The Iron Church, 1860-1985

Bruce K. Filson was a freelance writer and critic residing in Chesterville, Ontario.

This is the history of the Church of St. John the Divine in Victoria, B.C. It is a handsome book with 14 black-and-white plates and one fine sketch. Following the history of the Church through seven rectors, the book is packed with information and interesting tidbits. Stuart Underhill, who researched and wrote the book, is a newspaperman long on experience and intimately connected with the Church over the years.

Anglicans and Victorians, especially Anglicans in Victoria, will probably find this book a good read, though it is not sure that anyone else will. The challenge of local histories is to make them somehow more than local history, and The Iron Church, like so many others, fails the challenge. The style and subject matter prevent wider impact. It is written in stolid newspaper prose: short, choppy paragraphs. The stories, which are about tempests-in-teapots from today’s perspective, are strung together without any sense of development or implication.