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Knox Church, Queen Street, 1848

A Brief History of Knox (Dr. Ian Rennie)
Knox Church, The Early Years (Dr. William Fitch)
A Knox Church Timeline
The first church building
The Queen Street church building
The present church building
Doors Open Tour
Stained Glass Windows at Knox


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Knox Presbyterian Church, Queen Street (1848)
17 Queen Street West (between Yonge & Bay)

Architect: William Thomas (1799-1860)
(renowned architect of St. Lawrence Hall, Toronto)

Foundation laid: September 21, 1847
Service of Dedication: September 3, 1848
Spire damaged by “The Simpson’s Fire” March 3, 1895
Building Demolished: July 9, 1905
Seating Capacity: 476 in the gallery; 661 downstairs (in 1881)

Ministers: Dr. Robert Burns, 1848 - 1858
Dr. Alexander Topp, 1858 - 1880
Dr. Henry Martyn Parsons, 1880 - 1901
Dr. Alexander B. Winchester, 1901 - 1905

Shortly after fire destroyed the first Knox Church building, a call for a new church design was advertised in the British Colonist and the Examiner, offering £25 for first prize and £10 for second prize. The specifications required that the church have a steeple and seat 1250, with a 9-foot ceiling in the basement, galleries, and white brick with stone facings. The Toronto architect William Thomas responded to the ad, and plans for the new church were presented on July 19, 1847.

A building committee awarded Thomas the competition, though they had nine alterations for his original design. Thomas agreed to 8 of the 9 changes, but he insisted that the rose window above the pulpit remain. The committee agreed, and the foundation stone for the new church building was laid on September 21, 1847.

The same year that construction began on Knox Church, William Thomas was building his own home called Oakham House, formerly 333 Church Street, now known as 63 Gould Street. It too was completed in 1848 and is still used today as part of the campus of Ryerson University.

During a 17 year career as an architect in Canada, William Thomas was responsible for more than 100 buildings and as many as 12 Toronto churches. He is perhaps best known for the St. Laurence Hall (1850) on King Street. Knox Church Queen Street was a most significant example of gothic architecture in the city of Toronto. It was raised on its foundations, allowing more light to enter the basement, and providing a more imposing façade. Upon its completion, it was heralded by the press, and in a review of Toronto in the 1857 edition of the Builder, the most prestigious architectural publication in Britain, Knox was short listed as one of Toronto’s most handsome structures.

Toronto 1854 watercolour by Edwin Whitefield [150kb jpg 1024x512]
note Knox Church, the centre of three downtown churches shown above

Another interesting anecdote; in the late 1850's, the congregation of St. Matthew's in Halifax liked the design of Knox Queen Street so much, that William Thomas practically copied the design for them, and the building still stands at 1479 Barrington Street Halifax, Nova Scotia [www.stmatts.ns.ca].

But as the 20th century approached, the land surrounding Knox was rapidly changing, as commerce was taking over the neighbourhood. Around midnight early Sunday morning, March 3rd, 1895, a fire completely destroyed the Robert Simpson building and set the spire of the church on fire. [Click here for an excerpt from The Evening Star, March 4, 1895 (65kb gif)] The fire destroyed the church tower, which was later rebuilt without a spire. But 10 years later, Knox Church Queen Street was demolished, and over the years, the Simpson’s building (now the Bay) would expand 6 times to occupy the entire block. To move closer to the people, Knox would move north to Spadina Avenue…

Primary source: William Thomas, Architect 1799-1860, by Glenn McArthur and Annie Szamosi. Ottawa: Carleton University Press 1996.

Knox Church Queen Street Interior, c. 1886 [166kb jpg 1024x768]

The Knox Queen Street Interior is described in William Fitch's book
"Knox Church Toronto; Avant-Garde, Evangelical, Advancing" as follows:

"It was a plain, brick structure, with old-fashioned, high, square-backed pews both in the gallery and on the main floor, arranged in stiff, formal manner right across the church. The only ornamental portion of the building was the pulpit with its oak and walnut canopy. This was a most ornate and artistic piece of workmanship, the canopy with its pinnacles and graceful gothic lines being especially noteworthy. Twenty-two years after its erection the church was renovated, the backs of the seats were lined, and the whole was given a very comfortable character. Eight years later, that is in 1881, the entire inside of the church was altered at a cost of $9,000. The pulpit was lowered according to plans prepared by Gordon and Helliwell, the gallery front changed to iron, and the seating changed from the stiff old straight-backed pews in formal order to a modified amphitheatre form. This made an immense difference. The pews were made of butternut, with walnut mouldings and were most comfortable. The floor was fully covered with broadloom and the stairs and vestibule overlaid with matting. The panelled ceiling was ornamented and frescoed after the popular manner of that time. The pulpit was reached by a small winding staircase and it had doors that could be bolted from the inside. There was also a receptacle for the minister's watch - just to ensure that he didn't go too far beyond the time for Sunday dinner. The church when thus redecorated seated 476 in the gallery and 661 downstairs."

1890 Fire Insurance Map: Note the location of Knox Church Queen Street at bottom right [180kb jpg 802x555]