Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 25

Gothic Revival in Canadian Architecture

by Mathilde Brosseau

Illustrations and Legends

1 Main elevation of the "Government House for Quebeck" Design: 1811-12 Architect: Jeffry Wyatt This design demonstrates that the Gothic Revival in its Romantic stage was limited to a revival of a repertoire of forms without regard for the principles of articulated masses and proportions that were proper to the Gothic era. The implementation of such a project would have had a profound effect on the architectural landscape of Quebec — first of all by its imposing dimensions and secondly by the complexity of its plan, which included such impressive elements as rooms of state two stories high. Finally, since this style, which was drawn from medieval fortresses, came from England and was unprecedented in Quebec, it would probably have been seen as a desire to create an architectural symbol of the ascendancy of the new conqueror in Canada. Instead of putting Wyatt's plans into execution, the authorities decided to establish Government House in the palace of the bishop of Quebec. (Public Archives of Canada.)

2 Main elevation of the "Government House for Quebeck" Design: 1811-12 Architect: Jeffry Wyatt This is an alternative project for the Quebec Parliament Building, this time in a neo-classical style. An entablature and ionic columns replace the great pointed arcade and rectangular windows are decorated with a sill supported by consoles. The horizontal proportions, symmetrical design and two-dimensional surface effect, all characteristic of the neo-classical tradition, are also present in the Gothic Revival Parliament design. (Public Archives of Canada.)

3 Church of Notre-Dame, Place d'armes, Montreal, Que. Constructed: 1823-29 Architect: James O'Donnell Material: stone When the Church of Notre-Dame was built, there was already a well-established tradition in Quebec religious architecture. James O'Donnell's composition breaks with this tradition. Of all contemporary observers, this break was seen most clearly by Father Jerome Demers, head of the Seminary of Quebec and author of a work entitled Précis d'architecture. In a letter dated April 22, 1824, he expressed his views to the church administrative committee by strongly criticizing three aspects of the O'Donnell plan: its Neo-Gothic tendency, its arrangement based on Protestant church plans and its structural deficiencies. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

4 Church of Ste-Anne, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Que. Constructed. 1855-69 Architect: Casimir Coursol Material: stone The Church of Ste-Anne shows the impact of the Church of Notre-Dame in Montreal on the field of religious architecture in Quebec. The interior includes suggestions from architect Victor Bourgeau concerning the renovation of the Church of Notre-Dame. The exterior reproduces the characteristic articulation and details of Notre-Dame, but with a new theatrical effect. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

5 Wesleyan Church (now the Canadian Institute), 42 Saint-Stanislas Street, Quebec, Que. Constructed: 1848 Architect: Edward Staveley Material: stone The composition of this church is reminiscent of a specific type of Commissioners Church. Probably to provide an impressive western façade while avoiding the cost of a tower, the architect left a roof gable visible along the façade and enhanced it with a series of buttresses topped with finials. This was Staveley's choice for the Wesleyan Church, but there are several examples of equivalent treatment in Ontario Gothic Revival architecture. (Archives nationales du Quebec.)

6 Chalmers-Wesley United Church or Chalmers Free Scottish Church, 78 Sainte-Ursule Street, Quebec, Que. Constructed: 1851-53 Architect: John Wells Material: stone Chalmers Presbyterian Church is an example of a type of Gothic Revival church that was quite popular in the early 1850s, both in Ontario and Quebec urban centres and in the Maritimes. It is a cut-stone building that retains the rectangular volume of the reform churches. The front is dominated by a central tower with an impression of vertical thrust provided by a very sharply tapered spire. The sturdy appearance and minimum surface detail of this type of church shows a concern for adaptation to the Canadian climate. (Public Archives Canada.)

