Rev. Grey reviews the Anglican Church architecture of Newfoundland.Periodical covers have been included with many of the digitized articles whether they relate to them or not. Extra pages not part of the article in question may also be present

Grey, William Rev.

Memorial University Newfoundland Digital Archive Initiative

.. . 4 {I . 156 .. rab THE ECCLESIOLOGY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. [WB have much pleasure in publishing the following interesting letter, for which we are indebted to the Secretary of the Oxford Architectural Society --En.] To the Secretary of the Oxford Architectural Society. Portugal Cove, near S. John•s, Newfoundland, Jan. 13th, 1853. S1n,-It is now rriore than four years and a half ago that, on the occasion of my last visit to Oxford, I offered to resign my office ol Corresponding Secretary of the Oxford Arcl1itectural Society (for Wilt• shire), bt1t my resignation was met \vitl1 a request on the part of tl1e then Committee that I Would continue to l1old tl:.e same office in the Colonies. I could not refuse the honour of being the first-appointed Colonial Secretary of a Society 'vl1ich I had always wisl1ed to serve to the best of my ability, and consequc11tly acceded to the request. Yet I feel to my sl1ame that n1y post l1as been too tnuch of a sinecure (i. e., as regards the Society), nnd I must do ar1d say sometl1ing to retrieve my character,-although, as to doing, I will give myself so much credit as to say that I think that I have done something in ·trying to epread . the knowledge of the principles of Gothic arcl1itecture, which is a working ~,ith tl1at Society .of 'vl1icl1 I am ar1 unwortlty member. But, to proceed '''ith my report, I \Vish to say a few words upon tl1e pre~en~ . state and future prospects of church-building in the Diocese of New-fottndland. 1. As to its 11resent state.---I1ere you must first know tl1at we arc in some res1)ects 11erl1aps even two centuries or so behir1d the motl1er country ,-in all respects, at 1cnst a quarter of a centt1ry. Fashions are palmed off on the credulous fashion-ht111ters here as ne'v which renlly are stale enough in England. Churcl1-buil<ling is in the same predica· ment; the revival, whicl1 began witl1 you ir1 183·9, can scarcely be said to have begun here, although there have certainly been more inquiries what Gothic arcl1itecture is witl1in the last two )~ ears than ever tl1ere were before in Ne\vfout1dland. You "'onder IJerlla}JS that, under theee circumstances, Ne\vfoundland can boast of our noblest colonial catl1e· dral. But this is the doing of our noble-l1eartecl Bishop alone. rllle building is quite unappreciated by the majority of persOns here--even by persons generally well~ informed in otl1er matters; tl1ey see no beauty in it, because it is not finisl1ed. · All buildings of any sort in tl1is colony, with very few exceptions, l1ave been of 'vood ; until after the fire of 1846 the buildings in the lower part of . S. John's, and all edifices for public purposes, were obliged by an a~t of the Colonial Legislation to be of stone. The wood e.mployed for these wooden buildings is for the, most part the pro· 4uce. of the c·ountry, which never grows to any great size. A house or • ' f • • The Ecclesiology of Neuifoundland. 157 church is usually constructed in this way :-Sills are laid down con:. 8isting of chopped sticks, about ei.ght inches at the small end, which, when chopped square, brings them about eight inches cube throughout; they are levelled, and kept there by shores driven well down in the ground. Afterwards, when the house or church is finished, if its builders wish it to look well, they build up a dry wall under these sills • . The 8ills being laid down, they have mortice-holes cut in them, in which upright posts are set with tenons,-the posts being the required height of the walls, and having their outside face chopped fair (you must know that their hatchets are everything to Newfoundlanders) ; the posts are then lined on the top and sawn off straight, the wall-plate nailed on, the roof of chopped sticks put up, the different parts of it being merely nailed on to one another, and never morticed in, only each stick is let about an inch into the side of the other; then the \valls, or rather the frames of the walls, ·are covered externally with clap-board, internally with inch lumber; sometimes the sticks are overlaid with the rough three-quarter or inch board sawn by the people here, and clap-board over that. 1~he roof is then boarded over the rafters with the best board they can get, and then all · the neighbours are called in to shingle it; sometimes sa\vn shingles are used, but more commonly cloven. In the case of a church, a cieling under the tie beams, or at least under the collar, is thought the proper thing, ~nd the lining of the walls inside to be painted one daub of stone colour, which, being unbroken by anything like a string course, and often even by a cornice, is very painful to the eye. The windows are mostly of a genuine meeting-house type, and indeed all other furniture and details are not worthy of remark~ High pews and galleries are eeen in several of the older churches, though our good Bishop wages war against them. I ought to add, for his sake, that he has been instrumental in very many cases in replacing the old paltry church furniture with other of a more suit .. . able character, of which the church here is a remnrkable example. The details are for the most part incorrect, but still of good materials and well meant. The sort of building I have described above is termed a " frame-house,'' which is considered the strongest sort of wooden house \vhich can be built. 