Notice of Intention to Designate 21 Stone Church Road West, Hamilton

In the matter of the Ontario Heritage Act and the property in the City of Hamilton known municipally as 21 Stone Church Road West, notice is hereby given that the City of Hamilton intends to designate this property as being a property of cultural heritage value.

Why?

The Barton Stone Church represents one of the oldest congregations in Hamilton and reflects the theme of early places of worship. When the original church building was condemned, the Presbyterian congregation constructed the Barton Stone United Church as it stands today, with construction taking place from 1845-1847. The Cemetery was opened in 1847 after the church was constructed and therein lies the remains of many of Barton Township’s early settlers.

The Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest, Description of Heritage Attributes and supporting cultural heritage assessment can also be viewed in person during regular business hours at:

Office of the City Clerk
71 Main Street West, 1st Floor
Hamilton, Ontario, L8P 4Y5

Written Notice of Objection

Any person may, within 30 days after the date of the publication of the Notice, serve written notice of their objections to the proposed designation, together with a statement for the objection and relevant facts.

Dated at Hamilton, this 28th day of April, 2017.

R. Caterini
City Clerk
Hamilton, Ontario

Contact
Chelsey Tyers, Cultural Heritage Planner
Phone: 905-546-2424 ext. 1202
Email: [email protected]

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

The Barton Stone United Church and Cemetery sits at the corner of Upper James Street and Stone Church Road West in the former Township of Barton in Hamilton, Ontario. Situated on the old Caledonia Highway, the church and cemetery have become landmarks, reflective of the area’s pastoral history.

The Barton Stone Church represents one of the oldest congregations in Hamilton and reflects the theme of early places of worship. In 1810, early settler William Rymal constructed a frame church on his property on Mohawk Road, now the location of St. Peter’s Cemetery. The building was shared between the Presbyterian and Lutheran congregation until 1845 when the building was condemned. Following this, each congregation built their own church. The Presbyterian congregation built the Barton Stone United Church as it is known today from 1845-1847.

The Presbyterian congregation was linked with other congregations over the years including Wentworth Street Mission, Locke Street Church, Chalmers Church, Wesley Methodist and Trinity Church. The church had a combination of ordained pastors as well as city ministers during the winter and student ministers in the summer between 1876 and 1886. In 1925, the church joined the United Church of Canada.

The Barton Stone Cemetery was opened in 1847 following the construction of the adjacent Church. Therein lies the remains of many early settlers of Barton Township, in particular associated with the Presbyterian and other congregations that were linked with Barton Stone United Church over the years

The Barton Stone United Church displays a rural place of worship adaptation of Gothic Revival architecture. The Gothic Revival influences are demonstrated in the symmetry of the facades, the paired Gothic arched windows along the north and south facades, the arched door on the east façade, and the returned cornice.

The rear addition was built c.1970 and is sympathetic to the original part of the building.

Description of Heritage Attributes

Cultural Heritage Attributes that reflect pastoral context include:

• fence pillars that are constructed from stone of the original stone fence
• mature trees along Upper James Street

Cultural Heritage Attributes that reflect the Gothic Revival style of architecture include:

• One-storey limestone construction
• Gable roof with cornice returns
• Paired gothic arched windows
• Arched door on the east façade

Cultural Heritage Attributes that reflect the value of the historic cemetery include:

• tomb headstones and their arrangement.