7 Church of Saint-Sulpice, 1095, Notre Dame Street, Saint-Sulpice, Quebec Constructed: ca. 1832 Builder: Joseph Doyon, mason Material: stone This church conveys the contradictions of Quebec religious architecture in the first half of the 19th century. The simplicity of its lines and proportions shows its adherence to the Conefroy plan and thus its fidelity to the basic native religious architecture embodied by the type of church built under Msgr. de Laval at the end of the 17th century. On the other hand, the window design shows the Gothic Revival influence and the central door boldly combines the Middle Ages with classicism by placing a pointed arch in a frame consisting of a triangular pediment, an entablature and doric pilasters. The church was redecorated around 1847-50 by Louis Xavier Leprohon and the vault was rebuilt in 1874-75 according to the plans of architect Victor Bourgeau. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

8 Trinity Church, 85 Carleton Street, Saint John, N.B. Constructed: ca. 1824 Architect: John Cunningham Material: stone By 1822, the first Trinity Church could no longer meet the needs of Saint John worshippers, particularly as the renewed economic activity following the War of 1812 had attracted many immigrants to the town. As a result, the church council resolved to build a second Trinity Church at a cost of 4000 pounds sterling. The council also stipulated that the church was to be built in the Gothic Revival style. Several points in the story of its construction indicate the prestigious influence of Great Britain in Gothic Revival at that time. The stones for the outer walls were shipped from England and the commission for the church was granted to a Scottish architect. The chancel was not added until 1892. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

9 Bayhead United Church, Bayhead, N.S. Constructed: ca. 1866 Material: wood Like many other town churches of the same period, the Bayhead Church was built through the active participation of its congregation. Its proportions lend a certain nobility to a very simple scheme; this is heightened by the use of classical detail such as the corner pilasters, the entablature over the door and the pediment effect on the façade. To add a Neo-Gothic touch to the design, the sash windows were simply raised to a point and decorated with tracery. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

10 St. Paul's Anglican Church, Rothesay, N.B. Constructed: 1866 Material: wood The artisans of the Atlantic provinces were often capable of combining the classical and Gothic formal repertoires with great ease, as in the case of St. Paul's Church in Rothesay. The body of the building has the solemn proportions generally associated with the temples of antiquity; on the front, if is decorated with a triangular pediment and the walls have evenly spaced pilasters replacing the classical columns generally pictured as characteristic of the temple. Only the pointed fenestration with drip mouldings indicates the presence of the Gothic Revival. Although the spire gives a vertical thrust to the building, this upsweep is held back by a square base firmly planted on the summit of the roof. This building was first erected by the Presbyterians, who were later forced to give it up to the Anglicans because of financial troubles. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

11 St. Johns Anglican Church, Cumberland Street, Lunenburg, N.S. Constructed: ca. 1840 Material: wood When the Maritime church-builder completely discards the classical repertoire of forms, he reproduces in wood the picturesque details of the Gothic Revival style. St. Johns Anglican Church is one of the oldest and most complete examples of this tendency. The exterior composition is animated by conical finials, buttresses and abundant window tracery. Beneath this profusion of decorative motifs still lies the scheme of 18th century churches governed by strict symmetry and resembling a rectangular box planted on the ground without concern for harmony with the character of the site. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

12 United Baptist Church, 119 King Street, St. Andrews, N.B. Constructed: ca. 1862 Material: wood The vertical board-and-batten siding on the United Baptist Church of St. Andrews was not used to attain a certain degree of structural realism, as in the case of some churches influenced by the tenets of the Cambridge Camden Society. It may be attributed more to the taste for picturesque qualifies maintained by the Carpenter's Gothic tradition. This is made evident, moreover, by the small pointed arcades created by bringing the battens together near the roof and the fact that this siding is only used to enhance the decorative façade of a church with a rectangular plan. The clapboard siding used on the other elevations and the handling of details are strictly designed to create a visual display. (Photo: M. Brosseau.)

