Description du lieu patrimonial

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is a wooden, Gothic Revival church located on Chapel Hill in Bonavista. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Valeur patrimoniale

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church has aesthetic value because it is a charming example of a wooden, Gothic Revival church. The white, pristine, narrow wooden clapboard is set off by the simple green trim and green wooden shingles. The mid-pitch gable roof is topped with a cupola and steep spire, which in turn is topped with a large wooden cross. Located high at the front gable end is a carved quatrefoil medallion and it is centrally fixed between two multi-paned Gothic arched windows. The enclosed porch has a central wood plank double door and a side wood plank door, both white in color. Both long sides of the church have large Gothic windows featuring hoodmolds and delicately carved trefoils in the arches. The church is flanked by two buttresses at the front façade and these are peaked with finials. All the Gothic characteristics are combined with the vernacular nature of this wooden church, giving it individuality and uniqueness.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church has historic value because it was begun in 1815 and finished in 1842. It is unique for its age and for the fact that, when built, it was the only Catholic Church on the Bonavista peninsula.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church has environmental value because it occupies the summit of a small hill and is visible from the Bonavista harbour. It is regarded as a landmark because of this.

Source: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador unnumbered files Bonavista – St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

Éléments caractéristiques

All those elements that represent Gothic Revival style, including
-mid-pitch gable roof;
-narrow wooden clapboard;
-wooden roof shingles;
-cupola with spire;
-carved medallion;
-buttresses with finials;
-arched trefoil windows;
-enclosed porch with plank doors;
-placement within community;
-location, orientation, dimensions;
-window and door openings; and
-unobstructed view of the church from Bonavista Harbour.