St. Peter’s Church

Nominated for the Peter Stokes Restoration Award: Large-Scale/Team/Corporate

Dominating the landscape overlooking Victoria Park and Lake Ontario on King Street in downtown Cobourg, a church has stood on this site in the east Heritage District since 1820. The present church was completed in 1854 and the campus complex has continued to evolve over the last 170 years. It is one of the oldest Anglican parishes in Upper Canada.

The sanctuary was closed on February 11, 2018 for safety reasons due to falling plaster and roof structure integrity. It was quickly realized that restoration would be a multi-million-dollar project. One of the options would be to abandon the heritage building if a financial sustainability model could not be developed. ACO Cobourg and East Northumberland became involved with the project team at an early stage, writing letters to politicians and advocating for this historic architecturally significant edifice. Community fundraising was led by a former mayor from another local Christian denomination, a counsellor, and other members of the community. The management team set a goal to have a meticulously done restoration project to last for many generations. A team of experienced heritage professionals was assembled. More than 20,000 volunteer hours donated to complete the successful $3 million restoration project in 2023. The final innovative design involved a new roof superstructure over the existing roof and steel tie rods for structural rigidity. The original lathe and plaster ceiling was preserved with leading-edge plaster consolidation technology. The approach required minimal intervention into the church interior, preserving the plaster ceiling and hammer trusses and roof/eaves profile similar to the 1854 design.

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