The story of Christ Church, Meaford, is one of faith and commitment to the glory of God.
It begins in 1842 when the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent The Rev. S. B. Ardagh as a missionary priest to cover the area from Orillia to St. Vincent Township. Meaford was visited once a year, with the services held in Stephenson’s Inn. The first Anglican service, however, was conducted by The Rev. Mulholland in 1856.
The following year, the Diocese of Huron was constituted and in 1859, The Rev. James Hutchinson was appointed to reside in Meaford. He covered a large territory ministering not only to Meaford but also to Bruce County, Thornbury, and the townships of Collingwood, St. Vincent and Euphrasia. He preached his first sermon in this parish on August 7, 1859.
The parish held its first vestry meeting on December 30, 1859 and elected Peter Fuller as treasurer. Mr. Fuller held that office until his death in 1890. He is buried in the churchyard.
The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Cronyn, Bishop of Huron, paid his first visit in February 1860, confirming thirty candidates. In 1861, the parish decided to build a church and signed a contract, committing themselves to $600, a sum that at the time must have seemed almost beyond reach, especially considering there was said to be only $6 cash on hand. The project was a frame structure and was completed and consecrated as Christ's Church, Meaford by Bishop Cronyn on August 6, 1862.
In 1867, the church bell was presented and the ladies of the church took on the task of raising money to build the tower and belfry. Christ Church was originally the Mother Church for St. James’, Fairmount and St. Thomas'. The former dates back to a wooden structure erected in 1867 and replaced by the present building forty years later. St. Thomas' was built on the 9th Line north in St. Vincent Township about 1868. After 20 years, St. Thomas' Church was deconsecrated and eventually demolished. The large stone font was moved from St. Thomas' to Christ Church and is still in use as the parish's primary font.
The parish again demonstrated faith and commitment when, in 1876, it decided to build the nave of the present day stone church. That spring, a corner stone of the new Christ Church was laid on top of a vial placed in a receptacle. The vial contains a copy of the Globe, the Mail and the Monitor newspapers, the Canadian Almanac, and a scroll with an inscription which begins: “In the name and by favour of God Almighty on the 27th day of May, 1876, in the 39th year of the Reign of Our Gracious Queen
Victoria.”
By the end of that year, the nave was completed but unfurnished and the parish was indebted for five times annual receipts. Other than the addition of electric lights in 1890, there were no major projects in the parish until 1909. It was then that the current bell tower, parish hall building, and connecting hallway to the main church were constructed. These features had been part of the original architect’s plans and the parish decided it was in a position to proceed. The addition replaced the original frame church that had been used in later years to house the Sunday School.
Construction halted until 1939 when the ablebodied men of the parish followed the incumbent, The Rev. Harold Appleyard, in constructing a basement under the church with a passageway under the cloister to link it with the parish hall basement. Only the concrete work was not voluntary labour. However, World War II interrupted the progress until time and opportunity permitted its completion.
It was not until 1956 that it was opened as the Memorial Hall, and dedicated to the memory of all parishioners over the previous 96 years. In the meantime the parish decided to replace the hot air furnaces with a steam heating plant for the church and hall.In 1946, a boiler room was excavated outside the north wall of the cloister and St. George’s Chapel built over it.
When the Rev. Appleyard returned after serving as a Chaplain overseas with the Royal Regiment of Canada in the Canadian Army, he had windows shipped back, made from fragments of glass he had collected from war damaged windows in churches in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. They were installed on the north wall of the church and the south wall of the cloister. He viewed these windows as representing the necessity and ability of Christian people to rebuild a world which, though bearing the marks of suffering, has a beauty which glorifies God.
The organ underwent a major upgrading in 1958 with the replacement of the instrument with a Legge Organ. The old pipes, still in excellent shape, were enhanced with additional pipes in the late 1980s.
New outside doors were another major project in the 1980s. In addition, renovations to the two-story Parish Hall resulted in friendlier and more serviceable meeting areas, an additional washroom and more efficient office space for the Rector and staff.
In 1991, the parish made the necessary renovations to make render the entire church/hall complex fully accessible. Also in 1991, the parish began a window restoration project, beginning with the great east window behind the altar. This outstanding feature of the church dates back to the Allen McLean Howard family donations in 1876. Mrs. Howard laid the cornerstone of the church, and the silver trowel rests in a box mounted on the wall at the back of the church.
There was a significant redesign of the sanctuary and chancel layout in 2017. In the post-COVID era, the floor of the nave was renovated with hardwood in 2024 and the pews refinished in 2025. All this was thanks to generous bequests from the Maxwell family.
In 2026, the bell tower was found to be in need of significant repairs. Steps were undertaken by the parish to preserve and repair this aspect of Christ Church's building.