'rhere are also . "stud-houses'' and ''plank-houses,'' neither of which I shall describe particularly, as they are reckoned unfit for churches. "Stud-wood'' is used only for small and mean buildings, and is of a ·very primitive description : a number of studs (i. e., sticks from four to six inches thick) are set upright on a sill as close together as possible, and the interstices filled up \\'ith moss. Plank-houses are made of 3-inch plank, and, having no strong frame, are weaker than frame-houses, but the floors and part.itions tie them together ~uffi. ciently. As to stone buildings, it is only in S. John's that any number of them are to he seen, where, as I said above, people are obliged to turn their attention to the subject. I hear a good many complaints of the expensiveness of stone buildings; it seems that they want constant and costly repairs, owing to the ravages made on the cement by the .intense frost, and the . sudden changes to rapid thaw, which we have , .. • ' I I ' \ I ! I • ! I I I i 158 The ·Ecclesiology. of Newfoundland. more or less every winter. All sorts· of remedies are propOsed and .tried, some paint their brickwork,· others point with Roman cement. I have an idea myself that roughcast would be effectual, but I do not think I have seen it tried. I should be glad of any hint on this subject, especially from any of our members \\'llo may have extended tl1eir vaca· .tion rambles to such countries as Norway, Sweden, or the north of Russia. Stone 'churches are b·uilt even in Iceland; what cement is used there? . Of stone churches built before the fire of 1846, I know but two,-tllat of Harbour Grace, and the large Romish cl1apel (so-called cathe-dral) in S. ,Tohn·s. The former I l1ave not seen, but I am told that its state is bad enough. 1,he latter I know is far from being in a safe con· clition. The Cat~edral (not the Romish) has taken a good deal of pointing since its erection, but I think it promises pretty well ; it is entirely . pointed with Roman cement. I heard a great deal on my arrival about the frost splitting the stones in the wall~ whicl1 I could not , quite believe, and, on examir1ing the walls, I found tl1at the fractures in question \vere nothing more or less than settlements, caused by using too large stones and too fine joints. Tl1ere are no other stone churcl1es in the dio~ese besides \Vl1at I have mentioned. With this re}JOrt I hope to send a few sl<.etches to sho\v you what some of our existing cl1urches are. Very little need be said about them,---a sketcl1 will tell you best, and ''ex uno disce omnes.'' The only exception which occurs to me is Pouch Cove church, Which is ~ great attempt at something correct, and in many -respects is very pleasing; the great fault, perhaps. is that the walls are much too ·high. In this case, however_ " too many cooks spoiled the broth," and ·what made it \\'Orse was, tl1at· none of the cooks knew exactly how the broth was to be mixed; several persons gave their advice about it, .but none l1ad a clear notion \\·hat Gothic nrcl1itecture was. . 2. rl,o go on, tl1en, \Vith the future prospects of churcl1-building l1ere. 'l"he Cathedral I horle our eyes will see finisl1ed, but if that be not tl1e case, I should think that the next generation would take care that the rest of' the building should be only a carrying out of the original design . of l'vlr. G. G. Scott, tl1e architect. But as to other churches which ·may have to be built hereafter, we must look in the main to the Clergy to be the architects. I see no prospect at present of ·any really good cl1urch architect coming out here; and we want a person on the spot to design our wooden churches,~one who is tl1oroughly acquainted with the \Vants and resources of the country ; it is little use to send home for designs to persons wl1o do not know our manner of building, or the .climate of Newfoundland. The churches of Norway were recommended to us some time ago as models; they do indeed give good hints, but it seems to me tl1at such churcl1es could not be put up here out of the material of the country; we have no such timber a~tl1at of Nor\\'a}~• In this place we l1ave to go four or five miles to find sticks 11 feet long · by six incl1es at the small end. Again, there is a good deal of wood-worlt in m<tny parts ·of England~wooden pillar~ and arches, to\ver~, porcl1es, and even walls, in Chesl1ire, Hampsl1ire, Sussex, and Essex; .but there tl1ick nnd crool{ed oak timber is used, and our ~ticl<s are tl1in . . The Ecclesiology of Newfoundland. and straight: eo that altogether .we want a local architect. But it aeems as · though S. John's would scarcely find employment for a really good one; tl1ere are builders and car1'enters,--those who call themselves architects, and who are competent enough to do the principal work,-to run up square briCk houses and design shop-fronts. One of . 