St. Saviour’s Anglican Church is building on the success of its inaugural summer public tours launched last year by again throwing open its doors.
The church, located at the corner of Silica and Ward Streets, will again be open during July and August with volunteer tour guides in attendance to answer questions.
Alternately, visitors can pick up an informational pamphlet for a self guided tour or just enjoy a quiet contemplative time.
St. Saviour’s Pro-Cathedral is a bylaw-designated heritage church built in 1898 and rebuilt in 1929 after a disastrous fire. In addition to carved wood architectural highlights, the church contains 16 memorial stained glass windows as well as numerous memorial plaques.
The stained glass windows are unique and collectively the best example of church stained glass in the Kootenays and on par with those in cathedrals in Vancouver and Victoria.
In June, the church partnered with Touchstones’ Nelson Heritage House Tour, in a special presentation of the history of the memorial stained glass windows. This history has now been blended into the daily tour and in a shortly-to-be-published 32-page full colour guidebook. Also, on August 13 and 14, as part of the Columbia Basin Cultural Tour, the memorial part of that presentation will be reprised.
The church is open for tours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday during July and August. Tours are free, though donations are accepted and books detailing the church’s history are available.
The Church is also open Sundays for regular service at 10:30 a.m.