Dorchester United Baptist Church
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Historical Information
Work on the Dorchester Baptist Church began in 1881 and was not completed until 1884, due to lack of funding. Originally this church was a prime example of a Meeting House, built in the Victorian Gothic Revival style. A Meeting House is a common style among protestant congregations 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 sat sideways to the road, with the front façade facing the road being broken up into four bays (left to right). Initially when this building was constructed the main entrance was positioned in the second bay (from left), and was a one storey entranceway with the gable end facing the road, the peak of this entranceway roof was capped with ornate metalwork. Sometime between 1884 and 1904, the style of the front façade was somewhat changed, with the addition of a bell-tower and steeple which was positioned on the fourth bay (far right). With the addition of this tower there was no need for the former entranceway, hence it was removed. Each bay on this structure was originally characterized by the buttress like supports located between the windows and on the corners of the tower. Halfway along the height of the tower there was a medallion window, and above that were gothic revival style vents to allow the sound of the bell to carry. This building had many renovation projects over the course of its history for example, the structure is now covered in vinyl siding, and the steeple part of the tower was removed. One of the most striking features of this structure is the large window located on the gable end and the steeply pitched roof, which are typical of buildings in the Victorian Gothic Revival style.
The interior of the structure remained relatively unchanged since its construction, with its visible, ornate beams, tongue and groove boards on the ceiling, and its original straight back pews divided into three rows; separated by two aisles.
Information provided by the church.
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