Community Partners:
The Fraser Heritage Society, Harrison Mills, BC

Project Directors:
Beverly Kennedy, Fraser Heritage Society
Email: bevken@uniserve.com
Dr. Diane Tolomeo, Department of English, University of Victoria
Email: dtolomeo@uvic.ca

Collaborator: Jennifer Iredale, BC Heritage Branch
http://www.heritage.gov.bc.ca

Student researchers:
CURA Student Assistantships: Rachel Edwards, English; Tina Lowery, History in Art; Natasha Slik, Medieval Studies
Directed Studies: Natasha Slik, Medieval Studies
Youth Community Action Program: Rachel Edwards, English

This project focuses on researching approximately 100 liturgical textiles in the collection of St. John the Divine Anglican Church in Yale, BC. St. John the Divine is one of the oldest churches in the province, and many of the handmade textiles appear to date back to the time of its origins in the 1860s. The Church is now de-sanctified and designated as a Provincial Heritage Site.

The Church was associated with the All Hallows Anglican girls school that operated in Yale from 1884-1920. Part of the research concentrates on the production of textiles for the Church by the faculty and students of the school. Research includes an analysis of the technical construction of the textiles to help determine their origins. The study of the St. John the Divine collection has been contextualized within a broader history of the production of Anglican liturgical textiles, particularly in Western Canada. Comparisons have been made between the Yale pieces and those from other sites. Oral history interviews with members of Anglican textile guilds, sanctuary committees, and descendents of students from All Hallows School helped fill out the research.

An exhibition will travel to Western Trinity University and the Kamloops Museum in the fall and winter of 2002-2003, the St. John the Divine Church in Yale in the summer of 2003, and to the Maltwood Gallery at UVic in the Spring of 2004. A catalogue will accompany the exhibition and will be a record of the research. A permanent exhibiton will be mounted at St. John the Divine historical site.

The special Fall 2002 issue of British Columbia Historical News for Women's History Month featured articles by students Rachel Edwards and Natasha Slik on their CURA research.

Church of St. John the Divine collection

Wall hanging
Missal stand cover
Lamb of God altar frontal
Left to right: Rachel Edwards, Bev Kennedy, Jennifer Iredale, Doreen Stephens, Natasha Slik
Dr. Diane Tolomeo and Rachel Edwards examining textiles with Beverly Kennedy in Yale