Christ Church - Amherst, NS
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T0SHEA
N 45° 50.016 W 064° 12.824
20T E 405736 N 5076275
Set back from the north side of Victoria Street, Christ Church (Anglican) is the oldest church remaining in Amherst and one of the oldest buildings in the town, having been first built in 1822.
Waymark Code: WMPK7A
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/11/2015
Views: 4
Very much Gothic Revival in its execution, its square bell tower with open belfry surrounded by a crenellated top is positively Medieval in appearance. While the majority of the religious and commercial buildings in the downtown core are built of red sandstone from the local Amherst Redstone Quarry, this church, though it is a matching hue of red, was built of brick. This is because it was constructed decades before the opening of the quarry.
N.B. - While Historic Places Canada indicates the church to have been built ca. 1825, the church itself indicates that it was initially built in 1822 and consecrated September 22, 1827 by the Right Rev. John Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia. The first Anglican services in the area were held in June of 1752, held by the Reverend Thomas Wood.
The church hasn't always been on its present site, as it was originally built in West Amherst and, as the town grew eastward, was dismantled and reassembled on its present site, about three kilometres west of where it once stood, where the present Anglican cemetery stands on West Victoria Street. The first service in the newly rebuilt and relocated church was held on Christmas Day, 1846 and it was again consecrated by Bishop John Inglis, this time on June 27,1847. Still later, in 1877, a five sided chancel, designed by P. W. St. George, was added to the east end.
Its belfry, if it can be so called, is open, with the church's bell open to the elements, "blowing in the breeze", as it were. It's the only one of its type we've encountered to date.
The church is another proud possessor of a tracker-action organ built by Casavant Frères, which was donated by Beatrice Knight Carter and dedicated on March 15, 1964 in memory of those “Who Sacrificed Their Lives During the Two World Wars.
Christ Church
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
60 Victoria Street East, also known as Christ Church, is a modest, one-and–a-half storey Gothic Revival brick Anglican church tucked discreetly behind Victoria Square on the north side of Amherst, Nova Scotia's main street. The church has stood on this site since 1846, but was built circa 1825. The building and property are included in the municipal designation.
HERITAGE VALUE
Christ Church is valued as one of the oldest buildings in Amherst. It is also valued for its architectural design and for its unique vernacular interpretation of the crucifix floor plan. Also valued are the two styles of brick bond that were used in its construction. The red brick Gothic church is one of a cluster of stone and brick buildings erected in this downtown area of Amherst at the turn of the twentieth century, and is valued as being part of this unique Maritime streetscape.
Historical Value: About 1825, the Anglican community had builder George Revelle erect a brick church in the area now called West Amherst. The town gradually spread eastward, so in 1846, the church was dismantled and reassembled on its present site, which is about three kilometers east of its original location. Bricks from the original building were incorporated into the walls of the new church.
Architectural Value: This modest church is relatively unadorned except for its stained glass windows and distinctive Gothic Revival features, specifically the slightly-pointed arches over the doors and windows, the height of the gables, the steeply-pitched roof surfaces, and the tall narrow lancet windows. P. W. St.George designed a unique five-sided chancel that was added to the east end of the existing structure in 1877. This distinctive bay has a five-sided sloped roof, and each surface of the roof has a narrow gothic dormer with a lancet window extending down into the chancel wall. The chancel and the other wings of the church create its unique vernacular interpretation of the crucifix floor plan. Also of note are the two styles of brick bond used in the church's construction.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Character-defining elements of 60 Victoria Street East include:
- vernacular crucifix floor plan;
- original size and massing;
- construction of red brick using two styles of brick bond, Flemish and Stretcher;
- five-sided chancel;
- location in Amherst's downtown core.
Character-defining Gothic Revival elements of 60 Victoria East Street include:
- one-and-a half storeys;
- slightly-pointed arch over windows and doorways;
- lancet windows;
- tall, narrow dormers and gables;
- steeply pitched roof.
From Historic Places Canada