Paying homage
Author chronicles magnificent stone churches of Guelph
GUELPH — The seven historic stone churches in downtown Guelph are not so obvious anymore.
Tall office buildings, apartment towers, stores and cafés either block or distract from what at one time must have been a dominant view from just about every street in the downtown core.
It’s an image that was not lost on photographer/journalist Robert White, who has captured the churches’ beauty in an aptly titled book, “The Stone Churches of Downtown Guelph,” published by Angel Hope Publishing in Drayton.
White is holding a book launch Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Guelph.
“I’ve been a history buff for years,” said White. “I’m also one of those guys who stops at interesting historical stops.
“This was an opportunity for me to combine a love of history and journalism.”
White is a member of Lakeside Church on Conservation Road outside Guelph. In 2014, Lakeside purchased Norfolk Street United Church, one of those old stone churches, and turned it into both a place of worship and a centre for support and community outreach.
White began to see that many old churches like Norfolk were in jeopardy of being closed because of shrinking congregations and increasing expenses to keep these old places open. There are not too many organizations like Lakeside eager or able to swoop in and save them.
He wanted to capture the beauty and craftsmanship of the stone, the oak pews and stained glass as well as the history while he still could.
“These buildings are aging and becoming more difficult to upkeep,” he said. “It’s more and more difficult to modernize, upgrade the heating, bring it up to code.”
In some cases, there are few craftsmen still able to repair the original decorative work such as plastering.
The journey started for White about three years ago when a member of his photography club showed black and white photos of architecture. He was intrigued. Then one of Lakeside’s pastors mentioned that there were seven of these old churches downtown.
The idea of a book began to take shape in his mind.
Of course in the mid-1800s when several of these churches were built, the downtown was considerably smaller and anything beyond was considered rural.
“Churches like Dublin United, they were in the country,” he said. “I wanted to create a journal of what they looked like now, in the 21st century.”
The effort White put in to documenting these churches was considerable, particularly because he has a congenital heart condition and walks with a cane. Not that health issues held him back from pursuing his goal.
White had to climb stairs to get into upper lofts for just the right photographic angle, and he practically lay on his back on the sidewalk, camera angled upward to capture the facade of the exteriors. Crossing the street to get a front view wasn’t an option given the volume of traffic on all the streets.
Why were so many churches in this city built from stone while other communities’ churches were mostly brick?
“Guelph is built on limestone,” he explained. “It was a common building material.”
There is one exception, however.
“Royal City Church is built from grey granite,” he said. “That was a deliberate choice.”
The church was modelled after a granite stone church in Montreal and it stands apart from the six limestone churches.
Two of the grander buildings in the city are known as local landmarks: the circa 1873 St. George’s Anglican Church on Woolwich and the circa 1888 Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate, the majestic Catholic church perched on a hill that for generations has been visible for miles.
White admits the work to compile the historical information as well as the photography did take a toll on his health.
“I paced myself,” he said. “It’s something I’ve learned to work with.”
Though he was doing this project on his own and supported the work with $1,300 he raised through a crowdfunding campaign, White was happy the church pastors were so supportive.
“I’d go in and they gave me free rein,” he said.
The only area he didn’t attempt to photograph was St. George’s bell tower where a carilloner still plays the 36 bells on Sundays and for special events. To reach the tower requires climbing 56 nearly vertical stairs.
White said he loved how his camera allowed him to capture the unique character of these old churches and so he didn’t try to overexplain using a lot of text in the book.
“The book is more a photographic history of the place,” he said.
All of the images were taken with a Nikon D5100 digital SLR camera and though some images were converted to colour, White preferred the starkness of his black and white photos.
“I wanted it to have an archival feel to it,” he said.