St Patrick's Church - St John's, Newfoundland - Atlantic Canada Heritage Properties on Waymarking.com

Located less than two kilometers from the larger and just slightly older Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, St Patrick's Church near the south extent of St. John's Harbour in a massive and impressive building in it's own right. The cornerstone for St Patrick's Church was laid in 1855 by Bishop John Thomas Mullock, just around the time when construction of the Basilica was being completed. However, the construction of St. Patrick's church was stalled due to shortages with funds and labour, not being completed until 1881.

A concise history of the church building is provided on the parish website. The following is a modified version of that text:

St. Patrick’s Church, a late Gothic Revival, also termed Neo-Gothic, style building was designed by J.J. McCarthy, a very important Irish architect, and was possibly built by local T. O’Brien, local architect and mason. The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Church was laid on September 17, 1855, by Bishop Mullock and other distinguished clergy from Canada and the United States. American financier, Cyrus Field, contributed £1,000 to help with construction costs. Despite Field’s substantial contribution, financing the project proved difficult. Financing troubles combined with labour shortages resulted in the numerous construction delays and, consequently, the structure was not completed until 1881. In 1864, nine years after the cornerstone was laid, work officially began on the structure with the construction the foundation from stone taken from the Southside Hills at Cudahy’s Quarry. Further problems prevented work on the project from advancing beyond the 1864 stage for a decade. Additional stone was donated in 1875 and construction began once more. Construction continued as funds and materials permitted and the church was completed in 1881. After more than two-and-a-half decades, St. Patrick’s Church was finally dedicated on August 28, 1881. The original facing stone had to be replaced in 1911 due to deterioration and the bell tower was added in 1912. Two years later, in 1914, a spire was built and the next year a bell was imported from New York. The organ was installed as a part of the 50th anniversary celebrations in 1931. As well, numerous stained-glass windows have been donated in memory of various individuals. The older windows were imported from England where they were made by James Winston and Sons. The later windows added in 1961 were created by Yvonne Williams and Jeane McNichols of Toronto. The 19 m (62-foot) steeple was removed in the spring of 1997, as deterioration caused it to be a danger to the public. St. Patrick’s congregation decided to raise the $350,000 it would cost to replace the spire. As the original was unusable, an exact replica was ordered from Munn’s fabrication company in Utah. On November 27, 1997, the 11,500 pound replica steeple was hoisted into place. Source: stpatrickschurch.ca/2.0/our-history/; accessed April 2019

St Patrick's Church was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada on February 23, 1990. A plaque affixed to a retaining wall in front of the church reads:

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH With its single majestic tower, vertical proportions and bold, simple massing reflecting the interior spaces, St. Patricks is a fine example of a Roman Catholic parish church built in the Gothic Revival style conforming to the ecclesiological ideal. John T. Mullock, Bishop of Newfoundland, commissioned its design in 1853 from the prominent Irish architect J. J. McCarthy of Dublin. The church was built over time, from the laying of the cornerstone in 1864 to its completion in 1912. Inside, the buildings exposed wood roof and simple plan of nave, side aisles and rectangular chancel are also characteristic of this type of church.

L'EGLISE ST. PATRICK'S Avec sa majestueuse tour, ses proportions élancées et ses volumes reflétant les différentes parties de lintérieur, cette église catholique constitue un bel exemple de style néogothique conforme à lidéal ecclésiologique. En 1853, Mgr John Thomas Mullock, évêque de Terre-Neuve, en commanda les plans au célèbre architecte irlandais James Joseph McCarthy, de Dublin. La construction se fit par étapes de 1864 jusquen 1912. Avec sa charpente de toit apparente et la simplicité du plan de sa nef, de ses bas-côtés et de son chur rectangulaire, lintérieur est aussi caractéristique de ce type déglise.

The church building is also a City of St. John's Heritage Building and a Provincial Registered Heritage Structure. The following description of the building and it's significance is taken from the Canadian Register of Historic Places website:

Description of Historic Place

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church National Historic Site of Canada is a large, stone, Gothic Revival-style church completed in 1881 to plans drawn in 1853, with a single, majestic bell tower and spire added between 1912 and 1914. The building sits on a tight, fenced property at the western edge of downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland. Sited on a hill overlooking the harbour, it is surrounded by 19th-century residences. Due to its large scale and tower, it serves as a landmark in the area. The formal recognition refers to the building on its legal property at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1990 because:
- it is a fine representative example of the Gothic Revival Style.

St. Patrick’s was built in the late Gothic Revival style to a design attributed to J.J. McCarthy, an Irish architect and associate of A.W.N. Pugin. Construction began almost a decade after the plans were drawn. As built, the church represents collaboration between the architect and builder, T. O’Brien. In its style, St. Patrick’s Church reflects the strong link between Ireland and Newfoundland, as well as the direct impact of Victorian church design on colonial churches. Its bold simplicity and its polychromatic masonry is a hallmark of the late Gothic Revival style, demonstrating the continuing adherence, in the mid-19th century, to the use of medieval forms and principles in the design of ecclesiastical buildings for many Christian denominations. The church’s deteriorating stone facing was replaced in 1911 and a bell tower was added the following year. It received a spire in 1914, which was replaced in 1997.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, February 1990.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements which relate to the heritage value of this site include:
- its prominent siting on hill overlooking the harbour in St. John’s, Newfoundland;
- its bold, simple massing, and the offset placement of the tower;
- its exterior walls of stone with quoining;
- its late Gothic Revival style, evident in the rectangular plan with nave and side aisles under separate roofs, the enclosed entrance porches, the polychromatic masonry, stained glass windows and the tall, spired bell tower;
- the Gothic decorative vocabulary, evidenced by the triple stepped lancet windows of the east and west fronts, the paired Gothic windows along the side aisles, the clerestory and on the tower, the arcading supporting the cornice, and the paired openings in the bell tower;
- the exposed wooden vaulted ceiling;
- the Gothic Revival interior decorations and furnishings.

Source: www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=12845, accessed March 2019

URL of Page from Heritage Register: [Web Link] Site's Own URL: [Web Link] Address of site: 40 Patrick Street, St. John’s NL Canada A1E 2S7

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