Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site No. 104
St. Matthew's Anglican Cathedral
403 Thirteenth Street,
Brandon
Designation Authority: Honourable Rosemary Vodrey,
Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship
Present Owner: Church of England, Parish of St. Matthew
From 1900 until the outbreak in 1914 of World War I, new buildings in Manitoba became the most visible manifestation of prosperity and optimism. In church designs there were some dramatic advances. Church buildings were more often being built of brick or stone and there was increasing experimentation with spatial arrangements. In Anglican churches, the traditional scheme of nave, porch, chancel and vestry was being combined with spaces for community activities and Sunday Schools.
Built in 1912–13 to designs by Brandon architect W.A. Elliott, and constructed by the firm of William Bell and Son, this cathedral church of the Diocese of Brandon expresses the tenor of the times. The English Gothic Revival style chosen by Elliott is here a carefully modelled mass of limestone and brick, with a complex floor plan, variety of rooflines, crenellations and tall lancet windows. The interior is particularly beautiful, with a sophisticated use of forms, which combine the demands of structure, function and tradition into a unified whole.
