Description of Historic Place

The St. Radegonde Roman Catholic Church is a Municipal Heritage Property located at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue in the Town of Lafleche. The property features a large, one-storey, brick Gothic Revival church with a tall spire built in 1922.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the St. Radegonde Roman Catholic Church lies in its position as the dominant architectural landmark in the Town of Lafleche. The Church is the largest and tallest building in Lafleche and is visible for kilometres around the town. The Church is 15 metres long, 17 metres wide and 37 metres tall. Its size and height define the historic character of Lafleche.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its status as the oldest existing Church in Lafleche. The Church was constructed and sanctified in 1922 and has been used continuously as a place of worship since then.

The heritage value of the Church also lies in its architecture. Designed by J. E. (Joseph) Fortin a prominent French Canadian architect from Montreal who designed several significant Roman Catholic properties in Saskatchewan, most notably the Gravelbourg Cathedral. In keeping with building of his design the property reflects melding of Gothic Revival and Classical Revival influences. Prominent Gothic features include its spires, steeple and pinnacles. Classical features include its square form and its interior columns with capitals.

The heritage value also lies in the building’s original construction materials. The building features a pressed face brick veneer from the nearby Claybank Brick Foundry and the interior fittings are built from oak.

Source:

Town of Lafleche Bylaw 295-93.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the St. Radegonde Roman Catholic Church resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those features that relate to the property’s position as Lafleche’s dominant landmark, such as its size and height;
-those features that relate to the property’s status as the oldest Church in Lafleche, such as its position on its original location;
-those features that relate to its Gothic Revival architecture, such as the spire, steeple, pinnacles, buttresses, moulding, pointed arch windows, tracery and doorways, gable roof and tower;
-those features that relate to its Classical Revival influences, such as its square form, the interior arches, Corinthian/Tuscan columns and capitals;
-decorative features, such as the stained-glass windows, original bell, and exterior corbels;
-aspects of the property constructed from the building’s original materials, such as the pressed face bricks and interior oak fittings.