Little Britain United Church, built between 1872 and 1874 by stonemason Duncan McRae, is the oldest United Church building in Manitoba and is designated as a Provincial Heritage Site (No. 36). Its cemetery is, in itself, a record of the history of the church and its people. Initially Presbyterian, the original congregation was served by Reverend John Black, the first Presbyterian minister at the Selkirk Settlement.

The church was constructed by two of the most important stonemasons of the era, John Clouston and Duncan McRae. The tower was added in 1920, along with a memorial to the dead of the First World War.

The first burial in the cemetery appears to be that of Catherine McKenzie, daughter of Angelique and Roderick McKenzie who was Chief Trader of the Hudson's Bay Post at Lower Fort Garry. Her headstone records her date of death as October 31, 1851. This was a few years before the Hudson's Bay Company granted land to the congregation of Little Britain which at that time was a Presbyterian church. Early records were mostly oral and according to some, the earliest burial in the "official cemetery" was that of the Scottish-born wife of John Clouston – no date provided. The first recorded burial was that of Murdock McDonald in 1869.

Many children, often several from one family were laid to rest in the cemetery, some with markers, most without. Records indicate causes of death such as whooping cough, diphtheria, pneumonia and typhoid fever amongst the diseases which claimed so many so prematurely. Consumption, "frozen to death" and "old age" were often stated as the cause of death of adults. According to records, the oldest person buried in the cemetery was 107 years old.

In 1928 Mr Chris Johnstone began the process of writing records spending much time in the cemetery speaking to visitors in an attempt to produce a map. From that time the cemetery has expanded to include the area between the church and the highway (in the 1950s) and in 2010 a columbarium was added. Record keeping and map refinement continue to this day.

A lot of information is still missing. Any help with filling in missing data or any corrections/pieces of information would be most welcome.

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Next to the church is a plaque, erected in 1983 by the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba, in commemoration of stonemason Duncan McRae. A stone cairn near the church was erected in 1933 to commemorate the beginning of worship in this Parish under Reverend John Black in 1853. It was relocated from the original site on River Road North of the Lockport Dam and was rededicated on 30 September 2012 to celebrate the 160th anniversary of services.

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Among the noteworthy people buried in its cemetery is Duncan McRae, a "Memorable Manitoban", per the Manitoba Historical Society.

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Plaques inside the church commemorate parishioners who were killed during military service in the First World War.

(Sources: Manitoba Historical Society and the Parish of Little Britain United Church [Excerpted and adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD10-14-13-04-E1

In the Rural Municipality of St Andrews

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A part of the story of the town and its inhabitants from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1999 is told in the volumes "Beyond the Gates of Lower Fort Garry 1889-1981" (especially starting on page 164) and "Beyond the Gates of Lower Fort Garry - A Sequel" (especially starting on page 45). Digital versions of these and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0311), transcribed by a member or members in 1987 and updated in 2001. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).

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Additionally, many records for defunct United congregations in Manitoba, and those of the sects that merged to form it, are now kept in their Archives and Records Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.