Our History

The village of Lakefield opened its first Anglican church on Christmas Day, 1854. The small stone building, centrally located on the main thoroughfare of Queen Street, was named Christ Church and is the precursor to our modern-day congregation at St John the Baptist.

It wasn't long before Christ Church outgrew its tiny stone chapel. Just ten years after it first opened, the decision was made to relocate to a new building. In 1866, the growing congregation began worshipping at their new home, St. John the Baptist, under the guidance of its first priest, The Rev. Vincent Clementi.

Christ Church didn’t sit empty however. Until the early 1950s, the historic building was used by St. John's as a location for Sunday School classes. Today, Christ Church is officially designated as a "Chapel of Ease" under the sponsorship of St. John's. It is used primarily as a community museum to honour the pioneers that established Lakefield as a thriving community on the Otonabee River. The museum is open seasonally and occasional worship services are held at Christ Church during the warmer months.

Find out more about Christ Church Museum here.