Description of Historic Place

Sainte Anne’s Catholic Church at Sainte-Anne-du-Ruisseau, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, is a Romanesque Revival church of wood construction located atop a hill on the corner of Highway #3 and Rocco Point Road. The designation applies to the church and surrounding property.

Heritage Value

Completed in 1901, Sainte Anne’s Church replaced an earlier church that had been destroyed by fire on 23 March 1900. The earlier church was established by Father J.M. Sigogne in 1803. The church is valued for being one of the largest and most beautiful churches in the county, for its history as a place of worship and for being a rare example of this style of building in Nova Scotia.

The effort to erect a new church was spearheaded by Rev. Crouzier, the parish priest, with the help of his parishioners. The construction of the new church was undertaken by local builders under the direction of master builder Ambroise Pottier of Belleville, NS. The architect however, is not known. This Romanesque Revival style church is built in the form of the Latin cross, and measures 36 m long with two transepts that are 25.9 m long. The vestry on the south side measures 7.9 x 7.9 m. There are two 26.5 m tall square bell towers with a round window on the east side of each tower. The towers are topped with conical roofs and decorative spires at each corner. The bell from the original church was salvaged from the fire and resides in one tower. The church has a seating capacity of 950 people, making it one of the largest Catholic churches in the Municipality of Argyle. The building's bold lines, large arched windows and impressive towers create a very imposing effect. The interior decorative work was completed by John B. Bielenberg of Germany with some additional painting by local artist Jacob Blauvelt. The church is also unique in that it is the only wooden church in the Municipality of Argyle that has not been clad in vinyl siding.

'Sources: Argyle Municipal Heritage Files, file #009; Yarmouth Herald, 1 Oct. 1901.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Sainte Anne's Catholic Church building include:

- French Romanesque Revival features, including the square conical roofed towers and heavy classical moulding that supports the roof;
- medium pitched pedimented gable roof;
- seven-bay symmetrical façade;
- three front entranceways topped with fan windows, one in each of the two towers and one in the centre;
- cruciform shape of the structure;
- original circular and arched windows of ground glass with crimson borders;
- wood siding;
- decorative cornerboards (pilasters with capitals).