Dr. R. G. Lea delivers History of the Kirk of St. James -- 1975

 
The Historical Statement delivered Sunday by Dr. R. G. Lea clerk of Session of the Kirk of St. James, Charlottetown, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary observance of the Congregation follows: "The Kirk of St. James has been a part of the life and structure of Charlottetown for 150 years. We, who constitute the present congregation have the great responsibility of preserving the great heritage. that is the Kirk that we have inherited from those who have gone before us. In order that we may properly understand the nature of our responsibility, and of our privilege, we must look back to our origins and consider the forces and influences that led to the establishment of the Kirk and in particular, we must try to discern the development of the spirit and the character that has given us the Kirk as we know it.

Original wooden Kirk of St. James - Charlottetown, PEI

 "Although an act of the Legislature in 1790 had granted authority to the Presbyterians and Quakers of Charlottetown to establish churches, it was not until 1825 that action was taken that led to the creation of the Kirk. "During this period there was only one church building in Charlottetown. This was built with money provided by the Colonial office and was shared by the Anglicans and Presbyterians.

Although Presbyterians in the capital were handicapped by the lack of a church of their own and by the absence of an organized leadership there were several well established rural congregations in various. parts of the province. "This was considered a part of the Pictou's Presbytery until 1821 when P.E.I. was established as a separate Presbytery. Ministers from Pictou made many visits to the island and provided spiritual leadership to Presbyterian settlers in various localities. Notably amongst these was the Rev. Mr. MacGregor, who provided very strong leadership and helped, with others, keep strong the spirit of Presbyterianism in settlers of Scottish - Presbyterian background. Without these recurring, visits and the spiritual uplift that resulted — the history of the Presbyterian Church in P. E.I. would have been very different. "It's apparent that it was this stimulus — combined with the efforts of Presbyterian Clergymen from other Island parishes, that resulted in a group of Charlottetown citizens deciding to found a Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown and the start of the Kirk may be said to date from a notice that appeared in Hazards Record on the 17th of June 1825, calling a public meeting for the purpose of establishing a congregation of the established Church of Scotland. "At that meeting resolutions were adopted — approving the project, appointing a committee to act on the matter, and setting up a subscription list that eventually raised the total of 431 Pounds.

Though plans were made to start construction in the spring of 1821 on land donated by The Bernie Family and by Mr. Johnston, it was not until 1831 that the building was eventually completed, and the first service was held on August 9th. The morning service was held in Gaelic and the afternoon service in English. The Kirk therefore was built upon a firm foundation long established by the Pictou and P. E.I. Scottish settlers "The character of the congregation of the Kirk was firmly established in this period of Gestation, and in the deliberations of the committee who became the first Kirk Session, we repeatedly read of their concern for the spiritual welfare of their people, of their reverence for the church of their forebears, of their joy and pleasure in the purity and simplicity of their service and of their sincere trust in God. Thus was the Kirk of St. James launched in it course and its character established. "The record of 150 years cannot be compressed into a few words. The statistics are here for those who would study them — the biographies of the many ministers — the story of building and of maintenance — of disasters and of fires — of great disruption of 1843 and of the events of 1925, and how this all affected the Kirk. 

The record also tells of many great, and many humble people who worshipped here. All this is but the outward manifestation of the real heart of the Kirk story. "What cannot be measured or recorded is too nebulous to define precisely, but it has to do with the place the Kirk plays in the lives of those who worship here, and while conditions have changed drastically since the days of the committee of 1825 the basic nature of the church and of its, people remains unchanged. "The evidence as we look backwards, would indicate that the hopes and aspirations of the founding committee have been realized. But — as we close this one section of history we enter another, with this difference, that unlike our forebears — we have a great heritage to protect and to perpetuate. We are the custodians of the future of the Kirk as well as the curators of the past and it is our responsibility to carry on the task commenced in 1825. "In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, we are all part of the same woven strip. It must be our endeavour to ensure that those who follow us will be justified in thinking as kindly of us as we do of our founders and of those who have nourished and sustained the Kirk through its 150 years history." 

Second building the stone Kirk of St. James - Charlottetown, PEI

Original published in 1975 – transcribed using OCR and editing by Ian Scott 2025

A Moving Experience: Reuse, Recycle & Relocate - Lecture notes from Nov. 15th 2010

On November 15th 2010 an illustrated lecture called A Moving Experience: Reuse, Recycle & Relocate, was presented at Beaconsfield Carriage House by myself (Ian Scott) and Catherine Hennessey as part of the Island History course for Seniors College of PEI. Catherine had served as the first executive director of the PEI Heritage Foundation in 1970 and I assumed the role in 1983 when the organization was known as the PEI Museum & Heritage Foundation. We both shared an interest in historic buildings that had been moved from their original location on PEI and decided to collaborate.

