Doors Open Ontario-St Thomas view

I can't believe that I didn't get a shot of the outside of this church. This "Old St Thomas Church" was our first stop today. This is the oldest church in St Thomas and the graveyard beside it has been fully documented. The church has complete records of births, marriages and deaths. Very knowledgeable volunteers were on site to give us lots of local history and answer our questions. The top picture here shows the upper level doorway where I went to get a better shot of the pews below. I was surprised by what looks like an old large archway which had been filled in to create regular door opening.Below that the left hand picture shows the church which is filled with "family boxes". we were told that families paid $2/year for the small box and $3/year for a large box. This ensured that the minister would get paid and have money to run the church. we were also told that the upper left hand side balcony type box was used by prisoners who were led down the street from the jail to be saved by the Sunday sermons. The box has a small ladder attached on the front and it is thought that another ladder led to that which allowed the prisoners access to the box. We were also told that there remains graffiti in that box which would not have been made by a true Christian. Deb is standing inside a large family box to give us an idea of the spaciousness. The doors on the boxes were designed to keep out drafts in the unheated building. The stained glass is framed by large prints showing the lord's prayer. Outside that wall of the church is the edge of a very large gully.