A piece of North Grenville history is slated to get some much-needed love in the months ahead. The original St. James Anglican Church in Kemptville was built in 1827, meaning that St. James has nearly 200 years of history. The original St. James Anglican Church was the first church in the entire district. The St. James that we know today was built in 1880, directly adjacent to the original building.
The church’s history is rich just as its place in Kemptville is hugely important, being the only local Anglican Church. Efforts will soon be underway to restore the exterior stonework of the church to give the historical building new life so it can continue to serve our community.
Dan Callaghan, who is on the building restoration group at St. James Anglican, explained that although the building is structural sound parts of the exterior stonework are currently deteriorating. In September the congregation was presented with a proposal from their building group and unanimously supported a motion to hire a local contractor to restore the exterior masonry of the building.
“It’s a beautiful old building, and we feel restoring it is honouring to God and we are doing the right thing.” said Dan. With heritage week having just passed, the preservation of our history and our important local landmarks is at the forefront of many people’s minds.
In the weeks ahead, the Times will feature a series written by Doug MacDonald on St James Anglican’s past, digging through 200 years of history. While readers reflect on how the church and its people have impacted our community over such a long timespan, we encourage you to consider the importance of this local landmark, and see it’s continued value for future decades to come.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the restoration work or who would like to contribute to the restoration project can get in touch with Vanessa Skelton by email at wardens@stjameskemptville.com.
