I’m running out of pictures of churches I can place – before I was blogging, I just took pictures without paying attention to names and denominations, so I’m turning to you, trusted reader, to help me out! A few years ago I was driving home from Twillingate, somewhere on Route 340 I guess, and had to stop to get pictures of this eerie but still beautiful abandoned church. So locals, or those who just love it up there, help me out! Do you have any idea the name of this church or its history? I’d love to know!
And if you need help placing it, this is it’s setting. What a beautiful spot!
3 Replies to “Sunday Church Blogging: Name That Church!”
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It’s Christ Anglican Church, Clarkes Head Gander Bay, NL! I drive by it often.
Here’s some more info:
The building of Christ Church was a long and arduous process for the people in the Clarke’s Head area. Rev. E.C. Clench first held a meeting to discuss erecting a church in February 1904. A month later each man agreed to provide ten logs, $2.50 or 250 ft. of sawn lumber. Despite this, construction of the church did not begin until May 1905.
Robert Small designed the church and the congregation built it under the direction of Ruben Peckford. Peckford was paid $1.30 per 10-hour day, while his helper received $1.25 per day. The men of the congregation provided the rest of the labour and agreed either to contribute at least six days of labour or pay $6 in cash. They made similar arrangements for the clapboard and flooring.
After numerous fits and starts Christ Church was finally opened on April 24, 1910, by Rev. N. S. Facey and Rev. Butler of Fogo. The opening service had a baptism, a marriage and a funeral. The church was not fully complete and it was not until July 25, 1913, that it was consecrated by Bishop Llewellyn Jones. Five years later, in 1918, Christ Church became a full parish and was no longer considered a part of the Change Islands mission. In 1953 the parishes were reorganised and the church became a part of the parish of Gander Bay.
The cooperative spirit needed to construct the church remained long after it completion. Members of the congregation donated the pulpit and font in 1910, and later, most of the church’s articles. Before electricity and central heating in the 1960s, wood stoves heated the church with the wood donated by the congregation.
The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador declared Christ Anglican Church in Clarke’s Head a Registered Heritage Structure in April 1990.
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing! This is fun – I think I’ll try some more mystery churches in the future. A little learning!