Church Point’s historic Église Sainte-Marie wins national restoration prize

CITYnews halifax/ By Steve Gow

A church in Nova Scotia has won $50,000 in a national heritage competition.

The Église Sainte-Marie in Church Point was the top winner of this year’s National Trust for Canada’s Next Great Save competition.

It is recognized as the tallest wooden church in North America.

The winnings will go toward restoring the church’s steeple and bells’ chimes, which are “a powerful symbol to ‘ring out’ her national and international significance.”

The Spire church-turned-community centre in Kingston, Ont., placed second, and the Backhouse Grist Mill, built in the late 1700s in Port Rowan, Ont., placed third.

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Voting began on April 7 and ended on April 24, allowing people to vote daily for one of several nominated historic locations in Canada to receive funding to help “protect a heritage site and give it a vibrant, community-enhancing role.”

Trinity Anglican Church in Digby was another Nova Scotia heritage site that was among the short-listed nominees.

They are looking to restore Trinity’s Historic Rose Window, now at risk after plaster on the inside and wooden clapboards on the outside have deteriorated.

Trinity Anglican Church has been a landmark since it was built in 1878.

With files from The Canadian Press