'these turned out an Independent meeting-l1ouse lately ,--a sort of parody of Gothic, . witl1 bits cribbed from tl1e Cathedral stuck in here and there, and a good honest square chimney cro\vning the eastern gable. I fear that I am partly to blame for this, for on the Archdeacon de-manding of the '• architect''. his a11thority, he . produced the elevations of Litt~emore, published by our SocietY some years ago, which, I think, I gave away to somebody in S. John's. All tl1e faults of Littlemore had .l1een diligently copied, and its merits struck out. Here, then, the Clergy must be architects, and I see the necessity of tl1eir being so ·more and more every year. I foulld the necessity in England, but ~uch more in the Colonies. . . Let me add my voice to tl1ose of many others who have spoken .before me, and strongly advise the junior members of our University to .qualify themselves for Holy Orders ·by a practical knowledge of architecture. It is no disgrace to follow such men as William of Wykeham. I must beg the Society not to accuse me too hastily of egotism, if I say a few words about their humble servant and his works. I have had · the office of Diocesan Architect forced upon me, and in that capacity have given deEigns for eight entire churches, and for addi~ions to two existing churches. How.ever, one of tl1e eight above mentioned (it is ·in Cape Breton Island, in the ·Diocese of Nova Scotia) was entirely re-modelled, and a · new chancel added according to my designs. Two .others were itl Labrador. When holding the office of PrinciiJal of Queen's College at S. John's, I Used to give Architectural Lectures to the students twice a-week, as also a course of lectures on the same e·ubject .to tl1e Clergy assembled at. the Bishop's last visitation. I hope that the attention of the Clei-.gy Was called to the Subject; it was per .. haps only my vanity which made me Suppose that the fact of a greatly increased demand for architectural works afterwards " 'as caused by the · effect of these same lectures of mine. I hoiJe with tl1is to send a few sl{etcbes of some of the ~l1t1rches wl1ich have been erected under my superintendence, and leave tl1e Society to form their o'vn opinion about ·them. asking them to remember that the sudden changes from frost to ·thaw, .the high winds with furious snow-drifts, together with the poor ·materials, render a very simple outline quite necessary. A Newfound-. land arcllitect cannot produce all the varieties which battlements. ' parapets, pinnacles, gabled aisles, fiat roofs, &c., &c., give to your · English churches, without mal{ing his building either ludicrous, or dangerous, or both together. ! · I must ep.eak no more -of agenttz, but go on to the head of matter, and say a fe\V words about our materials ; how we may l1o11e to handle ·them. . I am not at all certain (notwitl1standing what I l1ave said above, and \Vhat otl1ers have said,) that tl1e walls of our chQrches may not .be built }60 The EcclesioloiJy of NewfOundland. very well of etone, either entirely or in part. (a) Entirely, by using (i.) eitl1er Cyclopean masonry. 'vhich might be done along the south coast of the island where granite is the prevailing rock. In this case no cement would be used outside, only the stones must be pretty \\'ell squared, an4 the 'valls l>eing plaistered inside, the air could not pene· trate through the wall : (ii.) Or by giving the walls a good coat . of rough. cast, al \vays .remembering to use small stones with wide joi11ts, (like Roman ~asonry,) \vhich \viii give a better hold to the rough-cast. as well as tend to make the settlements of tl1e wall less ruinous in their consequences than 'vhere large stones and fine joints are used. (/3) Or · our \valls might be built partly of stone, partly of wood; tl1us in the case of to,vers tl1e lo\\'er part might be of stone, and tl1e upper stage of 'vood, as is the case of many churche·s in Sussex and I-Iants, e.g. West- · l1ampnet near Chichester. Or in the case of lo'\\'er walls, tl1ey might be built in •• blaclc and \Vhite,'' as tl1e . Cl1eshire pl1rase is~a sort of \Vorl<. often seen even in large houses in that count)'• and very generally bet\veen Gloucester and Bristol. wl1icl1 consists of a wooden frarne filled in with brick or stone ;· the stone or brick \vhitewashed, and the 'vooden frame painted black, or, what looks better, red. Tl1is ~ort of worlc, I tl1ink, might be employed in some · dis.tricts hereabouts. On Bell Isle, in my parisl1,· is found a sort of schist rock, which breaks to a smootl1 face, and often as square as a brick.. Tl1e stones would lie together so close in a wall