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| The Story of
St. Andrew's Church begins in the very early
days of Peterborough. By 1833 the young
community numbered 500 people. Clergymen
of the Episcopal and Roman Catholic Churches
were already established, and so the Church of
Scotland, the Mother Church of many settlers,
was persuaded to send the Rev J M Roger, to
establish a Presbyterian congregation to serve
the district. The young minister quickly
organized the St. Andrew's Congregation, with
the first place of worship a rented building on
Kent Street. The first Session was
established and included some of the pioneer
settlers of Peterborough: John Edmison,
John Hutchison MD, Andrew Tully, David Hamilton,
William Robson and Robert Thomson. |
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| In 1835 the
Crown made a grant of land to the new church,
land on which the present Church and former
manse (now Hospice Peterborough) stand - the
street along the northern boundary is
appropriately named Kirk Street. The first
church building was stone with a cottage roof
and square-topped windows and doors. It
was plain and sturdy, perhaps reflecting the
character of its pioneer members. The seats were
box pews, panelled enclosures with a door
opening to the aisle, and these were rented by
individual members. There was no organ or
instrumental music in the Presbyterian churches
of the day, but rather a precentor who used a
tuning fork to start the singing of the Psalms. |
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| In 1867 the manse was built,
and by 1875 the small frame
Sunday School was replaced
with a brick building which
still serves as the central
auditorium and stage of our
Sunday School. With
such rapid growth the need
for a church was evident.
The congregation gratefully
accepted the generous offer
of Mrs. Charlotte Nicholls
to provide
$5,000 towards a
new building. Mrs.
Nicholls and her late
husband, Robert Nicholls,
were great benefactors of
Peterborough, having given a
hospital and may of the
city's large parks.
They were faithful members
of St. Andrew's and lived in
the large house now used as
the Masonic Temple.
Mrs. Nicholls laid the
cornerstone in 1885, and the
building was formally opened
on May 2, 1886. The
new building of light brick
and gothic design with its
82 foot high tower, and
beautiful arched ceiling
even had two doors at the
rear of the Church, one to
lead to the manse and the
other to join the Sunday
School. St. Andrew's
continued to flourish,
remaining in the
Presbyterian Church until
1925 when it voted to become
part of the United Church of
Canada.
We are proud
of our rich heritage and inspired by the
dedication and faith of our members throughout
the past 176 years and by the devoted leadership
of the twenty-three ministers who have served us
so well. As a congregation we look forward
with confidence to the years ahead, as the story
of St. Andrew's continues to unfold.
Periodically throughout the year our main archivist, Cliff McDonald, will present small excerpts of our history as part of the service. These vignettes are always interesting, informative and very well appreciated.
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