Stormont Union Church
Title
Stormont Union Church
Church Name
Stormont Union Church
Church Association
N/A
Province
Nova Scotia
County
Guysborough County
Address
Highway 316, Country Harbour, Guysborough County, NS
Status
Active
Date
Built 1926
Historical Information
The Stormont Union Church is a small, wood-shingled church with a short, plain steeple, located on Highway 316 at Stormont in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. The building has municipal designation as a heritage property, that covers the church and surrounding land. The Union Church in Stormont, Nova Scotia was built by Washington Salsman in 1926, using windows and pews from a much older Anglican church and lumber cut by the men of Stormont and Country Harbour Mines. It was purposely built for use by clergy of all dominations. This was in response to the Anglican clergyman’s closing his church to other denominations some years earlier.
The heritage value of the Stormont Union Church is that it symbolizes the community’s self-reliance and sense of inclusiveness and sharing in its simple construction and style elements.
The recently added stained glass windows, depicting the four seasons, the land, and the sea, are of local design and construction, echoing the original purpose of this building as a religious centre for the whole community. Some Baptist congregants are said to meet at this Union Church, with the closure of the Baptist churches in the surrounding area (e.g., Goldboro and Isaac’s Harbour). With irregular Baptist services in the surrounding area, many have come together and meet at the Union Church, as part of an informal Baptist congregation in Stormont. The Baptists of the area also helped to construct this facility along with other denominations.
The character-defining elements of Stormont Union Church relate to its construction and use by multiple denominations, including the functional simplicity of its design, with an unadorned, wood shingle exterior, flat interior ceiling, and chancel located in the main body of the building; decorative elements such as the Gothic Revival style transom over the entrance doors, moulded returns under the eaves and four-sided cap on the steeple; short, square steeple without a bell or decorative elements; the abstractly themed stained glass windows depicting the four seasons, the land and the sea. This building is unique in terms of style for its time, as many churches that housed Baptist congregations during the first part of the twentieth century were being constructed in an asymmetrical design, with more classical embellishments. However, this church is built in the symmetrical design with the steeple centrally placed on the Gable end.
In recent years (2021), the front steps have been replaced with a wheelchair ramp, which goes around the left side of the church.
Information provided by the church and by Canada Historic Places.
The heritage value of the Stormont Union Church is that it symbolizes the community’s self-reliance and sense of inclusiveness and sharing in its simple construction and style elements.
The recently added stained glass windows, depicting the four seasons, the land, and the sea, are of local design and construction, echoing the original purpose of this building as a religious centre for the whole community. Some Baptist congregants are said to meet at this Union Church, with the closure of the Baptist churches in the surrounding area (e.g., Goldboro and Isaac’s Harbour). With irregular Baptist services in the surrounding area, many have come together and meet at the Union Church, as part of an informal Baptist congregation in Stormont. The Baptists of the area also helped to construct this facility along with other denominations.
The character-defining elements of Stormont Union Church relate to its construction and use by multiple denominations, including the functional simplicity of its design, with an unadorned, wood shingle exterior, flat interior ceiling, and chancel located in the main body of the building; decorative elements such as the Gothic Revival style transom over the entrance doors, moulded returns under the eaves and four-sided cap on the steeple; short, square steeple without a bell or decorative elements; the abstractly themed stained glass windows depicting the four seasons, the land and the sea. This building is unique in terms of style for its time, as many churches that housed Baptist congregations during the first part of the twentieth century were being constructed in an asymmetrical design, with more classical embellishments. However, this church is built in the symmetrical design with the steeple centrally placed on the Gable end.
In recent years (2021), the front steps have been replaced with a wheelchair ramp, which goes around the left side of the church.
Information provided by the church and by Canada Historic Places.
Files
Collection
Citation
“Stormont Union Church,” Atlantic Baptist Built Heritage Project , accessed April 26, 2024, https://atlanticbaptistheritage.omeka.net/items/show/311.