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PARISH LIFE
The Rector and Staff
Junior
Church
Groups and
Committees
Rectors of St.
Thomas'
Rev. H.B. Wray
1865
Rev. Thomas Ball
1870
-1874
Rev. J.S. Cole
1874
-1883
Rev. S.E. Knight
1883 -1884
Rev. E.S.
Stubbs
1884
Rev. James Boydell
1885 -1899
Rev. Canon
W.A.J. Burt
1889 -1909
Rev.
F.H. Hincks
1909
-1919
Rev. F.G. Sherring
1919 -1928
Rev. J.S.
Smedley
1929 -1940
Rev. R.K. Trowbridge
1940
-1945
Rev. F.F. Nock
1945 -1948
Rev. S.M.
Craymer
1948-1952
Rev. A.J. Thomson
1952-1957
Rev.
George M. Black
1957-1958
Rev. Canon D.N.
Mitchell
1958-1983
Rev. Canon S.G.
Tomes
1983-1986
Rev. Canon A.V. (Terry)
Bennett
1987-1994
Rev. Dale Huston
1995-1998
Rev.
Rosalie Goos
1999-2005
Rev. Kelly Baetz
2006-
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History of St. Thomas'
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In 1866, the first services
of our Church were held in
Bracebridge by The Rev. H.B. Wray of Orillia. All
Anglican parishes in Muskoka, we considered to be part
of the parish of St. James' in Orillia. The first
church was
a log building located on
the site of our present
cemetery. Services were held
every fourth Sunday. This
building
was only used for a few years until they began to
meet in the Orange Hall building on Manitoba Street. At
this time, services were held
every second Sunday. In May
1870, The
Rev. Thomas Ball became the first incumbent at
Bracebridge. He arrived from St. James' Cathedral, Toronto
immediately after his ordination
as a Deacon.
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He soon raised $1,000 to pay for
a new church building.
The picturesque, white-painted,
wooden church (built on the
site of our present parking lot) was
opened on October 6,
1872. It was at this time, the parish
changed its name to St.
Thomas' in honour of their
first rector and in appreciation for
his hard
labours.
On Decemebr
6, 1896, a new red-brick church
was
opened on our present site. The property
for this was
donated by Arthur A. Mahaffy, who was
later a member
of the Provincial Legislature and
who subsequently
became a judge in Muskoka. The church
building at first
lacked a bell tower but in 1904, the
tower was erected
and the 1,500 pound bell was
presented to the church by
Mrs. R. M. Browning in memory of
her husband. On the site of
the first church, Mrs.
Browning also donated Browning
Memorial Hall. This has now been
replaced by the new
Browning Hall,
built at the east end of the church in 1993.
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The present church retains
its original appearance as it was
completed in 1896. The tower was added in 1903 and the
vestry extended in 1956. The architectural style is of a
modified Gothic and was designed by Charles Gibson,
who
also designed St. John's Church, Norwa;
the Earls Court
Public Library, and Christ Church,
Mimico. An unusual aspect
of St. Thomas' is the exposed
wooden truss system with the
large half-circle arches,
resting on hammer-beam truss
wallbrackets, a rarity in Canada.
Also, the exposed brickwork
is of
interest; each wall consists of two single layers joined
by metal 'headers' or 'tie pieces' with air
spaces between. The
red kiln-baked bricks that
are used in the building is
believed to
have orginated in this area. The site where the
church
is at present was a brickmakers yard well over
hundred years ago.
On April 24, 1985, St.
Thomas' was designated a Heritage
Building under By-Law
35-32 of Part IV of the Ontario Heritage
Act,
R.S.O. 1930, Chapter 337. In 2006, we also received
a
Built Heritage Award from the Muskoka Heritage
Foundation
in recoginition of maintaining the church in
its original Victorian
appearance. |
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