Home / Accueil

Christ Church

17668 - Route 12, Kildare Capes, Prince Edward Island, C0B, Canada

Formally Recognized: 2008/06/12

Showing front elevation with memorial on left; Alberton Historical Preservation Foundation, 2007
Showing front elevation with memorial on left
Showing back elevation; Alberton Historical Preservation Foundation, 2007
Showing back elevation
Former Anglican church on site from 1866-1923; Alberton Museum Collection
Former Anglican church on site from 1866-1923

Other Name(s)

Christ Church
Former Montrose Methodist Church

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/08/11

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Christ Church is an Anglican church located at Kildare Capes overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Gothic Revival style building features a rectangular sanctuary with four rectangular windows on the side elevations. The entrance tower terminates in a cross and has pointed arch windows and decorative hood moulding. The registration includes the church and its lot.

Heritage Value

The church is valued for its well preserved Gothic Revival style; its association with the Yankee Gale; and for its contribution to the community.

This site was originally associated with the Travers family who used the place as a cemetery. When Hannah Gerhard Travers died in 1850, she was buried on a high point of land on the Cape overlooking the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In October of 1851, a massive storm known as the Yankee Gale drowned many American fishermen who were fishing in the waters off Prince Edward Island. Some 90 vessels were wrecked and 160 men died. Three of them washed ashore at Kildare Capes and were buried in the Travers family graveyard. A dozen more bodies were later found along the coast and interred here. In 1995, a large granite monument was erected as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the storm.

The Rev. Robert W. Dyer was the first Anglican priest to arrive in the area in 1859. The first church on the site was constructed by 1866. This was the first Anglican church in Prince County. It was destroyed in a fire on August 18, 1923.

The parishoners decided to purchase the Methodist Church in Montrose which was no longer being used. In 1924, it was hauled over the ice on the frozen Montrose and Kildare rivers to the sea and then along the shore until it was placed in its current location. Spurgeon Jeffery was in charge of this amazing feat.

Today, the church is a landmark in the area and is used each year for regular Sunday services in the summer months.

Source: Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8
File #: 4310-20/A21

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements which illustrate the Gothic Revival style of the church include:

- the wood frame construction and wood shingle cladding
- the rectangular sanctuary with gable roof
- the brick chimney
- the entrance tower topped with a cross
- the fenestration of the rectangular windows on the side elevation
- the stained glass Gothic window at the back elevation
- the pointed Gothic arch windows with tracery in the tower
- the hood mouldings
- the double entrance door
- the location of the church on treed grounds overlooking Kildare Capes

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Prince Edward Island

Recognition Authority

Province of Prince Edward Island

Recognition Statute

Heritage Places Protection Act

Recognition Type

Registered Historic Place

Recognition Date

2008/06/12

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Building Social and Community Life
Religious Institutions

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Religion, Ritual and Funeral
Religious Facility or Place of Worship

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Culture and Heritage Division, PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 File #: 4310-20/A21

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

4310-20/A21

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

SEARCH THE CANADIAN REGISTER

Advanced SearchAdvanced Search
Find Nearby PlacesFIND NEARBY PLACES PrintPRINT
Nearby Places