|
 WAVERLEY
UNITED CHURCH A HERITAGE SITE
Waverley United Church and cemetery at Waverley, Ontario,
in north Simcoe County, has been designated a heritage
site. The original church building, still in use today,
was constructed 1867-1868 on land donated by Samuel
French and his son Thomas French. In 1883 the church
was enlarged by the addition of a bay at the south
end. This addition contains a wooden platform for
a raised pulpit and features a kneeling step extending
around the platform on its two open sides. The Memorial
Tower on the front of the church replaced an enclosed
entry porch in 1961.
Originally the congregation was Methodist and became
United with church union in 1925. Since those of Methodist
faith were unable to benefit from the Clergy reserves,
the cost of the building was assumed by the congregation.
Methodist meeting halls were deliberately plain, in
contrast to the more elaborate Church of England parish
churches. While many of the early Methodist meeting
halls have been lost to fire, enlarged or bricked,
the Waverley United Church remains virtually intact
in its original structure. A cement-block church hall
was built onto the church in the 1950s.
The original church and 1883 addition were built of
timbers rather than the modern "stick" construction
method. The frame is built on log sleepers that rest
on a shallow foundation wall. The interior floors
are still the original two-inch strip maple wood.
The wood wainscoting is original as are the straight-backed
pews, made from wood milled in Wyebridge. The pews
are ranked in two rows on either side of a centre
aisle.
The adjacent cemetery was established on the property
of Samuel French, possibly on the death of Samuel
himself in 1852. The earliest marked grave is Samuel's
but, since settlement in the area began 22 years before
his death, there may be earlier unmarked graves. Samuel's
wife Sarah, who died in 1862, is buried next to him.
This cemetery was one of the first Methodist burial
grounds north of Dalston and Crown Hill. Even in the
1870s and 1880s, it was the closest cemetery for families
in the Vasey, Wyevale and Elm Flats (Elmvale) areas.
A sampling of family names well-known in the area's
history include Archer, Brown, Chapman, Drinkill,
French, Grigg, Miller, Moody, Parker, Sibbald, Trew
and Truax.
—From
information provided by the Township of Tay
|
