First Harvey Baptist Church

Title

First Harvey Baptist Church

Church Name

First Harvey Baptist Church

Church Association

Albert Association

Province

New Brunswick

County

Albert County

Address

Harvey, NB

Status

Active

Date

Built circa 1860

Historical Information

The First Harvey Baptist Church is an impressive fixture of Albert County. It is a beautiful and architecturally significant building designed in the Meeting House style, a common style among Baptists in early to mid-nineteenth century Atlantic Canada. This style is often characterized by its small and rather plain facility, with no steeple, and gothic embellishments. The front entrance was often on the gable end, with either two entrances, one on the left and right sides of the front façade, one meant for the men and the other for women; or a centrally placed doorway. This church is a rather large example of a church in the meeting house style, it being of unusual size for the stylistic choice.

A striking feature from the exterior of the building is the "Four spires with Widow's Walk" feature seen on this church, which was common of churches with square belltowers/towers from this era. The flat roof of the tower has a small spire at each corner with a spindled railing running between the spires. Below is an overhanging eave, below which are dentils on a wood moulding. The Roman arched belfry vents are covered with what appears to be a metal baffle with fine horizontal slats. Like the rest of the building, it is covered in wooden shiplap siding. The main entrance, centred in the front elevation, consists of a single wood door flanked by sidelights done in the same Roman arched theme as all windows in the building. Above is a triple window, while to the sides are two more tall, slender windows. All around the building under the eaves are dentils which match those of the belfry.

Harvey Parish itself, one of six parishes in Albert County, is only slightly older than the church, having been created in 1838. The area was initially settled in 1763.

Information provided by the church and Waymarking.

Files

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Citation

“First Harvey Baptist Church,” Atlantic Baptist Built Heritage Project , accessed March 28, 2024, https://atlanticbaptistheritage.omeka.net/items/show/356.

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