Opened in 1898, the church served as the Cathedral of the Diocese of Kootenay from 1900 until the 1960s. Since that time it has been known as a pro-cathedral.
In January of 1928 the interior of the cathedral was gutted by fire and rebuilt immediately, with the aid of insurance money and many donations. Many of the present memorial stained glass windows were donated at this time, as was the organ, replacing the one destroyed in the fire.
The church is available to tour in July and August.
The church, designed by architect George D. Curtis, is an excellent example of "Gothic Perpendicular" church architecture. Built of stone with a wood rafter ceiling and wood interior appointments, the cathedral is a standout among the many churches of Nelson. It is probably the most impressive religious building in the city and possesses a total of seventeen stained glass windows, all donated as personal memorials.
The church/pro-cathedral has been designated a British Columbia Heritage Site by the B.C. Heritage Trust and is listed on the City of Nelson's
Description
St. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral is a stone and wood frame gable-roofed church on the southeast corner of the intersection of Ward and Silica Streets in the Uphill neighborhood of Nelson, B.C.
Value
The building is primarily important for being perhaps Nelson’s most impressive church building, and for its contribution to the sense that the city had arrived as the Kootenay region’s powerful economic and administrative centre, with a large and respectable middle class population.
The site is important for its continued use since 1892 as the home of the city’s Anglican congregants, originally in a temporary Mission Room under the direction of the first missionary priest-in-charge, the Reverend A. J. Reid. With the laying of St. Saviour’s cornerstone in 1898, the earlier wooden building was replaced by the current Pro-Cathedral structure, completed in 1899, and later rebuilt above its original stonework after the 1928 fire.
The 1898 church, designed by the architect George D. Curtis, is an excellent example of Gothic Perpendicular church architecture. Its impressive size and detailing made the building a stand-out among its contemporary Protestant churches, which were generally much smaller, and very simply detailed, and is a symbol of the determination of the pioneers of Nelson to build a city of great stature, the “Queen City”.
Its 1929 reconstruction largely conformed to the original Pro-Cathedral design, but is particularly notable for the memorial stained glass windows and the pipe organ (donated by Le Baron de Veber in
memory of Lorne Campbell), the Redeemer Chapel and a columbarium. More recent restoration work to the church roof and the remarkable Good Shepherd stained glass window (donated by Selwyn G. Blaylock) in the Sanctuary is evidence of a continued commitment to the careful conservation of the building.
Located with many other churches in the lower reaches of the well-appointed residential streets of the Uphill neighborhood, St. Saviour’s is a valuable contributor to the physical transition between the large commercial buildings of the commercial core and the houses of its white-collar workers, both because of its substantial size and institutional character.
The church is important for its complete rebuilding of the wood portions after its burning in 1928, a testament to both the quality of the tradesmen in town, and the enduring central role of the church in community life during the interwar and both the World Wars.
Character Defining Elements
Site
¶ Corner site in the lower (older) reaches of the Uphill residential area
¶ Adjacency to 1922 church hall, the building for fellowship
Building
¶ Prominent stone foundation (from 1898) and wall to main floor window sill height
¶ Prominent stone and brick heritage buildings
¶ Stained glass windows in main worshipping space
¶ Wood construction exterior wood detailing, including doors, windows, roof and eave details, and general employment of mouldings and trim
¶ Half-timbering details recalling original appearance
¶ Interior planning and wood details
¶ 15 stained glass windows in the nave and 1 in the basement, interior wood details including
the ceiling, memorial plaques, wooden pews
¶ Pipe organ
From
Memory BC
"St. Saviour's Church was opened at Nelson in 1898. At the first meeting of the Synod of the newly organized Diocese of Kootenay in 1900, St. Saviour was chosen as the Cathedral, but since the 1960's it has been designated as a Pro-Cathedral. Besides the various areas progressively separated from the original Nelson Missionary District, the parish also included St. Andrew-by-the-Lake, Willow Point until this congregation was transferred to the parish of Kokanee in 1957. In 1966 the parish of the Church of the Redeemer was joined with St. Saviour's Parish."