OLDEST - Anglican Church in Nova Scotia - Sydney, Nova Scotia
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Weathervane
N 46° 08.541 W 060° 11.799
20T E 716509 N 5113684
St. George’s Anglican Church is valued as the oldest Anglican Church in Cape Breton and the oldest building in Sydney. Building of St. George’s Church began in 1785 by engineers of the British 33rd Regiment of Foot.
Waymark Code: WM14M08
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/24/2021
Views: 3
"St. George’s Anglican Church is located in downtown Sydney, Nova Scotia, at the corner of Charlotte and Nepean Streets. The stone Gothic Revival style church, built between 1785 and 1791, is a local landmark. St George’s architecture is a simple, clean expression of dignity and solidness. The building and the graveyard are included in the provincial designation.
Heritage Value:
St. George’s Anglican Church is valued as the oldest Anglican Church in Cape Breton; the oldest building in Sydney; for the property’s long history; and as a representation of the important role its parish council played in colonial Cape Breton. Many of Sydney's early and prominent citizens are buried in its cemetery.
Building of St. George’s Church began in 1785 by engineers of the British 33rd Regiment of Foot, concurrently with the founding of Sydney and its designation as the capital of the new Colony of Cape Breton; however, it was not completed and designated as a parish until 1791.
Architectural Value:
Part of the heritage value of St. George’s Church relates to its many changes since its construction. The original building was a simple stone Gothic Revival styled structure, approximately eighteen by twelve meters with three circular windows on the north and south walls. In 1853, a chancel and vestry was added. Starting in 1859, and continuing into the early 1860s, the church was rebuilt from its foundations in the Gothic Revival style, with an open roof and pointed windows, which were slightly ornamented with stained glass. In 1888 a stone tower and spire replaced a wooden tower, which had been destroyed by a gale in 1873. With the exception of a crypt constructed in 1974, St. Georges is much the same as it appeared in 1873 after its last major renovation. The interior of the church features: memorial tablets and memorial stained-glass windows dedicated to prominent individuals; wall-hung headstones; and a Casavant organ. The church's stone Gothic Revival styling is valued as a visible expression of the missionary ideals of its period and of an expansive period in the history of English Christianity. Examples of this style, executed in stone, are rare in Nova Scotia."
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Inscription on a black granite plaque on site:
To the Glory of God and in loving memory of those who lie here.
The Eternal God is thy refuge. And underneath are the Everlasting Arms DEUT.3327. In the inception as a Garrison Chapel, St. George's ministered to all denominations as the oldest church in Cape Breton Island.