Awesome gift alert: stained glass from St. Matthews Church

Here's a late addition to my 2013 Local History Buff's Christmas Gift Guide: stained glass windows from Winnipeg's St. Matthews Anglican Church ! How does a sheaf of prairie wheat or a 5 foot tall St. Paul rank in terms of a unique gift ?!

St. Matthews Church has been part of the West End since 1896 and has been at St. Matthews Avenue and Maryland Street since 1913. A fire destroyed the 1913 building and was rebuilt in 1946 - 47. (You can read more about the history of St. Matthews Church in my series here).

At present the church is in the final stages of becoming the West End Commons, a 26-unit apartment block that is being constructed inside the shell of the church. Many of the community services currently offered and a smaller St. Matthews Church chapel will remain.

In order to reconfigure the building for its new use, a lot of St. Matthews' wonderful stained glass had to be removed and it is being sold off to help raise money for the conversion.

1916 ad, Manitoba Free Press

The work is ca. 1946 - 1947 by Robert McCausland Ltd. of Toronto and range in size and price.

For some great interior shots of the church as it was with the windows in situ go here. Keep in mind that some have already been sold and a selection has already been reinstalled in the east wall where the new chapel will be situated.

Here are some of the items available:

Geometric $350 (each)

11.5" x 51" or 56"

Wheat and Flowers $500 (each)

14" x 54" or 64"

 Lilies $300 (one bunch), $350 (two bunches)

11" x 32", 41" or 46"

Cherubs $400 (each)
 14" x 54" or 64"

Ten Commandments and Bible $500 (pair)

Alpha and Omega $500 (pair)

Assorted Saints ($3,500 obo)

Someone left the saint making machine on all night and St. Matthews needs to find them new homes ! Choose from Peter, Paul, Andrew, Philip, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah and Amos, (go here for close up shots of each). These are five feet in height !

 1913 Geometric ($500 - includes $250 tax receipt)

 19.5" x 11.5"

Anyone who has renovated an old building knows that there are always surprises inside the walls. At St. Matthews they found ten of these century-old stained glass window panels behind the plaster ! They have been restored and come with a $250 tax receipt.

For more information about St. Matthews' windows visit their website or contact 
Cathy at 204-774-1846 or stmatwpg@mts.net