The Interior Features of St Barts
Visitors to St Barts ofter remark on how much the interior design reminds them of an English country church. Certainly with its arched wooden ceiling and low walls it typifies the neo-gothic style chosen by Thomas Seaton Scott.
The oak panelling in the sanctuary was installed in 1952 in memory of the Reverend Canon Edward Hanington, rector from 1879 to 1917.
The pulpit is a memorial to the Venerable William Netten, rector of St Barts from 1933-1945, and his wife Agnes.
The eagle lectern is a memorial to three parishioners lost in the Boer War.
The stained white pine pews and the ceiling were made by early parishioner Henry Avery, cabinetmaker to the first three Governors General.
The first pew on the south side, containing five Victorian chairs and marked with the Royal arms, is the Vice-Regal pew, occupied by visiting members of the Royal family and Governors General. The second pew is used by members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, when present.
The heraldic shield of St. Bartholomew, above the door leading to the hall, was presented as a gift in 1993 to commemorate the church's 125th anniversary.
At the ceiling line along both sides of the church are heraldic shields bearing the coats-of-arms of Canada's Governors General since Confederation. Most were painted by heraldic expert Alan Beddoe.
In 2013 a new pipe organ was installed, the first pipe organ in Ottawa for a generation. Built by Orgues Létourneau of Saint Hyacinthe, it has 17 stops and over 1,000 pipes.
In 1973, St Barts became the regimental church of the Governor General's Foot Guards. At the back of the church hang two stands of colours presented to the regiment, and that were deposited in the church when they were retired. The fifth stand hangs behind the organ console, the sixth stand above the choir.
In the rear foyer hangs an Irish tapestry dating from Earl Grey's time as Governor General between 1904 and 1911.
The bells hanging above the entranceway were a gift from Princess Louise, wife of Governor General the Marquess of Lorne, in 1880. One of the bells cracked and over time the original belfry (at the organ end of the church) deteriorated, causing the bells to be silent for some years until a new belfry was constructed above the entrance porch in 1952. The porch and belfry were reconstructed once again in 1985.
Church of St. Bartholomew
