One hundred and fifty years after opening for services, this little Anglican still holds regular services for the citizens of Bayswater and area. Still wearing its board and batten cladding, this church is about as original as they get. Evidently it hasn't experienced any real renovations in its century and a half of service. Well built, it has managed to hold up under the weight of the 318 kilogram bell which hangs in the bell tower centered on the front façade of the building, serving also as the main entrance.
It is possible that the chancel at the rear was a later addition, though if it was, it is entirely sympathetic to the design and construction of the rest of the church.
There are two All Saints Anglican Church cemeteries in Bayswater, the "Old" and the "New. The Old All Saints Anglican Church Cemetery is across the highway from the church, now made invisible from the highway by a heavy growth of underbrush. There are known to be about 35 graves without headstones in the cemetery, while about 100 graves have headstones. The oldest headstone in the cemetery is that of Charlotte Awalt, the wife of Joseph Awalt (1816 - 1906), who passed away on February 3, 1861 at the age of 35 years and 6 months. Note that this indicates the cemetery to be several years older than the present church.
The New All Saints Anglican Church Cemetery is just under one kilometer west from the church on the highway toward Blandford.
All Saints Anglican Church
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Built circa 1865, All Saints Anglican Church was the first Anglican church built in the Bayswater area of Nova Scotia. It stands beside Highway 329 at the head of a short flat plain overlooking the ocean. The municipal heritage designation applies to the building and surrounding property.
HERITAGE VALUE
All Saints Anglican Church is valued for its age, historical associations, method of construction and architecture.
Built circa 1865 by members of the congregation it was the first Anglican Church to serve the Bayswater/Blandford area, predating the Anglican church in Blandford by two years.
The church is a good example of post and beam construction using hand hewn beams and features stub (blind) tenons joints. The building rests on a granite foundation that still shows the marks of hand drills used by stone-cutters. This sturdy construction provides the church with the strength to carry its 318 kg bell, which rests in the steeple on the gabled end of the church.
The positioning of the steeple and main entrance on the gable end of the church is often associated with the Temple-style churches of the Greek Revival; however, the only other indication of this style is the placement of short return eaves on the gabled ends.
Similarly, only faint indications of the Gothic Revival style include the arch design of both the main entrance and rear entrance and lancet arch windows found in the steeple, combined with a single lancet arch window on the ground floor. Most of the windows in the church are rectangular and all of the doors and windows, including the lancet arch style, feature hoods constructed with attention to right angles; not the arches common to the Gothic Revival churches typical of this era.
Two unique exterior architectural elements are found in the church’s construction. Its board and batten exterior construction, which includes both the church and steeple tower, is an unusual characteristic for churches in this area. Also, careful inspection of the steeple reveals an octagonal steeple ornamented with four small hip roofs at the corners where the steeple meets the tower.
The interior of the church also features a unique architectural element, although added sometime after the original construction of the church. The interior ceiling of the church consists of highly decorative tin ceiling constructed in a modified gambrel style featuring two slopes, while the apex of the ceiling itself is a flat surface.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The exterior character-defining elements of All Saints Anglican Church include:
- board and batten construction;
- position of steeple and main entrance on gable end;
- presence of predominately rectangular windows on ground floor featuring window hoods constructed with right angles;
- lancet arch windows in steeple tower featuring window hoods constructed with right angles;
- octagonal steeple ornamented with four small hip roofs;
- steeply pitched gable roof;
- granite foundation;
- location overlooking Atlantic Ocean.
The interior character-defining elements of All Saints Anglican Church include:
- highly decorative tin ceiling in a modified gambrel style.
From Historic Places Canada