inSPIREd Sunday

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!

June 2015 - Toronto ON

Holy Trinity Church, located behind the Eaton Centre in Trinity Square Park is open to the public from 11-3 weekdays.

You can read an interesting article about the church here along with historical photos around the area.

The modest Gothic Revival structure was built in 1847 by architect Henry Bowyer Lane, who also designed Little Trinity Anglican Church on King Street and St. George the Martyr Church in Toronto. The funds for its construction were a gift from Mary Lambert Swale of Settle, England. Swale had originally made the donation anonymously, but her name was eventually revealed. She had provided the gift with the stipulation that the church be open to the public, with no reserved pews.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Strachan was a key figure in the Family Compact. Yet after the 1837 rebellion, he faced criticism over his affluent lifestyle and the church’s dominance. With the money, Strachan hired Henry Bowyer Lane to design the church, to be located in St. John’s Ward, on the site of an estate northwest of Yonge and Queen. Almost 50 years later, it was revealed that the mystery donation came from a young British woman named Mary Lambert Swale. Born to a family of wealthy bankers and lawyers, she married Hogarth Swale, a Yorkshire Anglican priest. Though they never visited Canada, the couple learned about Toronto from Strachan’s articles in an Anglican journal. Swale died in May, 1845, at the age of 25. The bequest had been part of her will, as was a similar gift to establish a place of worship for Australian convicts.