History

The original Anglican

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

 services were held in Britannia in 1886 sometimes on a cottage porch and sometimes outside among the pines. Later, in 1892, the original St. Stephen's was built in Britannia Village through the efforts of Mr. A.N. McNeil. The Church building was consecrated 25 years later in 1916.

Until 1909 St. Stephen's was part of the Nepean Mission

Nepean, Ontario

- Recent quantity of snow :- History :Nepean Township, originally known as Township D, was established in 1792 and originally included what is now the central area of Ottawa west of the Rideau River. Jehiel Collins, from Vermont, is believed to have been the first person to settle in Nepean...

 along with All Saints Westboro and St. Matthias Hintonburg

Hintonburg

Hintonburg is a neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a historically working-class, predominately residential neighbourhood, with a commercial strip located along Wellington Street West, located to the west of downtown...

. It then became part of All Saints and yet later a joint parish with St. Martins, Westboro.

In 1952 the decision was taken to create a separate parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 due to the growth of the Britannia area. A number of sites were considered before a final choice of the current Watson Street site was made.

The lower hall was built in 1953-54 and was used for services for 6 years with the Rev. Edwin Allsop as rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

. At the same time a rectory

Rectory

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

 was completed through the movement of an existing house to Watson Street. The old rectory was sold and the current rectory was constructed adjacent to the church in 1961 when the Rev. Eldon Davis was rector. In the following year the upper portion of the church building was added which allowed the lower hall to be used completely for a church school

Church school

A church school is a place of education, the precise nature of which varies from one national jurisdiction to another.The State of Alabama defines a church school as follows:...

.

The success of the church school was such that the lower hall was found to be inadequate to hold the enrolment of 244 students. A bequest

Bequest

A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...

 from Miss Mary Lark was used to provide the hall adjacent to the main church building in 1964. It was named after her as a memorial to her long association with the parish.

The Mary Lark Hall was the last major construction project financed through mortgages

Mortgage loan

A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

. All mortgages were retired in late 1989 with the formal consecration

Consecration

Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...

 of the parish taking place in February 1990.

Since then the Upper Mary Lark Hall has been renovated to accommodate Church School and a Montessori School by subdividing it into classrooms and the addition of an additional washroom.

The kitchen has also been completely renovated.

The worship space was renovated in the mid-1990s to put Christ

Christ

Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...

 in the midst of the congregation. This 4-year process involved consultations with the parish members and outside consultants. The altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

 was moved forward to a central location and the seating was arranged to point inwards toward the altar. A wall was built approximately where the old communion rail was located and behind this wall new choir rooms, a chapel and a storage area were built. This renovation also included new lighting, carpeting, new paint and a professional sound system

Sound reinforcement system

A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...

.

In 2006 the washrooms for the main hall were gutted and renovated resulting in a much needed increased capacity and handicapped availability.