Formal Recognition Type

Registered Heritage Structure

Heritage Value

Methodist Central School was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2016 due to its historic and aesthetic value. Methodist Central School has historic value due to its association with educational development in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1726-27 Anglican Reverend Henry Jones opened what was likely the province’s first formal school in Bonavista. The Methodist Central School is symbolic of the evolution of both education and the built form of schools since that time. It was one of roughly 325 Methodist schools in the province at the time of its construction. It is one of two surviving early schools out of nine once standing in Bonavista. Methodist Central School has aesthetic value as an excellent example of a school building constructed in the early 1900s. Earlier schools were typically one-room structures with gable roofs, and in many cases resembled simplified churches of the denominations to which they belonged. The early 20th century brought about a shift to hipped roof structures with larger, rectangular wooden windows in more pragmatic arrangements. Methodist Central School exemplifies this evolution with its two-and-a-half-storey size, hipped roof, and tall 6/6 windows. Later schools changed again, either returning to a gable roof at mid-pitch or taking on more modern or standardized styles. For this reason, Methodist Central School is emblematic of its place in time. Methodist Central School has further aesthetic value due to its size and location. Its height towers over nearby homes and its mass stands out on its hillside near the historic downtown. It is located near several other large historic buildings including a courthouse and theatre. Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Bonavista – Methodist Central School – FPT 5124”

Character Defining Elements

All original features which relate to the age and style, including: -number of storeys; -hipped roof with hipped dormer; -narrow wooden clapboard; -wooden cornerboards and trim; -original tall wooden 6/6 windows; -large triple (4/4, 6/6, 4/4) windows on the front façade; -front vestibule with hipped roof; – size, style, trim, and placement of wooden windows; – size, style, trim, and placement of wooden doors; -location of building in relation to its landscape and other historic structures; -dimensions and orientation of building.

Community

Bonavista

Municipality

Town of Bonavista

Civic Address

Coster Street

Construction (circa)

19700101 - 19700101

Style

Rectangular Long Façade