History of Christ Church Woodburn

Christ Church, Woodburn, is located in the former Township of Binbrook (now part of Greater Hamilton) which was established in 1792. Woodburn was a distinct and thriving village within the boundaries of Binbrook.

Although churches of other denominations were established during the early years of Binbrook, it was some time before a serious initiative was taken to establish an Anglican Church. See the chronology below.

July 16, 1837: Major-General Sir George Leith and his son George Leith, Esquire, were sent out as a deputation by the Mayor of Woodburn to call on the Archdeacon in Toronto to ask for financial assistance to place a clergyman in Woodburn.  The Archdeacon wrote back to the Mayor that, as soon as funds became available, money would be sent but strongly advised them to go ahead and build the church.

October 29, 1837: The Rev M. O’Neill preached in Woodburn with the help of Sir George Leith. The services were held in the Steam Mill schoolhouse.

November 30, 1839: The Rev John Flanagan came from Hamilton to take charge of the parish and to provide services.

January 7, 1840: The first burial was conducted in the attached cemetery for Mr Duff’s son, John.  The tombstone still stands there to this day.

February 14, 1841: Sand was hauled from Lake Ontario to build the church foundation on the site where the present church stands today. It was a rough-cast building.  The names of the families involved in the building of the church were: Webb, McKerlie, Duff, Benner, Cooper, Woodhouse, McCabe, Twiss, Foster, Hales and Leith.

June 15, 1841: The church opened for services. The silver communion service and a church organ were donated by Sir George Leith. The font – still standing today – was donated by the family of Jordan McGillycuddy.

January 18, 1842: The first marriage ceremony was conducted in the church. The married couple were Mr & Mrs Newell.

June 10, 1884: The current stone-built church was opened for worship services with the Rev Thomas Smith as Rector, the original church having been replaced at a cost of $3,000. The seating capacity of the new church was for 200 people.

Woodburn was a thriving village in the late 19th and first part of the early 20th century with a population of 2,000 or more.  The church was well supported by the farming community and local businesses around the village.

There were other buildings on the site. A Parish Hall was erected close to Woodburn Road in the 19th century. It was separate from the church building.  For a while it served as an annex to the nearest school. History was to repeat itself because after World War 2 the school again made temporary use of the Parish Hall until 1954.

The Parish Hall housed a meeting space for several community groups and an administrative office for the church. It was also used by the Sunday School. The Hall also had a kitchen which was managed by the Woodburn Women’s Institute. The WI also raised funds for a piano to be set up in the Hall in 1950.

In the 1940’s attendance at Christ Church fell to an all-time low but with the post-war baby boom numbers quickly picked up, even to the point of supporting two services on Sunday mornings.

The Parish Hall was eventually pulled down. Work on a new Parish Hall was commenced in 1969 and it was opened in 1971. The big advantage of the new hall is that it is close to the church and linked to it by a covered walkway.

Christ Church Woodburn celebrated its 180th anniversary in 2017 and, by the grace of God, looks forward to many more celebrations to come.