A holiday feast for the eyes: Take a drone tour of the Kirk

When Scottish immigrants in St. John's set about rebuilding their church after the Great Fire of 1892, they decided to really go for it.

Scottish merchants with deep pockets helped bankroll grander designs than the relatively small Presbyterian community could otherwise afford.

They imported boatloads of red bricks, kilned in Scotland and sailed across the Atlantic. They hired a renowned architect who would go on to design the Peace Tower in Ottawa. They filled their church with some of the finest stained glass windows Scottish craftspeople had ever produced.

"They really wanted to make a statement that they were bringing Scotland here to St. John's," said Heather MacLellan, board member at St. Andrew's Church.

"This is our monument to Scotland."

This year, St. Andrew's Church is celebrating 180 years in St. John's. The first Kirk was built in 1843, on the site where the current Kirk stands today.

The original church and its two subsequent iterations were destroyed by fire. After the Great Fire consumed the third Kirk, the congregation returned to the site of the original church and rebuilt on its stone foundations.

Those foundations are still visible beneath The Kirk today, as are intricate Celtic orbs and crosses that decorate the highest corners of the tallest bell tower in Atlantic Canada.

Such fascinating features aren't easily glimpsed by passersby or even keen-eyed visitors to the church. So we're bringing you a tour of the Kirk like no one has seen before: with a drone's eye view. 

Watch the video above to enjoy this holiday feast for the eyes.

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