Description of Historic Place

Fleetwood Memorial United Church is a front-gabled, stucco-clad, one-storey church with a square tower, located on a large lot in the commercial area of Surrey's Fleetwood neighbourhood.

Heritage Value

Fleetwood Memorial United Church is a local landmark, valued as a reminder of the rapid development of the Fleetwood neighbourhood after the Second World War, as an example of the growth of the United Church in the post-war period, and for its architecture.

The establishment of the Fleetwood Memorial United Church in 1953-54 reflects the post-Second World War population boom in Surrey's Fleetwood neighbourhood. Many returning servicemen purchased land here for agriculture and poultry farming, and these small truck farms were integral to the development of the Fleetwood community through the early 1950s. Population growth led to the construction of community services, including this landmark church, which remains today as an anchor of the Fleetwood community.

Fleetwood Memorial United Church is also valued as an example of the postwar growth of the United Church in Canada. In 1951 a group of 23 women began raising funds for a new church in Fleetwood. Land for the church was purchased the same year and the cornerstone was laid in 1953. Built by volunteers, including three retired men who worked full time on its construction, the church was completed in 1954 and dedicated in 1955. The congregation donated services and materials for the new church. In 1994, the congregation merged with North Surrey United to become the regional church of Northwood United. Today the building continues its role as a place of worship, serving as the Surrey Chinese Baptist Church.

This church is also valued for its architecture. The designer, Harry Francis Dyke, was an English-born construction engineer who also provided the plans for the Cloverdale United Church. Both churches demonstrate the persistent influence of the Gothic Revival style, as seen in the pointed-arch coloured-glass windows, steeply pitched roof and square bell tower. These traditional motifs are combined with Modernist elements, such as plain stucco cladding and minimal detailing. The exterior and interior of Fleetwood Memorial United Church remain in excellent and mostly original condition.

Source: City of Surrey Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Fleetwood Memorial United Church include its:
- prominent siting on 160 Street, in the heart of the Fleetwood commercial district
- ecclesiastical form, scale and massing, as expressed by the one-storey height with full basement, rectangular plan with transepts, front-gabled roof with boxed eaves and exposed rafters, first-storey overhang at rear of building, and projecting square corner tower
- wood frame construction
- Gothic Revival-inspired details such as: pointed-arch windows; steeply-pitched front-gabled roof; pegged wooden front doors with original hardware; and arched front entrance
- Modernist influence, as demonstrated by minimal detailing and plain stucco cladding
- fenestration, such as: pointed-arch multi-paned nave windows with coloured and textured glass; three stained glass panels on the east elevation behind the altar; double-hung, one-over-one double-assembly wooden sash windows; and three-paned, triple-assembly wooden-sash casement windows in the basement level
- original interior features such as: etched plywood paneling in the front vestibule and plywood wainscoting in the nave; wooden pews; wooden door and window trim; chamfered-profile nave ceiling with applied acoustical tiles; and hanging glass-globe ceiling fixtures
- continuous use as a place of worship