Timothy Eaton Memorial Church

Last updated
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.JPG
South side of the church in 2008
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church
43°41′10″N79°24′21″W / 43.686207°N 79.405822°W / 43.686207; -79.405822
Location230 St. Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Denomination United Church of Canada
Previous denomination Methodist Church
Website www.temc.ca
Architecture
Architect(s) Wickson & Gregg
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1911
Completed1915
Clergy
Minister(s) The Revs. Dr. Jason Byassee and Lorraine Diaz

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church is a church located at 230 St. Clair Avenue West in Forest Hill, Toronto, Ontario. Originally Methodist, since 1925, it has belonged to the United Church of Canada. The church is named in memory of Timothy Eaton, founder of the Eaton's department store chain, whose family donated the land the church sits on. It was completed in 1915 in the Gothic Revival style by Wickson & Gregg.

Contents

History

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, as pictured in the pages of the opening services programme, December 1914 Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.jpg
Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, as pictured in the pages of the opening services programme, December 1914

The Methodist Social Union of Toronto approached members of the Eaton family for their support in the creation of a church in the area. As a memorial to her husband, Timothy Eaton, Margaret Wilson Eaton and her son, John Craig Eaton, donated the land for the church and financed the construction of the original structures. [1] [2]

The Sunday School building was completed in 1911 and used for worship services until the sanctuary opened. The design work for the church building was done by the architectural firm of Wickson & Gregg. Construction was completed in 1915. [1]

One of the church's best-known features is a 1915 stained glass reproduction of The Light of the World by English Pre-Raphaelite painter Holman Hunt; [2] it was dedicated in memory of Timothy Eaton. After the death of Sir John Craig Eaton, additional memorial windows were added. [1] The majority of the stained glass in the church was created by the Robert McCausland Company of Toronto. [1]

Famed Air Force ace Billy Bishop was married in the church, and his funeral was held there four decades later. [3] The property has been listed in the City of Toronto Heritage Property Inventory since January 2008. [4]

Broadcasts

This congregation has been known for its preaching ministry and music, and it has maintained radio and later internet broadcasts of its services. [2] Sunday morning services are broadcast over 1540 CHIN-AM. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Eaton</span> Northern Irish-Canadian businessman (1834–1907)

Timothy Eaton was an Irish businessman who founded the Eaton's department store, one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Clair Avenue</span> Road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Bloor Street and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Queen Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardwold</span>

Ardwold was the residence of Sir John Craig Eaton and Lady Eaton of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sir John was the youngest son of Timothy Eaton, the founder of the T. Eaton Company Department Store, or Eaton's, and he inherited the business and became its president upon his father's death in 1907. Sir John was one of the wealthiest men in Canada, and in 1909 he commissioned a home to be built on "The Hill", a name used to describe the neighbourhood on the Davenport Hill in Toronto where many wealthy families built their homes. Casa Loma, built by Henry Pellatt and the largest private house ever constructed in Canada, was near Ardwold, as were Spadina House, the mansion of James Austin, and Glenedyth, the estate of Samuel Nordheimer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Craig Eaton</span> Canadian businessman

Sir John Craig Eaton was a Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent Eaton family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eaton family (Toronto)</span> Canadian family and department store owners

The Eaton family is a Canadian family of Scottish-Irish Methodist origin. Established in Toronto, the family dynasty began in 1869 when Timothy Eaton (1834–1907) founded Eaton's, which became a national chain of department stores. At its height, the family's net worth was around $2 billion. Although the Eaton's department store chain went bankrupt in 1999, the family still holds considerable wealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora Eaton</span>

Sarah Evelyn Florence "Flora" Eaton, Lady Eaton, was a Canadian socialite, philanthropist and nurse. As the wife of Sir John Craig Eaton, who inherited the Eaton's department store business, she was a member and later matriarch of the prominent Eaton family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Park United Church</span> Church in Toronto, Ontario

Deer Park United Church is the name of a United Church of Canada congregation, and also the name of this congregation's former church building at 129 St. Clair Avenue West in the Deer Park neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of two United Church of Canada buildings in the area and along St. Clair Avenue, the other being Timothy Eaton Memorial Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Stanislaus Catholic Church (Milwaukee)</span> Church in Milwaukee, United States

St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Oratory is a Roman Catholic parish in the historic Mitchell Street District of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was designed by Polish nobleman Leonard Kowalski, one of Milwaukee's early Polish residents, who took the name Leonard Schmidtner and spoke German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church</span> Church in Maryland , United States

Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is a large, Gothic Revival-style church built in 1870 and located at Park Avenue and Lafayette Avenue in the city's Bolton Hill neighborhood. Named in memory of a 19th-century Baltimore financier, the ornate church is noted for its exquisite stained glass windows by artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, soaring vaulted ceiling, and the peo0le associated with its history. Maltbie Babcock, who was the church's pastor 1887–1900, wrote the hymn This is My Father's World. Concert performer Virgil Fox was organist at Brown Memorial early in his career (1936–1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's Cathedral, Chennai</span> Church in Tamil Nadu, India

St. George's Cathedral is a Church of South India cathedral in Chennai, India. The cathedral was built in 1815. St. George's occupies an important place in the history of Christianity in India, as the Church of South India was inaugurated here on 27 September 1947. It marked the breaking down of ecclesiastical barriers between Protestants of various traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's, Bloor Street</span> Anglican church in Toronto, Ontario

St. Paul's, Bloor Street, is an Anglican church located at 227 Bloor Street East in Toronto, Ontario. The present church building, completed in 1913, was designed by E. J. Lennox in the Gothic Revival style. At 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft), it is the largest church in the Diocese of Toronto. The building is designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as being of cultural heritage value or interest. It is the regimental church of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town</span> Church in Cape Town, South Africa

St George's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, and the seat of the Archbishop of Cape Town. St. George's Cathedral is both the metropolitical church of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and a congregation in the Diocese of Cape Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Columba's Chapel (Middletown, Rhode Island)</span> Church in Rhode Island, US

St. Columba's Chapel in Middletown, Rhode Island, is a parish church of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island of the Episcopal Church. The church is located at 55 Vaucluse Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island. The chapel is named for the Irish-born missionary St. Columba, renowned for his teaching, healing, and miracles in sixth-century Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First United Methodist Church (Buffalo, Wyoming)</span> Church in the U.S. state of Wyoming

First United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church at Fort and N. Adams Streets in Buffalo, Wyoming, United States. The church was built in 1899, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is located at the corner of Adams Avenue and Fort Street in Buffalo, Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knox-Metropolitan United Church (Regina, Saskatchewan)</span> Church in Regina, Saskatchewan

Knox-Metropolitan United Church stands on Lorne Street at Victoria Avenue across from Victoria Park in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the current manifestation of Presbyterian and Methodist congregations that date back to "worship services in both traditions…in 1882."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Our Lady and St Peter, Leatherhead</span> Church in Surrey, United Kingdom

The Church of Our Lady and St Peter is a Roman Catholic church in Leatherhead, Surrey. It was founded as a local chapel during the First World War and later became a Parish church. It is situated between Copthorne Road and Garlands Road on the junction with St John's Avenue in Leatherhead. It is the only Catholic church in Leatherhead and is served by the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.

The Karnataka Central Diocese is one of the twenty-two dioceses of the Church of South India covering the central part of Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Wickson</span> Canadian architect

Alexander Frank Wickson was a prominent Toronto architect who was responsible for the design of numerous buildings, including Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, the IOOF Hall (Toronto) and the "Ardwold" mansion for the Eaton family. He was president of the Ontario Association of Architects in 1900 and of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada from 1918 to 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James United Methodist Church (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

Trinity-St. James United Methodist Church is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The congregation began as a Sunday school in the northwest part of the city organized by Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. The evangelist Billy Sunday had preached a revival there and over 300 people joined the church. St. James Methodist Episcopal Church, as it was then known, was established shortly afterward in February 1910. The congregation originally used the closed Danish Lutheran Church at K Avenue NW and Fourth Street NW for their services, and they moved the building that summer to Ellis Boulevard NW. St. James grew to the point that a new building was needed. In 1945 property across the street was purchased, and local architect William J. Brown designed the new church facility. Construction began in September 1952 and it was completed in April 1954 for $165,000.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1REASONS FOR LISTING: 230 ST. CLAIR AVENUE WEST ATTACHMENT NO. 4B" (PDF). toronto.ca. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eaton church snobby? Parish the thought | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  3. The Courage of the Early Morning: the Story of Billy Bishop, W.A. Bishop, 1966.
  4. "230 ST CLAIR AVE W". City of Toronto Heritage Register. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  5. "Timothy Eaton". CHIN Radio. Archived from the original on 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-06-22.