Intention to Designate 2251 Rymal Road East, Stoney Creek

Description of Property

The 0.1-hectare property municipally addressed as 2251 Rymal Road East, Stoney Creek, is comprised of a one-storey brick building constructed as a place of worship in 1881, formerly known as the Elfrida United Church.  It is located on the north side of Rymal Road East, between Swayze Road and the Upper Centennial Parkway, in the historic settlement area of Elfrida in the former Township of Saltfleet, in the community of Stoney Creek in the City of Hamilton.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The one-storey brick building, formerly known as the Elfrida United Church, was constructed in 1881, in the place of an earlier church constructed in 1858.  The property has design or physical value as it is a representative example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture as applied to a place of worship. The property also displays a high degree of craftsmanship through the decorative brackets and tracery, the stone hood-moulds on the windows and the multi-coloured stained glass windows.

The property has historical value as it was one of the earliest places of worship in Saltfleet Township and is associated with the theme of the nineteenth-century development in Saltfleet. Originally built as a Methodist church and joining the United Church of Canada in 1925, this former place of worship served the historic settlement area of Elfrida until its closure in 1991 and conversion into a restaurant.

Contextually, this property is important in defining the former historic rural character of the area. It is historically linked to its surroundings, located on the historic Rymal Road transportation corridor and being the only remaining non-residential nineteenth-century building from the historic settlement area of Elfrida. Located close to the public right-of-way, it is a highly visible structure, juxtaposed against the surrounding modern commercial development, making it a local landmark.

Key attributes that embody the design value of the property as being a representative example of the Gothic Revival architectural style demonstrating a high degree of craftsmanship, and historical value for its associations with places of worship in Saltfleet Township and nineteenth-century settlement in Elfrida, include:

• All elevations and roofline of the one-storey brick building, including its:
  • Front gable roof with projecting eaves and brick chimneys to the front and rear
  • Decorative wooden brackets and brick detailing below the front (south) gable
  • Circular window opening in the front (south) elevation with a rounded stone hood-mould
  • Date stone on the front elevation reading: “C.M.C. Erected 1858 Rebuilt 1881”
  • Brick buttresses on the front (south) and side (east and west) elevations
  • Lancet windows with wooden quatrefoil tracery and etched stained glass with floral designs in red, green, yellow, and blue, including:
    • Stone hood-moulds in the front (south) elevation
    • Brick voussoirs in the side (east and west) elevations
  • Round stone hood-mould over a semicircular transom above the front entrance
  • Decorative brick panels between the first storey and basement window bays
  • Flat-headed basement windows with stone lintels
  • Stone foundation

Key attributes that embody the contextual value of the property as a defining feature of the historical character of the historic settlement area of Elfrida and as a local landmark include its:

• Location on Rymal Road
• Shallow setback from the public right-of-way
• Visibility of the property from all directions