13 United Church, Malpeque, P.E.I. Constructed: ca. 1870 Material: wood The builder of this church added a personal variation to a basic formula that was repeated ad infinitum throughout the Atlantic provinces and elsewhere in Canada. The proportions appear to favour a vertical thrust which is amplified by the sharp outline of the finials, windows and the roof edging. The treatment of each of these elements heightens a chiselled effect that is perfectly compatible with the formal repertoire of the Gothic Revival. However, the central tower was probably never completed; it suddenly comes to a halt just above the ridge of the roof, thus depriving the composition of a vertical sweep that is suggested by the handling of the main body. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

14 Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Tors Cove, Nfld Constructed: ca. 1890 Material: wood In Newfoundland, there are no examples of Carpenter's Gothic as old as those found in New Brunswick. In addition, the severe climatic conditions, and perhaps a greater degree of poverty as well, would appear to have resulted in more austere versions of the style. The decorative repertoire is limited and, as in the case of Sacred Heart Church, is often restricted to a series of false buttresses along the sides, giving the building a winged appearance. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

15 St. James Anglican Church, Maitland, Ontario Constructed: 1826 Builder: John Sheppart Material: stone With the wave of Loyalist immigration in 1795, the small town of Maitland in the township of Augusta received many newcomers of the Anglican faith. Their religious needs were first met by circuit preachers until, by the early 1820s, the growing population required the construction of a church. St. James Church, erected in 1826 by the master mason of the village, John Sheppart, answered this need. It is fully representative of the simple, sturdy character of the first Gothic Revival churches in Ontario. The proportions have net yet adapted themselves to the vertical reach proper to the style, and the few Neo-Gothic details, such as the fenestration, do not disturb the two-dimensional surfaces or the concern for regular stonework. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

Church of St. Andrew's-on-the-Red, Lockport, Man. Constructed: 1845-49 Material: stone The parish of St. Andrew's on-the-Red owes its existence to a rather peculiar set of circumstances. In 1821, the merger of the Hudson Bay and Northwest fur-trading companies caused the release of a large number of employees. These men and their Indian wives formed the core of a community that settled along the Red River. When the first log church built in 1832 proved to be too small, the entire community undertook the construction of the church of St. Andrew's on-the-Red under the direction of Rev. William Cochrane. The sober lines of the composition and the refined stonework show the skill of the mason, Duncan McRae, who was master mason at Fort Garry. The simple rectangular plan is in keeping with the rites of both the Anglican and Presbyterian denominations — the two main religious groups in the community of St. Andrew's on-the-Red. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

17 St. Clement's Anglican Church, Selkirk, Man. Constructed: 1860-61 Builder: Samuel Taylor Material: stone Like the one at St. Andrew's on-the-Red, St. Clement's Church was built to serve the small pocket of population settled around the outpost of lower Fort Garry. Its design achieved a monumental effect through extreme simplicity ennobling the work of the mason. Its resemblance to earlier churches in two neighbouring villages would appear to indicate that the builder of St. Clement's church drew his inspiration from a type of church that was already established in the area. The staunch square tower with crenelations and modest pointed windows leads into a rectangular interior with only a suggested division in the form of a balustrade creating a visual separation from the chancel. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

18 St. James Anglican Church, Star City, Sask. Constructed: ca. 1909 Material: wood This modest clapboard structure is very representative of a type of church that was widespread on the Prairies until the second decade of the 20th century. This is the rectangular plan and central tower formula truly reduced to its most simple expression. The tower crenelation and Gothic Revival windows appear to be more a symbol of Christianity than a distinctive feature of a stylistic influence. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

19 Christ Church (Anglican), Millarville, Alberta Constructed: 1894 Builders: Charles Schack and Frank Watt Material: wood For the construction of this church, artisans Charles Schack and Frank Watt used vertically assembled logs in a method that is reminiscent of the technique used 200 years earlier by the settlers of New France. The same method is sometimes found in other parts of Alberta where available logs were not long or straight enough for horizontal assembly. In terms of form, this type of structure results in a squat building that appears to be firmly planted on the ground. Only the pointed windows associate Christ Church with the Gothic Revival. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

