Description du lieu patrimonial

St. Augustine's Anglican Church is located in Vancouver, British Columbia's Marpole neighbourhood, facing west to Hudson Street. The one-storey, shingle-clad church was designed in a traditional British Arts and Crafts style with Gothic details.

Valeur patrimoniale

Built in 1911, St. Augustine's Anglican Church is an early surviving parish church, significant for its longterm presence in the Marpole neighbourhhood, and its traditional parish church architecture, designed by architect Reyburn Jameson.

St. Augustine's Anglican Church is valued as a tangible reminder of the early community of Eburne, and the growth of the Marpole neighbourhood over time. Located on what was once 4th Street, the main thoroughfare of businesses and hotels that led to the Sea Island Bridge, St. Augustine's Anglican Church represents the central role local churches played in community life. The Eburne community, located along the Fraser River and split between South Vancouver and Richmond, prospered with the advent of the interurban line to Steveston in 1905. The Anglican Parish of St. George was formed in 1908 to serve the expanding population, the same year that Eburne became part of the new Municipality of Point Grey.

In November 1910 the parish name was changed to St. Augustine's, to avoid confusion with St. George's Parish in Vancouver. Completed by August 1911, the church represents the local confidence that this location would be the centre of a permanent community. St. Augustine's Anglican Church has served the community continuously since its completion, and through modest additions and alterations has accommodated growth over time.

St. Augustine's Anglican Church is significant for its modest, traditional design, which reflects the appearance of many of the early parish churches in the region. A linear arrangement of entry, nave, and chancel is reflected in the gabled roofline, and the exterior displays the influence of the British Arts and Crafts movement in its shingle cladding and half-timbered front gable. A Gothic influence is reflected in the pointed-arch doors, windows, and interior arch. The church was designed by architect Reyburn Jameson, born in South Africa in 1875 and educated in Nottingham, England. Jameson was drawn to Vancouver in 1910 by the booming economy and designed a series of residential and institutional buildings, many of which were on the North Shore. The contractor for the church was John Carver & Son, and the furnishings were supplied by Cornish & Cooper. St. Augustine's Anglican Church remains a valuable part of Marpole's urban fabric and is representative of traditional parish church architecture.

Éléments caractéristiques

Elements that define the heritage character of St. Augustine's Anglican Church are its:

- location in the Marpole neighbourhood, facing west;
- continuous use as an Anglican church since 1911;
- ecclesiastical form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey height plus basement; symmetrical linear, rectangular plan with central front entry; front gabled roofline with hipped roof over the narthex, projecting front gable and a rooftop belfry surmounted by a cross; and later hipped-roof rear addition;
- wood frame construction and cladding, and concrete foundations;
- British Arts and Crafts features such as: shingle cladding with shingled window outlines; halftimbering in front gable end with pebble-dash stucco; scissor truss roof with diagonal planking; and open soffits with exposed scroll-cut ends;
- original interior layout, including: central front entry; narthex with anteroom and three doors to the nave; linear rectangular nave; and chancel set behind large Gothic arch;
- original diamond-leaded wooden-sash windows with red flashing and obscure glass, including: double-assembly rectangular casement windows in the narthex; double-assembly Gothic pointed-arch casement windows with stained glass floral insets, one side operable with original hardware; and large tripartite window above altar with stained glass insets;
- Gothic pointed-arch doorways with tension-braced plank doors; and original hardware including door knobs, latches, and dual action hinges;
- interior features such as: dark-stained Douglas fir millwork, ceiling, and mortised wainscoting; Douglas fir pews; lath-and-plaster walls; hanging lights; and church furnishings such as the altar and lectern, painted text above sanctuary arch, painted reredos, and baptismal font.