Description of Historic Place

St. John the Apostle Anglican Church is a single-storey wood-frame structure, with a steeply pitched side-gabled roof and a small belfry. The Church is located at the corner of St. Johns and Douglas Streets and is situated within the residential area of Moody Centre. There have been a number of alterations to the church but its original form remains recognizable.

Heritage Value

St. John the Apostle Anglican Church is significant as a community institution that has served the religious needs and housed the Anglican community in Port Moody for over a century. Recognizing the growth of the city and the expansion of the local Anglican congregation, Captain James Anthony Clarke (1834-1914), who moved to Port Moody circa 1879 to subdivide lots and sell property, donated the property for this church. It remains an Anglican congregation to this day.

The establishment of St. John the Apostle Anglican Church reflects the substantial development that occurred in Port Moody during the early years of its settlement. In 1900, the Canadian Pacific Lumber Company was formed, located near the foot of Queens Street. The local growth of the lumber industry had increased job opportunities in the city, leading to a steady influx of residents during the boom years that followed the turn of the twentieth century. This expansive growth led to increased needs for community services, as represented by this church. St. John the Apostle Anglican Church is additionally significant for its location within Moody Centre, which is associated with the early twentieth-century economic and population growth of Port Moody, and is valued as a reflection of Port Moody's early development patterns.

Built circa 1900, St. John the Apostle Anglican Church is valued as one of the oldest buildings in Port Moody, and is the oldest church in the city. Although modest, its original form, scale and massing are an example of the pervasive influence of the Gothic Revival style, one of the favoured architectural expressions for contemporary religious structures in British Columbia.

Source: City of Port Moody Heritage Planning Files

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of St. John the Apostle Anglican Church include its:
- prominent location at St. Johns Street and Douglas Street
- ecclesiastical form, scale and massing as expressed by its single-storey height, steeply sloped side-gabled roof and belfry
- original materials including wood siding, now covered by a later coat of stucco