Description of Historic Place

St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church is a Municipal Heritage Property encompassing three lots in the Hamlet of Claybank. The .17 hectare property includes a one-storey brick-veneer church and a church rectory. The designation applies only to the church building.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church lies in its long-standing and ongoing service to the district’s Catholic community. St. Joseph’s Parish dates to the early 1900s, when Oblate missionaries travelled to the area to conduct religious services in people’s homes. The Parish’s first church, a wood-frame structure, was built in 1913. The current brick church was erected in 1928 to replace the earlier wood building, which had been destroyed in a fire. Today, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church is one of the few churches in the area that still hosts regular services.

There is further heritage value in the church’s architecture and religious furnishings, which connect the property to past congregants and to the community-at-large. Today’s congregation takes particular pride in the church’s religious statuary and bells, which were donated by early church members. Architecturally, the brick-clad church is widely valued as a landmark and symbol of community history. The church’s locally made bricks also speak to the important role the nearby Claybank Brick Plant once played in the community’s economic life.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Elmsthorpe No. 100 Bylaw No. 228-06.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church resides in the following character-defining elements:
-elements that reflect the church’s religious function, including its form, which consists of a rectangular plan, gable roof, semi-circular apse, and central tower surmounted by a detailed belfry, spire and cross; the shape and pattern of the window openings; the transom lights above the front and side entrances; stained glass windows; and the interior spatial arrangement of narthex, nave, elevated sanctuary flanked by vestry and sacristy, vaulted ceiling, and rear choir loft;
-elements of the building’s architecture and furnishings that express its connection to the local Catholic parish and the community at large, such as the donated statuary and bells; the brick construction and detailing, including the brick window crowns and sills and decorative buttresses; the date stone on the front façade; and the church’s location on its original site.