Description of Historic Place

Sharon United Church site consists of the original 1889 one storey wood frame building, a two storey hall addition to its rear, and a large new sanctuary and hall addition added in 2005. The site is located at the important Five Corners intersection in the Murrayville area of Langley.

Heritage Value

Protected by a Heritage Revitalization Agreement since 2002, the original one-storey Sharon United (formerly Presbyterian) Church is important for its spiritual, historic, and aesthetic significance. Most important of all is its socio-cultural value within the community that has endured since it was built in 1889 and dedicated in 1890.

Spiritually, the church is important for its systems of beliefs and its religious context. Originally a Presbyterian church, Sharon United Church represents one of the earliest such churches on the mainland of British Columbia and the success of the Presbyterian Church in establishing territorial divisions (called Conferences) in the newly opened land of the west. As well, it represents the desire of the early settlers to achieve a sense of normalcy and familiarity in a new and rough environment.

The church was extremely important to the early settlers as a method of bringing cohesion to their community. In fact, the congregation actually came together before the church was built, meeting at the old school house at Innes' Corner from as early as 1876, only one year after Paul Murray and his family arrived as the first settlers of crown land in what would later become known as 'Murray’s Corners' and then 'Murrayville', the Township’s second-oldest community. Its construction ties in with the first building boom that occurred in the area in the late 1880s as a result of it being a transportation and communications crossroads for the Lower Mainland.

Sharon United Church is important historically for its age and the people associated with it. It is the oldest church in this community and one of the oldest Presbyterian churches on the mainland of British Columbia. Most of Murrayville's pioneer families are associated with the Church, in particular the Paul Murray family. Paul Murray was the first of three elders to be ordained in the British Columbian Presbyterian Church. The other two were James McAdam and Alexander McDougall. The Church is also significant for its association with important pioneer ministers, such as Reverend Alexander Dunn, Reverend Alexander Tait, and Reverend Robert Jamieson. Reverend Jamieson started preaching on the mainland in 1862 and, through his visits to Fort Langley over the next decade, encouraged three local Presbyterian churches to be built, including Langley's Sharon Presbyterian Church. The early membership roll includes many men and women who were important in the community's business, educational and social life.

Sharon United Church is aesthetically important for its architectural style, which is still discernable despite the addition in 2003 of a large new structure to better serve a growing congregation. While the original church structure is typical of early western pioneer churches in its use of a steeply gabled roof and locally-hewn wood construction, it is important for being rather petite at only three bays long, with simple lines and traditional arched windows. Its country setting on the prominent Five Corners intersection (Yale Road, 48th Avenue and 216th Street), its visual prominence as part of an important historic streetscape, and its continuity at that site, all contribute to the significant landmark status of the building.

Source: Langley Centennial Museum, heritage files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the original (1889) Sharon United Church include its:

Architectural qualities, such as:
- Simple lines,
- Longitudinal axis,
- 3 window bays long,
- Carpenter Gothic style,
- The scale of the original building.

Architectural elements, such as:
- Traditional arched windows,
- Steep gable roof,
- Wooden drop siding,
- Stained glass windows,
- Small semi-circular transom light above front entrance,
- Circular pediment above front entrance.

Siting:
- Landmark,
- Country setting,
- Part of an historic streetscape,
- Orientation on the site and its relationship to the historic Five Corners intersection of Old Yale Road, 48th Avenue and 216th Street.

Cultural Significance:
- Continued use of site as a place of worship.