St. James the Apostle Church

Church of St. James the Apostle area, detail from a St. Lawrence Hall pamphlet, 1901

This Picturesque wooden church, with its harmonious proportions and graceful details, stands back from the road amidst tall shade trees.  The church still serves as a focal point for the region's English Canadian community.

Photo source :
Drawing : Eugene Haberer, Château Ramezay Museum Collection, Montréal (Card #13, Illustrated Cacouna, EPIK Editions, 2001)

The church before the 1885 modifications.

The church was erected in two stages.  The original building was rectangular with buttresses.  The interior was left unadorned, with the only source of light being the narrow arched windows.  Edward Staveley, an architect from Quebec City, drew the plans for the church, which was built in 1865 by Joseph Martin, a master carpenter from Cacouna.  Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists all held services  here over the years.  In 1870, the Anglicans consecrated the church in the name of St. James the Apostle.

Photo source :
The Parsonage Collection

The St. James architectural plans, 1864 and 1885.

In 1885, Edward Staveley's son, Harry, drew up the plans for renovations carried out by a contractor from Rivière-du-Loup, François Lachance.

Photo source:
Church architectural plans: Edward Staveley, September 12, 1864 (P541,D62C)
Renovations plans : Harry Staveley, Septembre 17, 1885 (P541, D62C)
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Fonds Famille Staveley Collection

St. James Church, after the renovations.

A bigger sanctuary was built on the east end, and the original sanctuary was converted into a porch.

Photo source:
Antonio Sirois Family Collection

The steeple and the decorative ironwork

According to the plans drawn in 1885, a more impressive steeple was added, as was the decorative ironwork along the roof. The steeple and the ironwork still decorate the building.

Photo source:
Photo: Yvan Roy

An inside view from the south-facing doorway.

Today, worshipers entering through the south-facing doorway continue to find within these simple wood paneled walls a haven of calm and reflection.

Photo source :
Photo : Yvan Roy

Anglican ministers at The Clergy House of Rest.

The officiating minister used to spend the summer in Cacouna.  In 1891 the Anglican community purchased a house and renovated it for their ministers, calling it The Clergy House of Rest.  Family members accompanying them took rooms nearby.  After serving  for a decade as presbytery, The Clergy House of Rest was torn down in 1960, and the grounds landscaped.

Photo source :
The Parsonage Collection