Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site No. 36
Little Britain United Church
5879 PTH No.9,
R.M. of St. Andrews
Designation Authority: Honourable Bonnie Mitchelson,
Minister of Culture, Heritage and Recreation
Present Owner: The Trustees of the United Church of Little Britain
Little Britain United Church, built between 1872 and 1874, is the oldest United Church building in Manitoba. Initially Presbyterian, the original congregation was served by Reverend John Black. He was the first Presbyterian minister at the Selkirk Settlement. The church was constructed by John Clouston and Duncan McRae. They were two of the most important stonemasons of the era. The tower was added in 1920, a memorial to the dead of World War One.
Only five stone churches from the Red River Settlement era remain in Manitoba. Besides Little Britain, they are St. Andrew’s Anglican (1844–49), St. Peter’s Anglican (1852–53), Kildonan Presbyterian (1852–54), and St. Clement’s Anglican (1862–63). Like the English and Scottish parish churches that served as their models, these early Manitoba churches were sturdy buildings whose architectural expression was derived from medieval Gothic traditions. Little Britain United is a noteworthy vernacular interpretation of that tradition.
