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Her Majesty's Royal Chapel of the Mohawks in
1827 to present (chapel incumbents - resident clergy):
*The Reverend Robert Lugger (1827–1837)
*The Reverend Canon Jame Campbell Usher (1837)
*The Reverend A. Nelles (1837–1884)
*Archbishop R. Ashton (1885–1915)
*The Reverend C. M. Turnell (1915–1917)
*The Reverend C. H. P. Owen (1922–1929)
*The Reverend H. W. Snell (1929–1945)
*The Reverend Canon W. J. Zimmerman (1945–1981)
*The Reverend John Stables (1982–1999)
*The Reverend Norman Casey (2000–2003)
*The Reverend Larry Brown (2004–2016)
*The Reverend Rosalyn Elm (2017–present)
Mohawk Chapel website
{{Coord, 43.124432, -80.235, display=title Anglican church buildings in Ontario Royal chapels in Canada Buildings and structures in Brantford Tourist attractions in the County of Brant Churches completed in 1785 18th-century Anglican church buildings in Canada National Historic Sites in Ontario Cemeteries in Ontario
Brantford
Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...
, Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
is the oldest surviving church building in Ontario and was the first Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church in Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...
. It is one of only three Chapels Royal
A chapel royal is an establishment in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, British and Monarchy of Canada#Federal residences and royal household, Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family ...
in Canada. In 1981, the chapel was designated a National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...
.
History
Constructed in 1785 by the British Crown, the chapel was given to theMohawk people
The Mohawk, also known by their own name, (), are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people of North America and the easternmost nation of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the Five Nations or later the ...
led by Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...
for their support of the Crown during the American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. They had migrated to Canada after Britain lost the Thirteen Colonies and were awarded land for resettlement. Originally called ''St. Paul's'', the church is commonly referred to as the ''Mohawk Chapel''. It is part of the Anglican Diocese of Huron and has a chaplain appointed by the Bishop of Huron, in consultation with the congregation.
In 1850, the remains of Joseph Brant were moved from the original burial site in Burlington to a tomb at the Mohawk Chapel. His son, John Brant, was also interred in the tomb. Next to Brant's tomb is a boulder memorializing the writer Pauline Johnson
Emily Pauline Johnson (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913), also known by her Mohawk language, Mohawk stage name Tekahionwake (pronounced ''dageh-eeon-wageh'', ), was a Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the late 19th and earl ...
, who was born in the nearby Six Nations Reserve
Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of whom live on the reserve. The six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy ...
and attended services in the chapel.
In 1904, it was designated as a Chapel Royal
A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family.
Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...
by King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910.
The second child ...
.
Design
Architecturally, the chapel is a simple building with a rectangular floor plan; it is constructed of a wood frame faced with painted clapboards. It has been renovated several times. In November 2001, it suffered minor damage during two failed arson attempts. Originally, the entrance faced east to the canoe landing site on the bank of the Grand River, the transportation route. Eight stained glass windows, installed between 1959 and 1962, depict events from the history of the Six Nations of theIroquois
The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
.
Chaplains and associated clergy
1786 to 1827 (the first missionaries - no resident clergy): *The Reverend John Stuart of Kingston *The Reverend Dr. Addison of Niagara *The Reverend R. Leeming of Ancaster *The Reverend Mr. Hough of England
1827 to present (chapel incumbents - resident clergy):
*The Reverend Robert Lugger (1827–1837)
*The Reverend Canon Jame Campbell Usher (1837)
*The Reverend A. Nelles (1837–1884)
*Archbishop R. Ashton (1885–1915)
*The Reverend C. M. Turnell (1915–1917)
*The Reverend C. H. P. Owen (1922–1929)
*The Reverend H. W. Snell (1929–1945)
*The Reverend Canon W. J. Zimmerman (1945–1981)
*The Reverend John Stables (1982–1999)
*The Reverend Norman Casey (2000–2003)
*The Reverend Larry Brown (2004–2016)
*The Reverend Rosalyn Elm (2017–present)
See also
* Christ Church Royal Chapel, near Deseronto, Ontario *The Canadian Crown and Aboriginal peoples
The association between the monarchy of Canada and Indigenous peoples in Canada stretches back to the first interactions between North American Indigenous peoples and European colonialists and, over centuries of interface, treaties were estab ...
Notes and sources
External links
*Mohawk Chapel website
{{Coord, 43.124432, -80.235, display=title Anglican church buildings in Ontario Royal chapels in Canada Buildings and structures in Brantford Tourist attractions in the County of Brant Churches completed in 1785 18th-century Anglican church buildings in Canada National Historic Sites in Ontario Cemeteries in Ontario