"St. Stephen’s Anglican Church National Historic Site of Canada is a small, stone church, combining Québec architectural traditions with the strong influence of the Palladian style. Located in the town of Chambly, southeast of Montréal in the Richelieu Valley, the church sits in a picturesque location, set back from the street and surrounded by trees and a very old cemetery. Fort Chambly National Historic Site of Canada and the Richelieu River are located in close proximity to the church. Official recognition refers to the building on its legal property.
Heritage Value
St. Stephen’s Anglican Church was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1970 because:
- it remains an outstanding example of early 19th century Canadian ecclesiastical architecture.
St. Stephen’s Anglican Church was erected in 1820 to serve the garrison at nearby Fort Chambly as well as a small civilian Anglican population. Side galleries and box pews were added in the 1830s to increase the amount of space available for the garrison. The design of the church is a simple and harmonious combination of characteristics from two architectural traditions. The materials, proportions and small scale of the church are reminiscent of traditional Québec church architecture, while the organization and ornamentation of the church exterior, and features such as the tiered steeple, the porch, and the window openings reflect the influence of the Palladian style brought to Québec by English immigrants.
Character-Defining Elements
Key elements contributing to the heritage value of this historic site include:
- its location in the town of Chambly;
- its massing and its features related to Québec building traditions, including, its small scale, rectangular floor plan ending in a semi-circular apse, and its coursed fieldstone walls;
- features that reflect Palladian influences including, the organization and ornamentation of the three-bay gable façade with a single central entry under a columned porch, the Venetian window in the apse, the three-tiered steeple, the semi-circular-headed windows, the Tuscan-columned front porch, and the main entrance with its double doors and semi-circular glass transom;
- features typical of early nineteenth-century Anglican churches, including, its open “speaking-box” interior with galleries supported by columns, its box pews, altar, pulpit, lectern and baptismal font;
- the cut-stone trim at the corners and as door and window surrounds;
- the decorative keystone treatment above all window openings;
- its fine wood detailing, notably the moulded, returned eaves, the classical trim with Tuscan pilasters and capitals, blind transoms, Tuscan-pilaster window frames with capitals;
- interior features dating to the early 19th century, including, boxed pews with panelled doors, panelled side galleries, channelled Tuscan pillars supporting the galleries, the barrel-vaulted ceiling, the moulded plaster cornice, delicate, classical-style interior trim, the wooden altar rail following the curve of the apse, the Tuscan-style woodwork of the organ case, the panelled pulpit and lectern, and the stone baptismal font;
- its relationship to its immediate setting, including the setback from the street and the cemetery surrounding the church;
- its proximity to Fort Chambly."
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