Heritage group takes trip down memory lane while working to restore old N.B. church
'It's just so much history with that church and the inside of the building is just breathtaking'
With the help of a community association, it may breathe new life down the road.
Pat Burns, secretary of the New Maryland Heritage Association, said she recalls going to the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church with her whole family growing up.
She was baptized in that church, her parents and sister got married there, and her parents are buried in the cemetery nearby.
"Anyone who has ever seen the inside of the church or been a member of the community … were really basically in awe of the beauty of the inside and even the structure on the outside," said Burns.
Pat
Burns, secretary of the New Maryland Heritage Association, said when
people go to the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church they are 'in awe of
the beauty of the inside.' (Submitted/Friends of the Historic New Maryland Church)
After the deconsecration, a call went out for people interested in keeping New Maryland's heritage alive, Burns said. That's how the New Maryland Heritage Association was born.
It took on the goal of restoring the church building. The hope is it will one day be a cultural centre with touchscreen kiosks showcasing historical information and photos from the community.
Judy Wilson-Shee, the association's chair, said the restoration is important to the community because of the sentimental value attached to the former church.
She also got married in the church and her late husband is buried behind it.
"It's just so much history with that church and the inside of the building is just breathtaking, that we had the consensus that we would work on doing the restoration of it," said Wilson-Shee.
Shown
from left are Pat Burns, secretary, Judy Wilson-Shee, chair, and Mac
Burns, chair of the memory book. The New Maryland Heritage Association
is working to restore the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church. (Submitted by New Maryland Heritage Association)
She said along with this church, there were also discussions around another deconsecrated church — St. John the Evangelist. There was a request for proposals last summer, but none panned out, meaning the option of tearing down that church is back on the table.
For the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Wilson-Shee said next steps include addressing structural issues like the foundation and roof.
While the association doesn't have an exact cost for the church's restoration, it's estimated to be over $200,000.
The association needed to raise some money for the restoration project, along with grants they received.
The New Maryland Heritage Association took on the goal of restoring the building, which they hope will become a cultural centre. (Submitted/Friends of the Historic New Maryland Church)
They came up with the idea for a cookbook fundraiser with recipes submitted from the community, said Mac Burns, Pat's husband and the chair of the cookbook project.
The book was to have one recipe per page.
"It wasn't long [before] discovering that we had room on each of those pages for other things and recipes," said Mac. "So then we said, 'Well, since we're going to share recipes, let's share some memories.'"
From there, the association scoured digital archives and asked people in the neighbourhood for old photos with stories to accompany them.
The association has sold 200 copies of its memory book. (Hannah Rudderham/CBC)
Mac said since selling around 200 copies of the book, people approached the association and said some of the photos of their family members were ones they'd never seen before.
Pat and Mac said a lot of the photos they dug up were ones they didn't know existed.
"It was a great learning experience for us," said Mac. "It brought back a lot of memories of days gone by.
"History has a way of disappearing if you don't document it."
The association scoured digital archives and asked people in the neighbourhood for old photos to accompany the recipes. (Hannah Rudderham/CBC)
Pat said a lot of the photos came from private collections and documented the old apple orchards, community functions and youth groups.
She said when growing up in New Maryland, despite being close to Fredericton, they wouldn't go to the city for most things.
"It would be really, really nice to have that sense of community back again," said Pat. "I think that this book that was created, it gives us very fond reminders of the strong community that we did have here in New Maryland."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vacant New Maryland church 'an absolute stunner,' says Fredericton architect
John Leroux says St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church deserves to be saved
For nearly 30 years, the St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church has sat empty and unused behind a chain link fence on the side of the New Maryland highway.
The door of the church has a large florescent yellow 'No Trespassing' sign, next to a plaque that states the church is a provincial heritage site.
It's shame the distinctive wooden church isn't valued as the treasure it is, says well-known Fredericton architect John Leroux.
The door to the church warns trespassers to stay away. (Sarah Petz/CBC )
A committee formed by the Anglican Parish of New Maryland to determine what to do with the church asked Leroux to evaluate what condition the church was in, and report back to them.
