Built in 1928 as an Anglican church, the former All Saints now houses an evangelical Baptist community. This modest wooden building, topped with a gabled roof, is organized around a bell tower porch on the front, whose crenellated floors are topped by a slender spire.
The architecture is distinguished by the abundance of ogival and Tudor arch windows, which punctuate the facades of the nave and frame the bell tower. At the chevet, a large segmental window flanked by two ogival openings enlivens the apse. The ensemble forms a simple but expressive silhouette, inherited from the North American vernacular Gothic tradition.
Photo credit: Paul Trépanier
Since 1928, the former All Saints Church has served as a cultural anchor for several generations of worshippers, welcoming different religious communities over the years. Due to the diversity of its uses and the depth of its history, it is now the main place of remembrance for Protestantism in Rouyn-Noranda.
The photo shows the church as it was when it was built and before the 1952 renovations that gave it its current appearance.
Photo credit: Charles Ladouceur
Here we see Mr. William Corran and his wife, who brought the bell from Manchester for their church. In this photo taken in 1952, they are ringing the bell for the very first time in its history on Rouyn-Noranda soil!
Photo credit: The Montreal Star
The interior of the church in the 1950s.
Photo credit: BAnQ
The interior of the church today. Note that very little has changed from the interior appearance of the 1950s. A very well-preserved place!
Photo credit: RPCQ
Here you can see the exterior of All Saints Church around 1955. Even the cladding is the same today!
Photo credit: SHRN
The former All Saints Church is notable first and foremost for its architectural value. The work carried out in 1952 transformed the modest 1928 building into an elegant temple inspired by modernized Gothic architecture. Although the identity of the architect responsible for this transformation is unknown, his work shows great inventiveness in adapting Protestant Gothic codes to the architectural language of the 20th century, making the building the most accomplished Protestant church in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
The church is also of heritage interest for its historical value. The oldest place of worship still in use in Rouyn-Noranda, the building had long been stripped of its religious attributes until the Anglican community undertook, in 1952, to give it the appearance of a true temple. The quality of the work carried out has ensured its preservation to this day. Driven by a desire to reconnect with the architectural heritage of the Church of England, the parish even acquired a historic bell (1825) from All Saints Church in Manchester, the installation of which caused quite a stir in the media at the time.
- 1928 Construction
- 1939 Construction of the rectory
- 1952 Extension (bell tower, lean-to), renovation of windows and exterior cladding
- Its location in the heart of the 'parish hamlet' of Old Noranda
- Its rectangular shape and gabled roof
- Its bell tower porch
- Its materials, including concrete foundations and asbestos cement shingle siding
- Its main door and Tudor arch windows
- Its large segmental and pointed arch windows
- Its lancet windows and battlements on the bell tower
- Its spire
- Its staircase and steps