In the late twentieth century the meeting house was rescued from possible demolition, restored and converted to a museum, The
Old Meeting House Museum. Today it is managed by the Cape Sable Historical Society on behalf of the Nova Scotia Museum. The 1765 building and the adjacent cemetery are as much attractions as is the museum.
Displaying memorabilia of the Planters and other early settlers,as well as artefacts of day to day life through the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, this is a very interesting small museum to tour. As well, there are knowledgeable locals on hand through the summer offering informative talks on the history of Barrington Passage.
This museum is a member of the Nova Scotia Museum, meaning that, among other things, buying an annual museum pass here will allow admission to all
28 Nova Scotia Museum sites. Such a deal! Admission to this museum is by donation.
This meeting house was built as both a religious structure and a civic hall, housing both Sunday services and community meetings and elections. A relatively simple clapboard sided wood frame building, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in English speaking Canada. It is also the
oldest nonconformist house of worship in Canada. As well as the Congregationalists, the meeting house was used initially by all denominations in the area until other churches were constructed.
A work-in-progress for its first century, the building was not finished until receiving windows, doors, box pews and a pulpit in the mid-1800s. Must have been a
cool place of worship in the winter.
Take a
Virtual Tour of the Old Meeting House (Select "Old Meeting House" in the drop down menu).
For two centuries, people have gathered at the Old Meeting House for both township business and religious worship. A National Historic Site, this New-England-style meeting house is the oldest non-conformist house of worship in Canada and among the oldest in North America.
Built by Congregationalist fishermen and farmers from Cape Cod, called Planters, the meeting house was a building-in-progress for its first hundred years, until the windows, doors, box pews, and a pulpit were added by the mid-1800s.
Inside, see period “graffiti” and listen to the resounding acoustics as you read a historic sermon. Outside, on gravestones in the cemetery, discover the stories of some early settlers and townspeople.
A non-denominational religious service, open to everyone, is held annually on the third Sunday in August.
We are open from June until September. Admission is charged. Parking is on-site. Bus tours are welcome. Wheelchair accessible. Picnic area.
From Nova Scotia Attractions
Old Barrington Meeting House
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Old Barrington Meeting House National Historic Site of Canada is an exceptional surviving example of the type of meeting house erected throughout New England and Atlantic Canada in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Located in Barrington, Nova Scotia, this building combines religious with civic functions. It is a very simple but beautifully constructed wood frame structure, designed in the vernacular classicism of the era. Although modified over the years, it retains a high degree of integrity. The designation refers to both the interior and exterior of the building on its property.
HERITAGE VALUE
Old Barrington Meeting House was designated a national historic site of Canada because:
- this meeting house is one of the oldest surviving buildings in English-speaking Canada;
- both its exterior and its interior imitate meeting houses found throughout New England.
Erected in 1765 by settlers from New England, this meeting house served as the civic and religious centre for Barrington Township for almost a century, accommodating all Christian denominations. Its function was confined to religious activities until it was preserved as a museum in the late 20th century. Both its exterior, covered with clapboard, and its interior, with a pulpit facing the central door and surrounded on three sides by pews and an upper Gallery, imitate meeting houses found throughout New England. Its plain appearance was an intentional reflection of the Puritan rejections of worldly ostentation.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The aspects of this site which contribute to its heritage value include:
- those elements which speak to its status as one of the oldest surviving buildings in English-speaking Canada, namely its vernacular design, its timber-frame construction and wood cladding, making use of local materials, its unadorned functionalism, its evolutive finishes with detailing and interior finishes added over the years, and the continued integrity of its structure;
- those elements which speak to its qualities as a meeting house, namely its timber frame construction and wood finishes, its rectangular volume with a gable roof, symmetrical elevation with evenly spaced, rectangular openings, its main entry on the long side under a front-sloping gable roof, the interior arrangement of space with locally constructed box pews centred on the high panelled pulpit which faces the entry, three-sided gallery, simple railed staircases, its vocabulary of classically-inspired mouldings, and its relationship with the nearby burying ground.
From Historic Places Canada