While the building will need some work, Leroux says it's an "absolute stunner" inside.
Pre-Confederation building
Its history also makes it one of the most important churches in the province, he said.
The church was built between 1863 and 1864, making it a pre-Confederation building.
It was designed by Edward Medley, who was the son of Bishop John Medley, the man responsible for the Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton.
Edward Medley designed five or six churches in New Brunswick after being trained by one of the most important architects in England. He was also an Anglican priest.
The church was built between 1863 and 1864, making it a pre-Confederation building. (Sarah Petz/CBC )
"It's a spectacular gothic revival building. It's one of the most important churches in New Brunswick and it's been kind of abandoned or forsaken for the last 30 years," Leroux said.
"I alway say, we shouldn't ignore our treasures, we should embrace them, and I think we have a chance to do that now."
Parish mulls options
Leroux presented his findings to the parish committee at a public meeting last week.
New Maryland Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee, who is the chairperson of the committee, said since the meeting she's heard from several people who are interesting developing some options for the use of the church.
"I think what stuck with a lot of people, they've never seen the inside of that church," she said.
"The inside is in excellent condition, it's really is."
New Maryland Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee is the chair of the parish committee looking into whether the church can be saved. (Sarah Petz/CBC )
The next step in the new year will be to come up with a business plan for the redevelopment of the church, she said.
But as both the mayor and chair of the committee, Wilson-Shee says she's trying to stay neutral about the best option for the building.
In any case, a solid business plan will be necessary if the church is to be re-purposed, she said.
"Anyone can have an idea, but you have to have a business plan. You have to know how you are going to accomplish, what you're setting out to do," she said.
A community project
Ultimately, it will be up to the parish, who still own the church, to decide what happens with the church.
Leroux said he thinks the building could be used as a community centre where concerts or lectures are held.
"We want to make this a community project. This isn't about an Anglican church, this is about a beautiful piece of architecture and about returning it back to the community," he said.
With files from Information Morning Fredericton
Former St. Mary the Virgin, New Maryland
Consecrated: 1864 by John S. Medley, Bishop of Fredericton
Deconsecrated: 2019 October 3, by David Edwards, Bishop of Fredericton
Located at 373 NB-101, New Maryland, and now leased to The New Maryland Heritage Association Inc.
Parish of New Maryland
https://www.lieuxpatrimoniaux.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=2877
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin
373 New Maryland Highway, New Maryland, New Brunswick, E3C, Canada
Formally Recognized: 1994/08/04
Other Name(s)
n/a
Links and documents
Construction Date(s)
1863/01/01 to 1864/01/01
Listed on the Canadian Register: 2005/04/18
Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is a small wooden Gothic Revival church located prominently at 373 New Maryland Highway in the Village of New Maryland.
Heritage Value
The
Church of St. Mary the Virgin Provincial Historic Site is significant
because of its association with the Neo-Gothic architectural programme
of Anglican priest-architect Rev. Edward S. Medley and, his father,
Bishop John Medley. Here the two Medleys have collaborated to render a
diminutive, wooden, mid-Victorian church-building translated from more
formal stone compositions in England dating back to the Middle Ages.
Designed by Rev. Edward S. Medley in 1863 and completed the following
year, this church was consecrated by Bishop John Medley. It serves as a
noteworthy example of the more that 100 Neo-Gothic churches erected in
New Brunswick during the 47 year episcopate of John Medley (1845-1892).
A wholehearted expression of the Gothic Revival in rural
church-building, this church is also important because of the particular
refinement of its architectural components. It exists as one of the
finest Medley-inspired, Neo-Gothic, wooden churches in New Brunswick. It
presents a compelling interpretation of High Victorian architectural
theory transferred from England and adapted to the New Brunswick
countryside. The porch-nave-chancel arrangement is an imaginative blend
of architectural forms, original among New Brunswick churches.
