In September 1859 under Rev. I.P. Curran, construction began on the first Anglican Church on Victoria Street in Southampton where the Lawn Bowling Club exists today.
On November 4th, 1886, the Church was destroyed in the Great Fire of Southampton and, the Church today was then built in 1887 and consecrated on October 7, 1891.
This year, 2019, the congregation celebrated the 160th anniversary of St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Sunday, July 7th with special Presider and Celebrant, The Rt. Rev. Linda Nicholls, Bishop of Huron.
The church of yellow brick was built based on the collective memory of members who had moved from the British Isles and the mave ceiling beams form the shape of an ark or ship. The rood screen, baptismal font, communion rail, some pews, the communion silver, two chalices, paten and ewer were all saved from the fire of 1886 and are in the church today.
The bell tower was erected in 1907 and the bell is inscribed “Calling All to Worship”.
Today, the church also has a spacious addition, Bevan Hall, that is widely used not only by the church but also by the community. The sod turning took place in July, 2013 and construction began on the hall with carefully selected brick matching the church exterior along with many amenities including an elevator for accessibility, a large kitchen, energy-efficient lighting, screen and sound system.
On Sunday, a new butterfly garden was also officially consecrated by Bishop Nicholls as young people of the congregation watered in the plantings.
