Cornwall Homes - Trinity Anglican Church

In this Cornwall Homes post, I wanted to share with you guys one of the most spectacular examples of Gothic architecture we have in Cornwall, which is the Trinity Anglican Church. I am really not a religious person, so I'm mainly presenting these photos as a lover of Gothic architecture. These photos were taken a few years ago at an open house event.

The church is just a few blocks away from my home, and is on one of the busiest streets in Cornwall (Second Street).

People who are lucky enough to live near the church are treated to its magnificent bells, which are electronically programmed to ring melodies every hour, followed by the hour strike on the deepest bell. I believe the tower has 8 fixed bells and 1 swinging bell. If you're a fan of carillons, I have several video clips of the bells playing on my YouTube channel. This is one of my favourites from the bunch:



The history of the Anglican Church in Cornwall goes back to 1787, but the current church was built in 1869, and opened for service in 1875. It is also known as the "Bishop Strachan Memorial Church". You can read more about it on various websites, including the church's official site here: http://www.trinityanglicancornwall.ca/

For the longest time in the church's history, the tower did not have a steeple (roof). The roof is aluminum (it had to be a light material, since Cornwall has a lot of clay in the soil, and we have very few tall buildings because of this), and it was added in the 1980s, I believe.

I have always loved the exterior of the church, but when I finally got to see the interior, I was blown away. I don't have a photo of the church's exterior, but you can see it in the videos. I'm focusing on the interior.

One of the most amazing features in this church is the stained glass. These are some of the most beautiful I have seen in a typical church. Tons of deep, rich jewel tones, and lots of detail.





The second most striking feature is the hammerbeam roof (yes I had to look up that term).





The church boasts a beautiful set of columns, marble tiled floors, and a beautiful organ.





The woodwork panelling that houses the organ is solid 1/4 sawn white oak.









During my visit, I was lucky enough to be given a tour by the music director. He showed me the small bell clavier in the tower (for manual playing of the bells).



To play, each lever is marked with a musical note, and you just push down on them, or play with balled fists on the levers.

Each lever on the clavier is connected by a cable to each of the bells in the tower.



If that wasn't cool enough, the music director also let me climb up into the organ with him to see the pipes. There are wooden ones, and tin/lead ones, anywhere from a few inches long (tiny lead ones) to huge ones that are dozens of feet long, and maybe 5 inches wide. I even think that some of the huge square wooden pipes may have been about a foot wide. I can't honestly remember. Another interesting note is that a lot of the pipes you see on the exterior of the organ are fake. Only some of those are real, and the others are "for show". Each pipe needs to be carefully tuned, so we had to be very careful not to touch anything, or hook anything. The lead pipes are very soft and fragile.

Different types of pipes will give different types of sounds. There's one pipe for each key on the keyboard, and there are many sets of pipes, which can be used in many combinations. You can use just 1 set, 2, 3, or even all of them at the same time. It all depends what you're playing.









I was treated to a piece by Bach on the organ, which was wonderful. I've been meaning to go back again, but poor planning meant that I missed their last open house. I could go on any Sunday, but I'd feel awkward to be there only for the music.

Cornwall Homes

They are still painting St. Columban's steeples/roofs, and I thought I'd add another update photo. They're just using a regular metallic paint, which I thought was surprising, since it's so incredibly shiny depending on the light.

I'm torn with weather I liked it better before (drab silver), or now (shiny new silver). I'm obviously happy that they are keeping the building well maintained, but it does look rather flashy/new from certain angles. I'm sure the gloss will dull over time, too.



One of the reasons I post about the church is because it's right near my house. I'm on 5th, the church is on 4th, and a few blocks east.

I never attended this church, but my grandmother's funeral service was held there.

There's a photo of the interior on their website here. It's actually quite nice inside.
http://www.alexandria-cornwall.ca/diocese_sept_069.htm

The only detail I wish this church had, is more stained glass. The panels around the altar are fancy but all the main windows are plain. My old church (when I used to attend as a kid) was GORGEOUS and very ornate - at the opposite (and poor) end of town.

I couldn't find any photos of the windows of Nativity, but here is an interior shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricklerocker/6082249545/

Right near St. Columban's and also in my "hood", is the newly revamped Big Brothers & Big Sisters building. They recently had a local artist (with several other artists/painters to help) repaint/decorate the whole building. I actually met the artist before, and she's a nice girl. She has a very unique and distinctive "whimsical" style, and I think it works quite well here.

What do you guys think? Too much? Totally cool? An old building crime?

The entire building used to be a pale mint green, which you an see on the far left.





I like it. I think it's the use of so many bright colours.

Lastly, here's probably one of the final updates on a very VERY sad renovation story. I'm still not sure if they're planning to gut the other half (the right side) of this duplex. I walk by it almost daily, and it doesn't look like anyone is occupying that half.

The building used to have casings just like mine (slightly different crown on the doors/windows), and 2 panel wood doors. It was gutted to the studs, had all the original 3-over-1 windows removed, and any other architectural detail(s), and the inside now looks like a cheap condo apartment.

This last update is to show the awful looking remodel of the front porch. They actually demolished half the cinder-block centre, removed the centre t-g divider, and rebuilt the entire decking. Then they made these awful LEGO-looking planter boxes on each side. They didn't even bother to take off the lumber tags/staples on the raw ends. TRUST ME when I say that this photo makes it look pretty flattering, since it was taken from at least 30ft away.



Compare with "before" (this was taken shortly after they started butchering it):