Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

No. 313: St. Luke's Anglican Church in Red Deer

St. Luke's Anglican Church is the oldest church in Red Deer.

And according to historian Dorothy Field, construction of the sandstone church took almost a decade.

The church was started in 1898 and was completed in 1906. It was designed by the Edmonton architectural firm of Edmonston and Johnson, who were assisted by Reverend Joshua Hinchcliffe, who was the Rector of St. Luke's.

The first Rector of St. Luke's turned out to be a man of many talents and varied interests, and designing churches was just one.

Reverend Hinchcliffe was trained as an architect before he became an Anglican minister. After the church was finished, he left Red Deer in 1907. Subsequently he was chaplain in the army in World War One. After that he went to B.C., where he became involved in political life there and was elected to the legislature. And after that he became a lawyer, and was called to the bar in the 1930s.

The architects called for sandstone to build St. Luke's Anglican Church in Red Deer. But the stone they chose has an unusual look to it.

The sandstone must have been quarried in the area, because it's different from the usual sandstone that's seen, for instance, in Calgary, which is yellow in colour. This stone is grey.

The church looks like an English parish church, a country church. It's quite squat in its proportions - that's sort of wider than tall. It has a tower with battlements along the top, and has pointed windows. So it's a Gothic Revival style of church.

St. Luke's Anglican Church is located at 49th avenue and 54th Street in Red Deer. It was declared an historical resource in 1977, and still serves as an active church.

On the Heritage Trail,

I'm Cheryl Croucher.

Close this window

Albertasource.ca | Contact Us | Partnerships
            For more on the Aboriginal history of Alberta, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.