Description
St. Paul’s Anglican Church is a stone Gothic Revival structure surrounded by a cemetery on Cochrane Street in Harbour Grace, NL. The designation includes the building as well as its adjacent cemetery and stone retaining wall.
Statement of Significance
Formal Recognition Type
Registered Heritage Structure
Heritage Value
St. Paul’s Anglican Church was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1995 because of its aesthetic and cultural value.
St. Paul’s Anglican Church has been a place of worship for the Anglican community in Harbour Grace for over 175 years. It represents an Anglican presence in the community since the 1760s and it likely served the local British Garrison which was stationed here intermittently in the 18th and 19th centuries. Enclosed by the original stone retaining wall that outlines the churchyard, the cemetery is the resting place of many past parishioners, including one of the masons involved in the church’s construction. The church’s central location and visibility from the water make St. Paul’s a prominent landmark in the town. This prominence speaks to the historic importance of St. Paul’s in the lives of its parishioners, and of the cultural significance of the Anglican church in Harbour Grace.
St. Paul’s Anglican Church is the oldest stone church in Newfoundland and one of the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the province. Three wooden churches were previously built on this site. The original 1764 church was lost to fire (possibly arson) in 1816; the second church blew down during construction in 1817 and the third burned down in a great fire in 1832, a fire that also destroyed much of Harbour Grace. After the loss of two churches to fire, it was decided that the current St. Paul’s should be built of locally quarried stone. The 1835 church was built over two years, with the tower added on to the nave late in construction. The addition of the transept and apse in 1859-1860 created a Latin-cross layout as encouraged by the Ecclesiological Society, who argued that Anglican churches should return to the perceived stylistic purity of the medieval Gothic churches. The exterior of St. Paul’s has simple Gothic Revival decoration including pointed arched windows, a pointed arched door and Gothic stained glass. The original stone used is still largely intact, as are the original windows and doors. However, the freeze-thaw conditions of the local climate caused the stone tower to become structurally unstable within decades. As a result, the tower had to be demolished twice–in 1894 and again in 1975– and rebuilt using the same stone. Reconstruction work was done on the exterior walls of the nave in the early 20th century, at which time the roof was also raised. St. Paul’s Anglican church is a good example of English styles and building techniques–and of the architectural challenges faced when transferring an “English” structure to a harsher climate.
Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Harbour Grace – St. Paul’s Anglican Church – FPT 1560”
Character Defining Elements
All original features which relate to the age, construction and Gothic Revival style of the property including:
-Latin-cross layout of church;
-number of storeys and building form;
-steep gable roof with slate shingles;
-quatrefoil ornamentation on nave eaves;
-original rough cut ashlar exterior walls;
-exterior contrast quoining trim work;
-crenellated stone tower with louvred windows;
-circular trefoil windows in tower;
-size and placement cusped lancet windows in tower;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of wooden pointed arch windows with Y-tracery;
-simplistic wooden rose window in apse;
-stained glass windows;
-size, style, trim and placement of exterior wooden doors;
-all interior and exterior features that are reflective of the Gothic revival style;
-interior archways;
-exposed beams on interior;
-early wooden pews;
-dimension, location and orientation of building;
-adjacency to cemetery;
-stone retaining wall on the property, and;
-graveyard.
Location and History
Community
Harbour Grace
Municipality
Town of Harbour Grace
Civic Address
Cochrane Street
Construction (circa)
1835 - 1837
Builder
Church of England parishioners
Style
Cruciform with Apse
Location
Similar Heritage Properties