St. Bartholomew’s Church

Erected on an unpretentious street corner in a quiet residential neighbourhood, St. Bartholomew Church is intriguing for its unique architecture and mournful cemetery. And it has a lot to say about the history of Rivière-du-Loup. And who would guess that a former prime minister of Canada once regularly attended services here?

Built in 1841, this Anglican church bears eloquent witness to the important role the English-speaking community played in the city’s development. Veterans of the War of 1812 and British immigrants were the first wave of settlers to arrive on the seigneury beginning in the early 19th century. Malcolm Fraser had just inherited the seigneury from his father, Alexander, who died in 1837. He had his father buried on the estate and offered the land to the Anglican diocese of Québec so that the growing population could finally have a place of worship. 

Charles Touchette, the son of a carpenter and a Québec City architect who designed picturesque residences, won the contract. In Pointe Sèche (now Saint-Germain-de-Kamouraska), he had just completed a mansion for John Saxton Campbell, a prominent Englishman who ran a shipyard.

Throughout the summer, Touchette travelled between Québec City and Rivière-du-Loup in a schooner provided by the church trustees, transporting workers and materials, which were also provided by the trustees. Touchette built the church in just a few months, but he didn’t make a career of it. It’s the only one of Touchette’s religious buildings to be awarded a heritage title.

An expression of British identity in all its modesty, the Gothic Revival style represented the height of Anglican chic at the time. St. Bartholomew’s Church, built entirely of wood, didn’t stray from this style, adding pointed-arch windows and a bell tower topped with crenels and pinnacles to its simple rectangular structure. Wealthy English-speaking families from the surrounding area, including the King family who ran the lumber trade in Saint-Pacôme, donated items such as interior stained-glass windows.

In the years following the first Mass, the number of parishioners grew markedly, boosted by the massive influx of workers from the Caldwell sawmill, followed by the railroad from the 1870s onwards. Most of these Protestant immigrants came from Ireland, England or Scotland. They passed through the Maritime provinces or arrived directly in Québec City and then migrated eastward. Toward the end of the 19th century, wealthy vacationers began attending church services. John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister of Canada and Father of Confederation, prayed here during his stays at his summer residence in Rivière-du-Loup.

Rivière-du-Loup’s Anglophone and Anglican population began to decline around the middle of the 20th century. From 1979 onward, Mass was celebrated in French at the church.

In 1998, the foundations and floors were repaired and solidified during a major restoration project. The interior finishing and the stained glass were refurbished. In 2000, the low stone wall surrounding the site was also renovated. 

St. Bartholomew’s Church still retains its splendid appearance—a worthwhile effort if only to honour the memory of the Fraser lords who rest in the adjacent cemetery for all eternity.