St. Peter's is a bit of a breath of fresh air when traveling along Marine Drive north of Halifax. Bright white with an equally bright red roof, door and trim accent, the church makes for an excellent landmark, both from land and sea. Its steeply pitched red roof and white tower with red gables all around face the highway and the shore, making it highly visible. Essentially a country church, it stands among several houses stretching out along the highway which, we assume comprise the community of Murphy Cove.
Established at an unknown date, the present building was built sometime in the latter part of the nineteenth century, according to the Nova Scotia Archives. Inside, the church is finished from floor to ceiling in varnished tongue and groove boards, imparting a warm and woody atmosphere. There are a few simple stained glass windows within, nothing fancy but attractive nonetheless. Also within is a holy water font, carved from what appears to be freestone, octagonal in shape, supported by a substantial square base. The lid is a beautifully finished wooden piece.
The large corner bell tower has a tall spire atop the red gables of the tower, topped with what appears to be a metal cross. Below, the belfry has a trio of large Gothic arched vents on each side, another Gothic window below and double doors (red) in a simple rectangular opening. In fact, it is the only opening in the building lacking a Gothic arch. A cross above the entrance and trim around all windows and belfry vents are finished in red.
Immediately to the west of St. Peter's is the Anglican cemetery, which remains in use today. Strangely,
Find A Grave lists no interments before 1900, the first being that of John G. Edwards, birth date unknown, who died December 6th, 1902. We suspect that, if there was an Anglican congregation in the Murphy Cove area prior to the construction of St. Peter's, then there is either another Anglican cemetery near, or the Anglicans used another cemetery until the establishment of this one around the turn of the twentieth century. Various online transcriptions of the cemetery generally agree that there are just under 200 interments in St. Peter's Cemetery. They differ, however, as to whether this one remains in use. There is a newer cemetery, St Peter's Shoal Bay Cemetery on Lint Lops Road to the southwest. The two cemeteries accepted burials in 1979 and 1980, according to
Rootsweb, with this cemetery receiving its last burial in 1981. Find A grave disagrees, including burials to the present in its listing.
MURPHY COVE. Halifax County
This community is located near the head of Shoal Bay on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia approximately eighteen miles south-west of Sheet Harbour. It was probably named after Thomas Murphy, an early settler from Ireland. Some of the grantees were John Beaver, prior to 1831, George Shellnut, 200 acres on April 25, 1831, Allen Cameron. 100 acres on October 19, 1838 and George Shellnut. Jr., 200 acres on December 22, 1845.
St. Peter's Anglican Church was built in the late 19th century. Probably a new school was built in 1874, while another new one was built in 1904. Fishing and farming are the basic industries. The population in 1956 was 144.
From the Nova Scotia Archives