Description of Historic Place

Built circa 1867, St. Barnabas Anglican Church features a number of architectural styles including Greek Revival, Romanesque and Gothic Revival. The church stands beside Highway 329 in Blandford, Nova Scotia, at the top of a large hill that overlooks the ocean. The former church hall and rectory are both located at the bottom of the hill within metres of the water. The municipal heritage designation applies to the building and surrounding property.

Heritage Value

St. Barnabas Anglican Church is valued for its age, historical associations and architecture. Construction of the church was completed by the congregation in 1867 under the direction of its first minister, Rev. Richard Payne, who was also the first permanent minister in the community.

Although the church was constructed through the joint efforts of both parishioners of the Church of England and the Lutheran church, the Lutherans later relinquished their right to have their minister officiate there and the building was consecrated as an Anglican church shortly after the death of Rev. Payne in 1877.

Under the direction of his successor, Rev. John Manning, the chancel and bell tower were added to the church, which had previously had its main entrance on the gabled end of the church facing the water. The chancel addition actually covers the resting place of Payne. His gravestone was removed and placed on one of the church walls as a memorial to his service to the community after the construction of the new piece was completed circa 1880.

The chancel, vestry and bell tower were built by David Zinck of Mahone Bay. The bell tower addition to the front of the gabled end facing the water gives the building a more defined Greek Revival theme featuring a temple-style design. When the tower was added it covered the original front window that had been located in the peak of the gable, but the window was not removed. The tower was designed so its lower window was aligned with the original exterior window to provide lighting for the balcony, which was originally used as the gallery for the church’s choir.

Although the bell towers position in the middle of the gabled end facing the road conforms to the temple-style common in Greek Revival themed churches, the only other element common to this style are the eave returns present both on the original structure and the additions.

The design of the original church windows and those located in the tower reflect the Romanesque style featuring gently rounded tops, which are a contrast to the large triple Gothic arch window located on the rear elevation, which provides the chancel with light. In addition to the Gothic Revival style window in the chancel, the top of the bell tower is adorned with four simple Gothic inspired spires that mark the corners and are connected by a small open railing.

The combination of these three distinct styles of architecture gives the church a somewhat unique overall architectural design compared to other churches in Lunenburg County.

Source: Municipality of the District of Chester Heritage Property Files.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of St. Barnabas Anglican Church that relate to its Greek Revival architecture include:

- gabled end facing water and highway 329;
- bell tower in middle of gabled, partially recessed;
- eave returns on original portion and chancel addition.

The character-defining elements of St. Barnabas Anglican Church that relate to its Romanesque themes include:

- rounded head design of windows on bell tower featuring single window over door and on each face of tower;
- rounded head design of main entrance featuring a full crescent stained glass window;
- rounded head design of windows forming three bay façade on both original side elevations;
- rounded head design of windows in vestry.

The character-defining elements of St. Barnabas Anglican Church that relate to its Gothic Revival themes include:

- large triple Gothic arch window located on rear elevation;
- four simple Gothic inspired spires marking corners of tower connected by a small open railing.

The other character-defining elements of St. Barnabas Anglican Church include:

- location of rounded head window in tower above the main entrance allowing light to pass through;
- wooden shingle cladding;
- birch bark under the wooden shingles, visible on the inside wall of tower;
- visible placement of Rev. Payne’s tombstone and remains buried under tower.