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Photos of Historical St.
Jude's
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Originally owned by the Parkin family, the property was used as a private burial
ground.
On March 15, 1849, the property was donated to John Strachan, Lord Bishop of Toronto, by
Mrs. Ann Parkin.
Interestingly, the church was built in 1848, one year prior to the diocese owning
the property.
The church was constructed to be a scale replica of the first minister's home church in
England, right down to the vestry door which is only five feet high. The timbers
were hewn by hand. The bell and original font are still used. The entire
church was constructed by farmers, with the exterior walls hand-chiselled to simulate
stone. Only the steeple was made in Toronto, and was brought out on a special skid
bob sleigh.
Construction of the new church began by obtaining several house lots on Howarth Avenue
in 1951-1952. In 1953, the basement was finished and used for services.
Sarah Edith Boyd passed away in 1957 and bequeathed $120, 000 to St. Jude's. This
generous donation covered the outstanding debt of $60,000 on the church basement and paid
for almost half of the main floor construction. The church tower is dedicated to her
memory.
The new church building was built in 1958. An addition was constructed in 1997,
made possible by many generous donations (spearheaded by Paul Britton) and fund raisers.
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Historical Perspective
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| contributed by Phyllis Smith |
The population in the Wexford area of Scarborough increased
slowly. In 1803, all of Scarborough contained 80 people, 5 horses, 3 oxen, 27 sows, 7
young cattle and 15 swine.
In 1820, the population was 477.
In 1842, it had reached 2,750 people, 1 grist mill and 18 saw
mills. In 1850, when the population had reached 3,421, 3 grist mills and 23 saw mills the
area represented the home district at Upper Canada and was incorporated as Scarborough
Township.
Wexford was an agricultural community with primitive farm
implements. The first reaper arrived in 1851. Soap and food were prepared over open fires
in Dutch ovens. No churches -- they worshipped God in their homes.
Our pioneer ancestors feared attacks by wolves and bears. At
night, a pack of wolves could destroy a whole flock of sheep.
In 1848, the small chapel of St. Jude was erected on the
highest point of land in this area. The land had been a burial ground for 16 years before
it was donated by Mrs. Ann Parkin (a widow) to the Lord Bishop of Toronto.
On Mar.22, 1832, Edward, infant son of Patrick and Ann
Parkin, was the first recorded burial in this tract of land. Mrs. Parkin
presented the deed for this land to the United Church of England and Ireland on Mar.15,
1849. The Parkin family stone can be found off the pathway, directly in front of the
chapel.
Just imagine this area as it was then. Down a small hill, is
a rutted, dirt road, twisting and winding its way northward from Danforth Road. If one
looked out over the tall trees southward, one might be able to see the banks of Lake
Ontario; there is the muddy little town of York (later renamed Toronto).
On this beautiful spring morning, a group of local farmers
have gathered together to commence building "this perfect gem". If you listen
carefully, you can hear the hammers pounding nails, you can smell the sweet odour of fresh
cut wood. Down the lane is a tumbled down shed, the soft nicker of the horses resting
after pulling their heavy loads of wood up the hill.
Most of all, if you listen, you can hear the men call each
other by name and feel the easy camaraderie of the builders.
Robert Boyd was the chief carpenter and hand-hewed the
rafters in the ceiling of this chapel. The backwoods settlers provided the broad timber
and the shingles for the roof, all from the surrounding pine and hardwood forests. The
exterior wallboards were 2" planks, hand-chiselled to simulate stone.
The timbers in this 65-person church were all hand-cut and
shaped. Some form Gothic arches to support the roof. The door to the Vestry is just 5'
high, as the church is a scaled-down version of a Gothic church in the British Isles.
The question then is: where is the original? The answer is to
be found in the memory of William Stewart Darling, born in Scotland in 1818, a son of a
British Army Officer. In 1832, at the age of 14, his family emigrated to Canada. A cholera
epidemic broke out on board the ship and his father died. A grant of land was secured by
the family in south Orillia, where the widow Darling settled down to raise her family.
Although young, Darling had been raised as a Presbyterian when he was approached by Bishop
Strachan. He joined six other young men and became an Anglican priest. He was ordained in
1842.
From 1845 to 1863 he was in charge of the Parish of
Scarborough, which, at that time, was as large as the whole township.
St. Margaret's Church was built in 1833; the first Church of England erected in
Scarborough. It served the entire Parish until 1841 when St. Paul's was built in L'Amoreux
and Christ Church in Scarborough Village.
The village of Wexford had two Methodist Churches and the
members of the Church of England had to travel four miles to L'Amoreux.
It was Rev. Darling who encouraged the people of Wexford to raise up a church. Remembering
the Gothic church of his childhood, Rev. Darling influenced the builders to construct the
scaled-down model. Darling was responsible for having many churches built throughout the
Province, but St. Jude's is considered the most beautiful.
The Bell Tower was the only part not built on site. It was
built in Toronto (formerly York) and hauled here in the dead of winter by horses and
sleigh.
The first Baptism was performed Mar.11, 1849 when John Thorn,
son of James and Sarah Thorn, was christened. John was six years old when the Church was
built.
The first marriage joined Francis Clements and Sarah Thompson
on Nov.29, 1849. The following day, Robert Boyd, chief carpenter, wed Mary Wilson. Not
only was Robert Boyd a builder and farmer, he became the first Warden of the Church of St.
Jude.
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