as .scarcely to require any pointing or cement :~.I have seen l1ouses built in this fasl1ion in Corn\vall (in the neigl1bourl1ood of Lis-. keard I particularly remember tl1ero,) wl1ich had no sort of cement or mortar outside. And the '-''indow nnd door jambs being of timber, as also the· quoins and other dressings~ no dre8sed stones would be needed in such buildings, and tl1~ services of the stone-cutter · dispensed with. I cannot help tl1inking that we shall be obliged to make more use of stone . for cl1urches and houses tl1an is now done, as pro1Jer sticl<:s for building are getting very scarce in the neigl1bo.urhood of S. John's, and round Conception Day. owing partly to fires among the woods in summer, \Vl1ich fires extend often for pve or six miles in length, and partly to the \vasteful \vay tl1e people hereabouts have of cutting and ~estroying tl1e trees; barking many while still standing for the sake of the rind. and felling tl1e trees in winter two feet or so above 'the root, they being buried in snow so deep or deeper, 'vhile tl1ey l1acl' about the smaller trees to get boughs for the covering of their fish flakes. As to buildings entirely of wood, \ve may make them ~uch more ornamental than they generally are now. At present the ulfima Thule of elegance in a \Vooder1 house, is to have tl1e clap board nicely planed ·and }Jain ted white, and tl1e frames of tl1e doors and wir1do\vs painted umber. -But if tl1e clai) board be nailed on, some horizontally, sorne obliquely, with the frame-work painted with red and the clap board \Vitl1 )'ellow ochre, tl1e l)uilding willl1ave a much n1ore }Jleasing 8})IJear· ance, \Vit}l a very small extra expense-! ougl1t rather to . say less expe11se. 1'he Parsonage l1ere l1as been clap-boarded tl1us. ·. It ~ccurs to me tl1at many l'vlembers of tl1e Society do not . understar1d what ''clap board'' means ; I did not before I came out l1ere. A straight stick is sawn do\vn in sucl1 a way that eacl1 board sl1ows a wedge-like • .~---------~---Tkt Ecclt1iology of Newfoundland. 161 section. This board When planed; ie nailed across the uprights or the frame in courses about four inches---the nail which secures tl1e lower, i.e_ the thick edge, goes through the thin edge of the board below. The roofs of our churches ltere deserve a good deal of thought and attention, for there are few place.s where a real good American timber roof can be erected; tl1e native '' eticks '' must furnish all building materials in several out-harbours. But even with these we may have good ecclesiastical-looking roofs-e.g. such as those figured in plates 171, 175, ·of the 2nd Vol. of the .''Glossary of Archite~ture,'' (5th edition) which are such as can be constructed with our small, straight timber . . If any Members of our Society have fallen in witl1 such a roof witl1 its origi~al decorative painting, I should be glad for any l1ints on this head. · Glazing is another matter on which I have thought a good deal. There are no workm~n at all in N ewfoundla11d who can make lend sashes worth anything. Zinc sashes l1ave been used in several churches and houses, but few persons understand the way to use it, and I have found tl1at the casements cannot be made weather-tight. You must remem-ber that snow and rain with us always comes with a heavy gale: it does not fall quietly as with you at home. I think tl1at in many cases we must use \vooden sasl1es; this is the sort of work 'vl1ich people here understand, and is ·quite weather-tigllt. Irldeed it is ratller eX}Jensive when tl1e quarrels are as small as you have in clturches at home; ~but altl1ougl1 I would never recommen<l large square panes sucl1 as are used cornmonly in dwelling-houses; I think we might have something between the two panes about 6 or 7 incl1es across, and .arranged diamond-wise. On the subjeCt of heating churches I should be glad of any sugges-tions. I tl1inlc myself that the mode of heating hot-houses would be the best in tl1is climate. 1'he l1ot air from a furnace belo\v tl1e level of the floor is carried ·by a pipe of drain tiles along tl1e churcl1, and dis-charges itself by a pipe or flue up a corner of tl1e to,ver. I am alD:lost asl1amed to trouble you with this long story, but per-llaps as a report from Newfoundland is a novelty to the Society. I sl1all be excused. I sl1all be truly thankfu~ for hints and suggestions on the subjects I have mentioned. Permit me also to draw the attention of Members to a statement which I hope to send by the same mail \vhich takes tl1is, . c~ncerning the new church which I am endeavouring to erect here. I pres.ume that as the Society did not grant money to new churches when I was ·resident at Oxford, so it do~s not nt present; but that the Committee will kindly recommer1d my case to tl1e Members. I have only space to add that I am Your. obedient servant, WILLIAl\·[ GREY • • • fV(fD lotS 55'-/-J<ff5g ~AR£ 

The Ecclesiology of Newfoundland

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The Ecclesiology of Newfoundland

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