Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

St. Paul's Anglican Church in Potton dates from 1902 and is the Church to the north of the War Memorial, on Mansonville's rue Principale.  St Paul's was built “ on the site of a former Baptist Church, which was acquired by the Anglicans under the guidance of Reverend John Godden around 1860 »^[1] (built in 1847-1848).

According to Taylor, this was a “ brick church », and would have been used by the Anglicans for nearly half a century.  Reverend John Godden was its first minister.  Plate # 122 in Potton d'antan, Yesterdays of Potton shows a picture of the first Anglican Church and confirms the brick exterior!  Prior to the establishment of this Church in Mansonville, people of the Anglican faith were served by a series of what might best be called travelling missionary ministers sent by the Archbishop. 

The Constitutional Act of 1791 which separated Upper and Lower Canada, also formally established the Church of England as the Church of State.  It was the Proclamation of 1792 that established Church reserves, equivalent to one seventh of the total territory of a Township.  The first Anglican Church in the Eastern Townships was established in 1829, in Hatley.^[2] The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a Medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246, meaning the English Church.^[3] 

The architectural style of the Anglican Church in Potton is vernacular neo-gothic, a style typified throughout the rural Townships, and much favoured at the time.  Brick buttresses flank the Church and further define a Gothic style.  Arched windows, door and trefoil window, as well as the tower are elements designed to lead the eye heavenward.  Set off to the Church's side, and forming the vestibule of the Church, again a common practice, is St. Paul's bell tower.  The Church's arched wooden front door matches the exterior windows in form.

Originally the bell tower looked much different than at present.  Plate # 123 of Potton d'antan, Yesterdays of Potton clearly shows the architectural detail of the original: an intricate bell tower, with a platform roof, suggestive of a crown surmounted with what appears to be a large ringed cross, perhaps a Celtic cross.  Wood rot took its toll.  The platform was replaced in the 1930's with the present angled roof of more efficient design for our snowy climate, but definitely less aesthetically pleasing, if you'll forgive my editorial comment.  The matching crosses adorning the roof peaks, shown in Plate # 123, seem to have disappeared over time.  Unlike most of the Townships' early Anglican churches, ours was built of brick.  Most others were typically wood clad.  

It was many of the wealthier merchants of the area who largely financed the construction of the present church.  There is evidence in the fabric of the Church that many of its patrons were Freemasons, since symbols common to that organization and to the Church, are present in the structure, such as the trefoil window mounted high in the faà§ade, symbolic of the Trinity, the cross pattée of the Knights Templar, the five pointed star or sacred pentagram, of symbolism to the Masonic order, an ancient symbol of Spirit.

David Ames Manson (1841-1929), a founder of St. John's (Masonic) Lodge No 27 A.F. & A.M.G.R.Q. and member of the Royal Arch for 65 years, was an influential member of the Building committee for the Church. 

The fact that the church was built of brick, when few in Mansonville were, indicates the will for this structure to endure, and that there was considerable money available for its construction.  Most of the fine collection of arched stained glass windows bear names of well-known local families: the Boright, Manson and Perkins families were some who underwrote the cost.  Gas jets, still present on the interior walls, show that the church could have been illuminated by coal oil, or perhaps, naphtha gas lighting. 

The church hall attached to the south side also has a history.  It originally started life as a two-storey building.  The lower storey was an open fronted stable for wealthy parishioners to house their horses during services or for social occasions, while the upper floor was used as a meeting hall.  In 1927, when a party was in progress, the building began to sway and so it was rapidly decided to eliminate the stables and maintain the upper floor.  The building we see now is otherwise much intact. 

The original presbytery was the house immediately in front of St. Paul's, on rue Principale.  This was sold in 1970.  There has been no resident pastor for St. Paul's since 1993.  There are no written records about the maintenance of the church as would appear in vestry papers or minutes of meetings before about 1990.  They might have been lost or destroyed when the presbytery was sold^[4].

Paul the Apostle (c. AD5 - c. AD67) variously referred to as the Apostle Paul or Saint Paul, also known as Saul of Tarsus, was perhaps the most influential early Christian missionary.  The writings ascribed to him by the Church form a considerable portion of the New Testament.  The influence on Christian thinking of the epistles ascribed to him has been significant, due in part to his association as a prominent apostle of Christianity during the spreading of the Gospel through early Christian communities across the Roman Empire.  According to the writings of the New Testament, Paul, known as Saul prior to his conversion, was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus.  While travelling from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission “ to bring them which there were bound unto Jerusalem », the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light.  Saul was struck blind, but after three days, his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul's conversion dramatically changed the course of his life.  Along with Simon Peter and James the Just, he was one of the most prominent early Christian leaders – teaching of the life and works of Jesus Christ and of a New Covenant established through Jesus' death and resurrection.^[5]