In researching the talk we realized that several buildings had been moved more than one time. The building that appears to hold the title as having moved the most times caught my imagination and continues to intrigue me for both the architectural gem it is, as well as the social history that surrounds it over the generations. It was named The Playhouse, and is known as a "she" much like boats are known by a feminine pronoun. Perhaps the various waterfront locations on PEI she has called home should be called her ports-of-call. Seven locations to date, shows the determination of family members to preserve the structure for posterity. The current owner summed up the generations of connections her family has had to the building, "The Playhouse will forever be strong in our hearts."

The Playhouse when located on the banks of the Montague River

The Playhouse, began life in 1907 when Edgewater was being constructed for the Frank Heartz family at  7 West St. in Charlottetown. Built with remaining trims and materials from the platial Edgewater on a waterfront lot that now houses three city residences, it had its own stove and mantlepiece and varnished woodwork. Designed for their daughter Ruth and her friends, it continued to serve a variety of uses including being one of the first craft shops on PEI. It was during the early years on West St. that it would establish a connection to Government House.

Interior of The Playhouse

Honourable Frank Richard Heartz, is remembered as the Island’s 25th Lieutenant Governor having served from 1924 to 1930, a period of time between the wars when Fanningbank was not available or suitable to serve as Government House. The house and grounds had been turned over for use as a convalescent home for WW I casualties, with the construction of a second building on the grounds for similar purposes which had then been repurposed as a vocational school with an emphasis on veterans. While there were various views on what Fanningbank could be used for in the future, it was under Frank Heartz leadership that the restoration of the house and its return to use as Government House was undertaken.

Interior of The Playhouse

Meanwhile when Fanningbank was serving these other purposes, a pattern similar to the period prior to 1834 became the default, and like the early governors who carried out the functions of a Government House prior to the construction of the current building in other facilities, Frank Heartz has a perfect solution nearby in Edgewater which had the reception rooms, large grounds as well as a playhouse for younger visitors. Thus Edgewater served as Government House in the interim.

The year after completing his term of office a massive fire in 1931 destroyed Edgewater but amazingly The Playhouse survived with only blistering of paint. It was from the banks of Charlottetown harbour that she would be launched into a journey with the family to their cottage at Grand Tracadie and a new role as a craft shop featuring the pottery of Mary Allison Doull. 

Interior of The Playhouse

While the tradition of reuse and moving of buildings  the documenting of these structures is less well known on PEI as it is in communities like Fogo Island due to a book called, Tilting: House Launching, Slide Hauling, Potato Trenching and Other Tales from a Newfoundland Fishing Village is truly one of the most engaging books I have read to-date on the relationship between culture and architecture as told through the individual actions to reuse buildings as needed.

Retired Regimental Colours of the Prince Edward Island Regiment

 

REGIMENTAL COLOURS AND THE KIRK

(Compiled from information supplied by W. R. Burnett, Gordon Stewart and Mrs. L.E. Prowse.)

The presence of the Officers and Members of the Prince Edward Island Regiment this morning draws attention to the flags which flank the Chancel here in the Kirk of St. James. As Mr. Burnett has expressed it, "They are steeped in Island military history and tradition".

In 1875 two infantry battalions were established in Charlottetown. They were known as the "Queen's County Provisional Battalion of Infantry" and the "Charlottetown Provisional Battalion of Infantry". In 1876 these two were amalgamated and were designated the "82nd Queens County Battalion of Infantry". About 1907 the name was changed to "82nd Abegweit Light Infantry".

Early in 1908 King's and Regimental Colours were purchased, due largely to the leadership of Captain V. L. Goodwill. These were consecrated by the Rev. T. F. Fullerton, D.D. (Minister of the Kirk of St. James and Chaplain of the Regiment) at an impressive ceremony in Victoria Park on July 4th, 1908.

The King's Colour was presented by Mrs. MacKinnon, wife of Lieutenant Governor D.A. MacKinnon, and the Regimental Colour by Mrs. Stewart, wife of Lieutenant Colonel D. Stewart, then commanding the Regiment. Colonel Stewart, Mrs. Stewart, and Captain Goodwill, mentioned above, were active members of the Kirk.

Both flags bear the inscription "Abegweit Light Infantry" and the Roman Numeral "LXXXII". The Regimental Colour bears the motto, "Semper Fidelis".

On Sunday, August 6th, 1922, the 82nd Colours were borne to the Kirk by Captain A. R. B. Duck and Major T. Edgar MacNutt, accompanied by an Escort. Church authorities accepted the Colours for safe keeping "in honor of the regiment, as a memorial to those who had fallen, and as an inspiration to the living".

On the 16th July, 1925, Major MacNutt, acting on authority from Ottawa requested the Church authorities to hand the Colours to him, so that they could be formally handed over to the Prince Edward Island Regiment, the successors of the 82nd Battalion. This being done with proper ceremony outside the Church building the Colours were then returned to the Church where they still hang.

In 1928 the "Prince Edward Island Regiment" became officially known as "The Prince Edward Island Highlanders", and became affiliated with the famous Scottish Regiment, "The Black Watch". Following World World II it was known as the "17th Reconnaissance Regiment" and now once again bears the designation "The Prince Edward Island Regiment".