Notice is Hereby Given that the Council of The Corporation of theTown of Newmarket intends to designate as a property of culturalheritage value and interest the following property in accordance withthe Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18:
Property Description: 484-488 Water Street (St. Andrew's PresbyterianChurch) is located on the south side of Water Street, where Water Street intersectswith Eagle Street and D'Arcy Street at the foot of Main Street, in the Town ofNewmarket. The subject property includes a Gothic Revival Presbyterian Churchconstructed between 1874 and early 1875.
Legal Description: PART BLOCK I, PLAN 85, PART BLOCK A, PLAN75, NEWMARKET
Publication Date: Nov 1, 2024
Last Date for Objection: Dec 1, 2014Any notice of objection to this Notice of Intention to Designate, settingout the reason for objection and all relevant facts, must be servedupon the Town Clerk within 30 days of the first publication of thisnotice
Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest:
Physical/ Design Value
484-488 Water Street contains a representative example of a placeof worship built in 1875 in the Gothic Revival architectural style.The 1874 portion of the building contains a large one-storey buffbrick building following a rectangular plan with a tall, and highlyvisible, fieldstone foundation with wide mortar joints, and a prominenttwo-storey belltower. The building exhibits several Gothic Revivalelements found in places of worship including a large steeply pitchedfront gable roof with overhanging eaves adorned with decorativerafters, brick buttressing, and lancet style window openings toppedwith decorative brick voussoirs arches housing stain-glass windowsand finished with stone lug sills which are rhythmically positioned onthe side elevation. The facade includes three tall, narrow lancetwindow openings that house stain glass windows and have decorativedichromatic brick voussoirs and overarching brick work and add tothe ornate nature of the building. An ornate oculus windows andsecondary entrances with lancet openings are found on the rear andside elevation also showcase the dichromatic brickwork foundthroughout the building The asymmetrically positioned belltower has arectangular base which tapers into the steeple which includes anoctagonal section (belfry) which leads to a section of lancet styleopenings (lantern) currently boarded up, topped by a large metalspire. The belltower provides two highly ornamented entrances withsurrounded by brick corbelling and dichromatic brick surrounds andhouse large wood doors with metal hinges which are representativeof Gothic Revival design in places of worship.
Historical and Associative Value
484-488 Water Street is associated with the historic Village ofNewmarket, the Presbyterian Church of Canada, and localarchitect John T. Stokes. The lots lines, layout, and built form of thehistoric village of Newmarket was well established in the mid-19thcentury and evident in a well-established commercial core foundalong Main Street and the large presence of residences locatedalong several side streets. The development of the commercial core,social and civic spaces, and surrounding residential streetscapes in themid-19th century played a significant role in the social and economicdevelopment and growth of the Village of Newmarket. It is likely thatthe brick used in the construction of the church was from the StickwoodBrickyard, which produced both red and yellow/buff coloured bricksduring this time period. Local historians indicate that almost all of thebrick buildings built in Newmarket between 1860 and 1910 were likely constructed with bricks that originated at the StickwoodBrickyard.
484-488 Water Street was built between 1874 and 1875 as thethird Presbyterian church in Newmarket, and the second iteration ofSt. Andrew's Presbyterian Church specifically. The first St. Andrew'swas a smaller structure located on Timothy Street, and the secondPresbyterian Church was located on what is now Prospect Street. In1874, another Presbyterian Congregation, the Free ChurchCongregation, approached the members of St. Andrew's Church inorder to unite their two churches. As a larger church was required tohost the newly combined congregations, land was purchased fromWilliam McMaster at the intersection of Water Street, Eagle Street,and D'Arcy Street in 1874. The construction of the church began in1874 and completed with dedication taking place on February 28,1875. The church was constructed of buff brick brick with a towerand spire that rose 55 feet above the street, and an interior that wasdesigned to fit 400 people. The building was constructed byNewmarket firm Dyer and Mitchell and was designed by architectJohn. T. Stokes.
484-448 Water Street reflects the work of local architect and civilengineer John T. Stokes. John T. Stokes designs included residentialbuildings, places of worship and public institutions. He workedpredominately in the Gothic Revival style as reflected in his ownSharon residence (18817 Leslie Street,), the caretaker's residence atthe Newmarket Cemetery (112 Main Street North), and numerouspublic commissions such as the Christian Baptist Church (135 MainStreet South) and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (the subjectproperty). Other commissions included the first and second North YorkRegistry Offices in Newmarket, and public schools in Ringwood,Bolton, and Newmarket, among others. In addition to his architecturalworks John Stokes played a significant role in civic matters Stokesserved as Sharon's postmaster, Inspector of Public Schools, and lateras the Clerk-Treasurer of the Township of East Gwillimbury. He wasappointed as the Superintendent of Public Roads for York County in1874. John Stokes, along with Sir Casimir Gzowski, was one of thefounding members of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, whichwas established in 1887. John T. Stokes died of pneumonia onNovember 30, 1891, and is buried in the Newmarket Cemetery,whose caretaker's residence he designed.
Contextual Value
484-488 Water Street is important in defining and supporting the19th century character of the historic Village of Newmarket.Several residential side streets, including Eagle and Water Streets,were established in the village core, near the commercial Main Street.Located off or parallel to Main Street, the buildings along the sidestreets are comprised of predominantly one to two-and-a-half storeyresidences, primarily brick construction most using bricks fromStickwood's brickyard, with modest setbacks and include a range ofarchitectural styles from that time period. 484-488 Water Street, asa place of worship represents the range of buildings and uses in thehistoric village and exhibits setback, massing, style, decorative detailsconsistent with a place of worship and supports the historic characterof the area.
484-488 Water Street building's visibility, height, communitysignificance, corner location, large footprint, highly ornatedconstruction and legibility as a place of worship make it alandmark in the area.
Additional information, , including a full description of the rationale fordesignation is available upon request from Umar Mahmood, Planner,Committee of Adjustment and Cultural Heritage, Planning Services at(905) 895-5193, extension 2458, or at umahmood@newmarket.caduring regular business hours.