Inspired
by other much larger church buildings of the Gothic manner, St. Mary
the Virgin reflects a dramatic emphasis on exterior vertical lines
reaching upward along the walls of the building, ending in a distinctive
bell turret. This verticality is accentuated further by
board-and-batten exterior construction punctuated frequently in the
architectural pattern by the characteristic pointed arch motif over
windows, doorways and gables.
Surrounded by cemetery stones
nestled in a churchyard, the Church of St Mary the Virgin held a central
place in the life of the rural community for well over 100 years.
Source: New Brunswick Culture and Sport Secretariat, Heritage Branch, Site File # 57.
Character-Defining Elements
Character-Defining Elements of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin include:
-
building context surrounded by cemetery stones nestled in a churchyard
in what still can be considered a rural community setting;
- dramatic
Neo-Gothic stylistic detail together with its liturgical associations
with mid-nineteenth century Anglican worship;
- architectural pattern inside and out overwhelmingly articulated in the Gothic manner.
Visual interest and complexity throughout including:
- decorated Neo-Gothic designs found on bargeboards along the eves of the church;
- cross motif displayed in the woodwork of the west gable;
- Celtic cross over west gable;
- window tracery suggestive of medieval church models;
-
conveyance of the Gothic Revival’s insistence on vertical lines
reaching upward along the walls of the building and converging on a
distinctive bell turret with trefoiled openings, which marks the
separation between chancel and nave;
- plastered interior is defined
by the outline of the building’s timbered frame visible throughout the
nave and chancel, the effect being enhanced by the abundance of light
through the relatively large stained glass windows;
- Gothic
symbolism and ornamentation evident throughout the interior space in the
form of quatrefoils, trefoils, pointed arches, on walls and on the
liturgical furnishings;
- vertical panelled door facing south;
- cross over south gable.
Recognition
Historical Information
Additional Information
https://www.facebook.com/NMHeritage2018/
Intro
https://www.welcomenb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2022.10.0555.html
News Release
Media Contact(s)
Paul Harpelle, communications, Elections NB, paul.harpelle@gnb.ca or Karine Pitre at karine.pitre2@gnb.ca.
Mix-up creates confusion for some voters on where local government elections are taking place next month
05 October 2022FREDERICTON (GNB) – Residents preparing for local government elections next month in their communities may receive a letter this week from Elections New Brunswick mistakenly indicating they are not having an election. While others, not having an election in November, may get the opposite message.
A mix-up in the name on files sent to the vendor who printed the content and packaged the envelopes for Elections NB resulted in over 260,000 households being sent the wrong election message.
“The mistake, introduced after the files were sent to the supplier, was not caught by us during the proofing process,” said chief electoral officer, Kim Poffenroth.
Information about the Nov. 28 local government elections is available on the Elections NB website. In addition, Elections New Brunswick is publishing an insert next week in all the daily newspapers and flyer bags, delivered to people’s homes, indicating where elections are taking place and all of the positions up for election.
“Voters who live in areas having an election will be sent voter information cards by us in mid-November, indicating when and where they can vote,” said Poffenroth.
The communities listed below are not having elections. They were either not impacted by the municipal reform or the number of voters in the local government increased by less than 15 per cent.
· Belledune
· Campobello Island
· Dieppe
· Fredericton
· Fredericton Junction
· Grand Manan
· McAdam
· Memramcook
· Miramichi
· Moncton
· Neguac
· New Maryland
· Quispamsis
· Riverview
· Rothesay
· Saint John
· Tracy
· Upper Miramichi
Residents in the rest of the province, including those living in unincorporated rural areas, will have some form of election.
Elections New Brunswick has a call centre open now to answer questions from voters or candidates about the November elections and to allow people to update their voter information. The call centre will be open Monday to Saturday and can be reached at 1-888-858-8683 (VOTE).
https://www.vonm.ca/town-hall/mayor-and-village-council/
Mayor and Village Council
Judy E. Wilson-Shee, Mayor
Tim Scammell, Deputy Mayor
Alex Scholten, Councillor
Mariet van Groenewoud, Councillor
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