion, 1885 Monument (135 Anderson Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Paul’s Anglican Church (Middlechurch, RM of West St. Paul)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Andrew’s-on-the-Red Anglican Church and Cemetery (RM of St. Andrews)

MHS Centennial Organization: Cathedral Church of St. John

“A History in Stone: A Self-Guided Tour of the Historic Graveyard of St. John’s Cathedral” (PDF format)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society, including a searchable online database available to members at the MGS Manitoba Name Index (MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites, revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages.

Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.

135 Anderson Avenue, St. John's Anglican Cathedral & Cemetery by Murray Peterson, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings & Resources Committee, September 2017.

We thank Desiree Rolfe, George Penner, Glen Toews, Milan Lukes, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 16 June 2025

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