Monday, November 8, 2010

St. George's Anglican/ My World

A "summer church," Sibbald Point, Ontario

Finished in 1877, St. George's Anglican was built of hand-hewn stones, each one carefully inspected to make sure none contained iron. But wait! When no one was watching on the west side, the builders slipped in a few stones containing iron. Over the years, the rust stains have given away their secret!

I suspect the spruce grew taller and bigger than anyone thought it would because it hides...


The window somewhat behind the spruce tree in the first photo

a window, which is a bit tricky to capture on digital from the outside but easy from...


Stained glass from inside the church, the same window as in the second photo

the inside where it's cool and damp so only used for Sunday worship services or weddings during the summer months.  It's conveniently located next to the Sibbald Provincial Park on Lake Simcoe so a popular tourist destination.

The glass depicts the story of St. George and the dragon. If your curious about St. George, you can find out more HERE.






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53 comments:

Lily Riani said...

wow! nice pics.

B SQUARED said...

They should have "ironed-out" those problems by now.

SRQ said...

Nice old church -- really like that second pic.

Halcyon said...

Wow! This is really beautiful. I love the story about the stones. :)

Akelamalu said...

What a wonderful church. I love stained glass windows.

Thanks for visiting me and taking the time to comment. :)

George said...

This is a beautiful church, and the stained glass window is stunning. Thanks for sharing the story about the iron in the stones.

Lowell said...

Stone churches (or other buildings) are quite attractive in my opinion...but why didn't they want iron - 'cause it would leech out?

Nice shots, here, EG. That stained-glass window is something else.

When I first met Lois Anne, she belonged to a St. George Episcopal Church in Minnesota.

Andrea said...

I wonder why they did not like stones with iron, maybe it will give much nicer colors of red and brown to the walls. I just wonder of its strength thru time! But it looks it did not matter, because it has been standing there for a long time!

Leif Hagen said...

Heavenly photos of a marvelous church with beautiful architectural details!

Kerri Farley said...

The stone is FABULOUS but the stained glass..... I don't know if there are words for that. STUNNING!

Birdman said...

Always enjoy taking a look at stained glass photos. Did 'hard' time in a church growing up with beautiful windows to ponder during Mass. hahaha!

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous post as always and what a delightful old church!! Gorgeous window! I always enjoy learning about the history of these old churches/buildings and loved learning about the old stones! Fascinating! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Sylvia

cieldequimper said...

This is extremely English: Roman style and St George with the dragon and even the English flag. Hmmm... :-)

Linda said...

Beautiful old church...lovely window!

Lorna said...

Love this church. It could almost draw me in, in spite of my 35-year inability to be spiritually comfortable in church.

Sally in WA said...

Such a beautiful church. Have a great week!

Shirley said...

I love photos of old churches, particularly with stained glass like this one! Beautiful windows and architecture!

I think the preference for stone without iron was due to rusting. The colour of the rust will run to the next stones, thus "disfiguring" the wall.

RedPat said...

Lovely stained glass. It's almost like a secret window from the outside.

Carver said...

That's a beautiful church and funny about the iron. I guess time reveals most secrets.

SouthernSass said...

This is such a lovely church! It seems a shame that it can only be used during the summer.

Penelope Notes said...

I marveled at the churches with stain glass windows in Europe recently. But it is particularly meaningful to see this gorgeous "younger” stain glass window in a Canadian church. :)

giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...

Meravigliosa questa chiesa.
Mi è piacita molto la vetrata colorata con Sam Giorgio.
Buona serata :)
Myriam

Photo Cache said...

what a lovely stone church. i like going in churches and admire the interiors.

Ebie said...

I agree with you about taking photos (stained glass)from the outside. I have tried that and it was easier from the inside.

I love its stone structure.

Martha Z said...

I'm glad you expained the concern about iron in the rocks, it never would have occured to me that it would cause rust stains.

I'll share a soap box with you any day.

Kay L. Davies said...

What a beautiful old church. Too bad about the dampness inside. I guess they've tried to figure out a solution, so there probably isn't one.
I really enjoyed the tour. I love the window, and the great huge tree.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Anonymous said...

Pure beauty. We can't build this kinds of treasures anymore...

Jack said...

Beautiful church. Thanks for the education, especially about the search for no-iron. The inside photo of the stained glass is special.

penny said...

What a fantastic old church. Imagine all the hard work that went into those hand made stones.

B i r g i t t a said...

Beautiful church and surroundings - like your story about it :)
http://foto.rudenius.se/post/2010/11/08/My-World-Today.aspx

Carolyn Ford said...

The colors and textures of this church are incredible. What a beauty to photograph. The stained glass windows are something special.

Nessa said...

Beautiful shots of a beautiful location.

VioletSky said...

I kind of like the iron look.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

What a nice structure. That spruce tree is huge. Lovely stained glass window.

lotusleaf said...

Nice , peaceful place.

Al said...

That's a wonderful old building, and I love the photos. That stained glass window is very impressive.

Michelle said...

Really nice pics. I do love an old church.

Tammie Lee said...

so many wonderful details in this building, thank you.

Unknown said...

rusting stones--that is so interesting! i hope the rust is not damaging the structure.

Anonymous said...

I love old stone churches! Great shots of both church and that amazing stained glass window.

Randy said...

That is amazing. That window is such a piece of art.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Very beautiful photos and I enjoyed the background information. Love the stained glass and it has a great story!

xx
Genie

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I love these old church buildings and the stained glass window is a great image. The story of St George and the Dragon is familiar from my childhood. I wonder if those old religious tales are a part of kids' lives now -- I don't even really remember reading them to my kids.

Animor said...

Beautiful photos of the old church. Nice shots.

Unknown said...

marvelous piece of architecture!

indicaspecies said...

The stained glass is very beautiful!
I'd love to spend sometime in the serene surroundings there.

Cezar and Léia said...

Dear EG, these pictures are wonderful!
The Church has a lovely architecture, and I love those stones!Also the stained glass is outstanding!
Léia

NatureFootstep said...

that´s a beautiful building. :)

Kathy said...

It looks like we all were duly impressed with yur photographs and history of this church. Thanks!

Small City Scenes said...

Oh EG this church is beautiful and you captured it perfectly---even the the story about the iron in the stone.
The window is beautiful as is the rest of the church. MB

Hildred said...

Lovely church, - St. George and the Dragon make a striking pair.

Reader Wil said...

I love old churches and especially stained glass windows. Thanks for your visit!

Rose said...

Fabulous!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.