Description of Historic Place

The former Rose Valley United Church is a wood shingle-clad Gothic Revival church with pointed arched windows and a square entrance tower, located on a hilltop overlooking the farm fields and woodland of the rural community of Rose Valley, Prince Edward Island.

Heritage Value

The former Rose Valley United Church is valued for its rural Gothic Revival church architecture, its excellent construction, age, and associations with Scottish Highland settlement of the community.

In 1831, 20 Isle of Skye families settled in the Rose Valley area with further Highland Scots settlers arriving in 1840 and 1841. Religious services for the 90 Gaelic-speaking Presbyterian families were held in homes or outdoor gatherings often with a visiting minister until a church was built in 1846 in nearby Hartsville.

The growing settlement eventually established a general store, saw & shingle mill, brick kiln, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, carriage factory and community hall, highlighting the need for its own church building.

Rose Valley Presbyterian Church was constructed in 1876 with materials contributed by the community by local builders Robert MacDonald and Joseph Trowsdale on land donated by Donald MacDonald. Supervised by building committee members Duncan MacKinley, Murdock H. MacKenzie, Alexander MacLean, Samuel Kennedy and Peter MacDonald, plans and specifications were available for viewing at Malcolm Matheson's store, Breadalbane Railway Station, or the Enterprise Carriage Factory in Rose Valley.

The church once formed part of the Strathalbyn Charge which included the Hartsville and Breadalbane churches. Strathalbyn district included Rose Valley, Stanchel, Springton, Hartsville and Breadalbane. Early on, the area was also known as "Scotch Settlement".

Rev. Alexander Campbell from Nova Scotia was the first minister at Rose Valley Presbyterian, followed by Rev. John MacLeod from Scotland. Succeeding ministers included Malcolm Campbell, James MacLean, A. S. Stewart, John Gillis, Alexander Ferguson and John McCall. During Rev. McCall's ministry the Rose Valley, Breadalbane, Granville and Pleasant Valley churches formed the Breadalbane Pastoral Charge. The nameplate for Rev. Anthony Ware (1933-1921) remains on an interior door of the church.

The tower was rebuilt and modified in 1923 following damage from flying sparks from the store across the road. The congregation donated the lumber and an 80' x 40' horse barn shed addition was also built. Attached to the structure to shelter horses during services, the barn was also used for ice cream socials and picnics. It was later removed, hauled to a Kennedy farm in Stanchel and converted to a barn. The adjacent community hall intended for re-use, unfortunately collapsed enroute to a nearby farm.

Rev. John Sterling was Rose Valley's minister during the 1925 church union debates. The congregation voted to join the United Church, while Hartsville opted to remain Presbyterian.

In 1970, amalgamation of the charge began with the closure of the North Granville and North Rustico churches and in 1987, the Rose Valley United Church closed. The current owners have sympathetically maintained the heritage character of the building, adapting the interior for use as a residence. A series of small dormer windows have been added on each side of the roof to provide light to the upper storey. Custom made cresting and finials were added to the top of the tower.

The PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation recognized the owners with an award in 2016 for their efforts in preserving and re-purposing the church. This well-built and lovingly maintained church -- a testament to the early Scots settlers whose determination and fortitude carved out and established a community in the heart of the province -- continues to be an important feature in Rose Valley's landscape and is a tangible reminder of the community's history.

Source: PEI Heritage Places files, Dept of Economic Growth, Tourism & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4310-20/R7

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the building is shown in the following character-defining elements:

- the scale and massing of the building
- the pitch and slope of the roof
- the wood shingle cladding
- the size and placement of the pointed Gothic arched windows with tracery on the side elevations, original to the building
- the square entrance tower, with string-course, pointed arched window on west elevation and pointed arch louvres
- the original wood entrance door

Further contributing character-defining elements:

- the setting of the church on a hilltop overlooking Rose Valley
- the existing original interior features including the wood flooring, tongue and groove wall paneling, pews and raked choir loft converted to sleeping quarters
- the faux grained painted interior doors