Stained Glass Artwork
at Knox Church

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The Stained Glass Windows of Knox Church
contributions by John Corcoran, Gerry de Koning, and J Vanderhill

Before John Corcoran left Knox to return to England several years ago, he had prepared notes for a guided tour of Knox's history, architecture and windows. John was an artist and interested in the history of Christian art. His notes on the windows have been edited by Gerry de Koning and used as a basis for this online feature. These notes have been adapted for the web by J Vanderhill, who also added the digital photography and the following introduction.
 

Stained Glass Artwork at Knox Church - An Introduction When you think of stained glass windows and Knox Presbyterian Church Spadina, perhaps the first image to come to mind is the simple art nouveau flower design shown above; a pragmatic placeholder design repeatedly decorating much of the sanctuary. I had always wondered if any of these windows were necessary replacements to "original" windows that had fallen victim to fire, vandalism, iconoclasm, or perhaps even an act of God. I imagined scenes of rowdy protestants with hockey sticks at the turn of the century destroying windows in protest against some despicable idolatry...but the truth is, the current building that houses Knox Church Spadina isn't that old, and no - nothing quite like this has ever transpired at Knox.   Iconoclasm (aka The beeldenstorm for those from Dutch circles) refers to the storming of images considered idols in the churches of Flanders during the religious disturbances of the 16th century. A scene depicted in Antwerp, Belgium; etching from the 17th century by Jan Luyken, from the collections of the Ghent City Archives, Belgium. www.gent.be/gent/english/history/gesch06.htm   At the turn of the Twentieth Century, Knox Church was situated in downtown Toronto in the block bounded by Richmond, Queen, Bay and Yonge Streets on the land that had been originally donated by Jesse Ketchum. But when the "Simpson's fire" took out the top of the church steeple in 1895, the tower was restored without rebuilding a new spire. In fact, within a few years, the entire church at Queen Street would be demolished, and the groundbreaking for Knox Church Spadina would begin in 1907. Knox Church Spadina was completed in 1909, but in fact, it wasn't entirely completed. For one thing, the tower somewhat resembled the Queen Street church tower, post fire. While there may have been ambitious plans for a landmark church tower and spire at the corner of Harbord and Spadina, none would come. With a frugal restraint, the Knox Church bell tower was efficiently topped off with a low roof. Like the truncated tower, the simple decorative "placeholder" stained glass windows have more to do with budgetary restraints than anything else. It was thought that over time, they would be completed with the traditional windows that decorate Knox. When compared to the dark and ornately decorated traditional windows, these light floral windows appear quite modern, and they tend to let in a greater amount of light than their counterparts. We can hope they will continue to let in the light for many more years to come. The firm Robert McCausland Ltd. is responsible for all the stained glass window design and installation at Knox. Founded in 1850 here in Toronto, they are the earliest continuing stained glass window studio in North America. According to Stained Glass Quarterly magazine, they are responsible for 75% of all stained glass in Canada. Since 1856, they have created over 35,000 windows for churches and synagogues world-wide. I hope you enjoy this close-up review of the stained glass at Knox Church online (best followed with a close-up inspection in person!) Any additional contributions or corrections are welcome.

A familiar sight to Knox-goers, the front cover of the Knox Songbook
"Hearts and Hands and Voices" features the windows above
the entrance doors on the East side of the church.
The photograph was taken by Janine Suboch,
and the cover artwork was designed by Lisa Wilson.

 

Links:

A History of Stained Glass Windows
www.stainedglass.org/html/SGAAhistorySG.htm

An Overview of Iconoclasm, from the early church to the Taliban
www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2001/apr06.html

Robert McCausland Ltd. of Toronto
www.eternalglass.com

Tiffany Stained Glass Windows at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC
www.metmuseum.org/explore/Tiffany/listsgw.htm

The Census of Stained Glass Windows in America
http://college.holycross.edu/organizations/csga/

The Registry of Stained Glass Windows in Canada
www.yorku.ca/sabrown/RSGCpage.html
 

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