Built in 1873, George Street United Church is the oldest surviving Methodist church in St. John’s, NL. Designed by Elijah Hoole, it is a stone church built in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. This designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Formal Recognition Type
Registered Heritage Structure
Heritage Value
George Street United Church was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000 due to its aesthetic and historic value.
George Street United Church is the oldest surviving Methodist church in St. John’s. A Methodist congregation based at Gower Street United Church was already well established in the mid-nineteenth-century. In February 1862, a committee from the Gower Street congregation was tasked with finding a location for a new church in the working class district on the west end of the harbourfront. A temporary Sunday School and meeting hall were established in rented premises on Pleasant Street, but the committee did not secure a permanent site for the church until 1871.
On May 27, 1872, the cornerstone for the new George Street United Church was laid near the intersection of George Street and Buchanan Street. Construction was led by Devon-born mason Richard Atwell (who died in 1873 from a fall on the construction site) and Bonavista builder William Campbell. The church was officially opened for services on December 4, 1873. On August 5, 1874, the church was the site of the Organizational Assembly of the First Methodist Conference, as Newfoundland became a Conference of the Methodist church in Canada. Up until this point, Newfoundland had been a district of the Conference of Eastern British America. Reverend George Mulligan, Superintendent Minister of the St. John’s circuit and principal minister of George Street Church, was elected first President of the new conference at this meeting.
George Street United Church was designed by well-known British architect, Elijah Hoole – the son of a Methodist missionary. Hoole specialized in building Methodist churches and settlement houses in England. After George Street United Church, Hoole went on to design Gower Street United Church in 1894.
George Street United Church is a good example of Gothic Revival architecture – the most common architectural style for Protestant churches in this period. Constructed of locally quarried slate from the Southside Hills, the entire building was parged with concrete some time in the early twentieth century. This obscured the quoining around the large pointed arch window on the front facade; however, the Gothic style of the pointed arch lancet windows and the large stained glass windows remains intact. The woodwork in the church’s interior is well preserved, as is the exposed timber hammerbeam roof of the nave – another classic Gothic Revival element.
Due to its location, George Street United Church was spared from the Great Fire of 1892 that gutted many downtown churches. The church building has been expanded twice since that time. In 1908, the church expanded to accommodate a growing congregation. A new gallery and transepts were built on to the original structure, giving the church a cross layout. In 1959-1960, a gymnasium and classrooms were added. In a part of St. John’s which has undergone significant changes since the mid-twentieth century – specifically, the demolition of residential buildings to facilitate the construction of commercial high-rises and the harbour arterial – George Street United is a reminder of the bustling mixed-use neighbourhood that once existed in the area.
Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “St. John’s – George Street United Church – FPT 1480”
Character Defining Elements
All those elements that are representative of the ecclesiastical Gothic Revival style of architecture, including:
-number of storeys;
-steep gable roof;
-hammerbeam roof;
-kicked eaves;
-turrets at west end of church;
-louvred windows on turrets;
-stone construction;
-concrete sheathing;
-cruciform layout;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of stained glass windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of exterior wooden doors;
-interior woodwork, and;
-dimension, location and orientation of building.
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