(written
by Donald Fraser, March 18, 2001)
*A POINTE ST. CHARLES LANDMARK
(
This article was written with the help from Down Through the Years', a history of
Grace Church, compiled from the Church's minutes, by Mr. Gordon Hymes, a
parishioner, in 1981)
While
Grace Church's records only start in 1871, when the first church by this name
was erected on Wellington Street "near Centre Street", other sources
of information tell us that as far back as 1845 Reverend Canon Ellegood was
sent by the Anglican Diocese to the area known as Griffintown, became the "Ďncumbent" of
St. Ann's Chapel which was located at the corner of Wellington and Duke
Streets.
In Griffintown
he came into a heritage of bitter religions feeling, for the conflict between
Orangemen (extreme Protestants, mainly from Northern Ireland), and Roman
Catholics was intense. However, by his
kindly manner and brave devotion, he disarmed opposition and soon peace and
order reigned in the district.
A
fire that left homeless over two hundred families living in the area, destroyed
St. Ann's Chapel that very same year: 1845.
With
undiscouraged enthusiasm, Reverend Canon Ellegood set about collecting funds
for a new church, and within two years a fine structure –free of debt- was
opened for worship at the corner of Ottawa and Dalhousie Streets. The name of the church was changed to St.
Stephen's because a Catholic church in the district bore the name of St. Ann's.
In
1850 St. Stephen’s was lost to fire and it was replaced by yet another Church,
St. Edward's, at the corner of Inspector and St. Paul Streets which was
officially opened for worship in February of 1853.
During
these years, more and more people were moving westward along Wellington Street
to the other side of the Lachine Canal Bridge, and away from St. Edward's. There was also an influx of newcomers to
this area of Wellington Street, many artisans from the United Kingdom, because
work had commenced on the Victoria Bridge, which links the island of Montreal
with the South Shore. The Canon opened
a couple of missions in the area, where Sunday services were held, allowing the
people of this area of Wellington Street to have a place of worship close to
their homes and to the site of the bridge under construction.
These
missions held their services in vacant buildings ceded by the Grand Trunk
Railway. In 1864 the Railway was forced
to reclaim these structures for its own use.
As there were no other buildings available, the Railway provided a
disused railcar where services were conducted.