20 Ukrainian Catholic Church, Sandy Lake, Manitoba Constructed: ca. 1910 Surface material: stucco This structure does not retain the exotic shapes for which the wooden churches of the Ukraine are so well known. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian immigrants in Sandy Lake obviously wanted to give their church features which would indicate their ethnic origin to all observers: a cradle-vaulted central nave and bulbous bell towers — but without bells. According to Ukrainian custom, the bells are housed in a wooden structure near the church, which is seen at the right of the photo. The Gothic windows are apparently inserted in this scheme as a dedication to Christianity. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

21 Sweetnam House, Sheffield Mills, N.S. Constructed: ca. 1799 Material: wood The general appearance of this house is reminiscent of the first homes built by the Loyalists in the Maritimes toward the end of the 18th century. The plan is almost always centralized, the volume is rectangular and the decor is very plain. In the centre of the façade, there is a pointed window in a very low gable. If, as research indicates today, this pointed window actually dates back to the original construction, it would probably be one of the first occurrences of the Gothic Revival influence in Canadian domestic architecture. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

22 25 Main Street, Wolfville, N.S. Constructed: ca. 1860 Material: wood This house in Wolfville has a rectangular main structure, relatively low gable roof and central plan that are reminiscent of a type of vernacular house originating at the end of the 18th century. This basic scheme is combined with details of classical inspiration such as the prominent cornice along the roof edge and the pilasters at the front corners. Gothic Revival designs are also worked into the composition — a decorative gable over the main entrance with its twin pointed windows, the small sawtooth border running along the cornice and finally the crenelated effects on the roof over the small porch. Even after 1850, such houses combining the remains of a classical tradition and an interest for the new Gothic Revival fashion were not uncommon in the Maritimes. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

23 House in Athol, Prince Edward County, Ont. Constructed: ca. 1850 Material: brick The volume and proportions of this house express the happy medium and sense of balance arising from the Loyalist vernacular tradition. The Gothic Revival influence is present, but discreet, as indicated by the sober design of the pointed window placed in a very low-pitched gable; in addition, wooden fretwork trim runs along the roof edge and the veranda. The latter was doubtless added in the last decades of the 19th century when the coping saw replaced the craftsman's traditional tools, resulting in two-dimensional fretted wood designs instead of the highly plastic former profiles. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

24 "A Small Gothic Cottage" The majority of its readers being rural people, the periodical Canada Farmer made a point of proposing simple, functional house plans. Some of these, however, show that the architectural fashions of the time moved quite quickly from the city to the country. Thus this small humble dwelling reveals its association with the Gothic Revival not so much by its volume, its proportions or its silhouette, which are still based on the vernacular tradition of the 18th century, but rather by its details such as the bay mouldings, the small decorative gable and its finial and finally the small trefoil window identified, like the pointed window, with the Gothic formal repertoire. (Canada Farmer, "Farm Architecture," Vol. 1, No. 2 [Feb. 1, 1864], p. 21.)

25 152 Watson Street, Saint John, N.B Constructed: ca. 1840 Architect: John Cunningham Material: wood The architect designed this house in a particularly romantic manner by embellishing it with details taken from the Gothic Revival repertoire. Thus the ample overhang of the eaves highlights a strip of wooden festoons, the windows are given a very prominent drip moulding and the main entrance, consisting of a door and pointed lateral windows, is set off by a miniature replica of the roof. All these highly three-dimensional details lend a vivacious, fanciful aspect to a type of house that had become traditional at that time. This house was built for a civil servant named George Harding, probably by the architect Cunningham on the recommendation of his father-in-law, Attorney General C.J. Peters, for whom this architect had built an elegant home on Cobourg Street, Saint John, in 1819. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

26 40 Gérin-Lajoie Street, Coaticook, Que. Constructed: ca. 1850 Material: wood This house built for Horace Cutting shows an American influence in the handling of proportions and the presence of such details as the balcony under the central gable, which often appears in the New England domestic architecture of that period. In its richness of forms, the decorative repertoire of this house surpasses most of the examples of this study. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

27 National School Building, 29-35 Auteuil Street, Quebec, Que. Constructed: 1822 Material: stone This is an extremely significant building in that it constitutes the first example of the Gothic Revival repertoire used in public architecture in Canada. The drawing by James P. Cockburn shows that there were originally more Gothic Revival features than seen today: in addition to the clusters of pointed windows under drip mouldings, the building had crenelated gables and the projecting porch, which housed the separate entrances for boys and girls, had an elegant Gothic window. Apart from the disappearance of these details and the addition of one storey in 1842 by the architect Henry Musgrave Blaiklock, the building retains today its original character. (Royal Ontario Museum.)

28 Middlesex County Courthouse, 399 Ridout Street, London, Ont. Constructed: 1827-31 Architect: John Ewart Material: brick This engraving shows the Middlesex County Courthouse building before the renovations that were done at the end of the 19th century, resulting in considerable changes in the original composition. The powerful mass of John Ewart's edifice dominates the promontory on the banks of the Thames River in London. It is quite possible that the picturesque site inspired this romantic version of the Gothic Revival style based on a symbolic allusion to medieval fortresses. (Canadian Illustrated News, "The London Law Courts," Vol. 4, No. 22 [Dec. 16, 1871], p. 396.)

29 Wellington County Courthouse, Guelph, Ontario Constructed: 1841 (demolished) Architect: David Allan Material: stone The Wellington County Courthouse in Guelph is the second attempt to establish a medieval pseudo-fortress in Ontario civil architecture. On a more modest scale than the one in London, the Guelph courthouse was also distinguished by the use of details from a later period in the Gothic era — the Tudor period — as seen in the use of the drip moulding over the windows. Examination of this building reveals a fact that indicates the ostentation of the crenelated parapets: the building actually has a gable roof which is dissimulated behind the horizontal line of the parapets. The octagonal edifice seen to the right is the county jail, which was customarily connected with the courthouse at that time. (Canadian Illustrated News, "Court House, Guelph," Vol. 9, No. 7 [Feb. 21, 1874], p. 362.)

30 Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, Fredericton, N.B. Constructed: 1846-53 Architects: Frank Wills and William Butterfield Material: stone More than any other building, the Fredericton Cathedral illustrates the domination of the Cambridge Camden Society over Canadian religious architecture toward the middle of the 19th century. The initial project was criticized by the Cambridge Camden Society because the model was closer to a parish church than a cathedral. To satisfy the high priests of religious architecture, Bishop Medley modified Wills' original scheme and even asked for the assistance of architect William Butterfield, one of the architects most favoured by the Cambridge Camden Society, to complete the eastern part of the project. When completed, Christ Church Cathedral stood as the most spacious church in North America and the most compliant with the ecclesiological ideal. (Canadian Inventory of Historic Building.)

31 St. John the Baptist Anglican Cathedral, 18 Church Hill Street, St. John's, Nfld Constructed: 1848-80 Architect: George Gilbert Scott Material: stone St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Saint John's, Newfoundland, has a troubled history. The man who initiated the project, Rev. Feild, personally asked the famous English architect George Gilbert Scott to draw up the plans for his cathedral. In 1848, only the nave had been erected; financial difficulties delayed completion of the project until 1880. Twelve years later, a devastating fire destroyed the church along with a large part of the town. The cathedral was raised from its ashes by Scott's own son, who returned to his father's plans and built almost an exact replica of the church that had inaugurated religious architecture in Newfoundland. (Canadian Illustrated News, "Church of England, Saint John's, Newfoundland," Vol. 3, No. 13 [April 1, 1871], p. 204.)