‘1;~1~.=w::‘utfl~<‘“ » .

u,

«:syszasmw»

g 3:} 3 1‘: 3 ii :5

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Palmer Road, Prince Edward Island:

This church is in the process of being constructed since 15 August past, the feast of the Acadians, when the cor— ner stone was laid. The plans for the church were pre— pared by Mr. Edouard Meloche, the Montreal artist, who

gave particular attention to the decorative scheme of the interior.

The church designed by Meloche is based on French models from the Middle Ages. It is Latin cross in shape, meaning that there is a long centre aisle or nave with a crossing that separates the sanctuary from the nave. The nave is flanked by side aisles which are lit by tall Gothic windows consisting of two narrow, pointed lancet windows united in a larger Gothic frame. This is called plate tracery. The nave itself is brightly lit at the top by a

clerestory of lancet pairs, corresponding in location to the larger windows below.

Although built of wood, and employing the beautiful pat— terned shingles so popular in late Victorian times, the church nev— ertheless conveys a powerful sense of Gothic spirit. The corners of the building and towers were all flanked by buttresses, which, in, stone architecture, helped support the enormous weight of the stone roof, but which, in this case are there for reasons of style alone. Buttresses also separate the windows along the aisles and provide a powerful and satisfying articulation of the wall surface.

The facade of the church is beautifully designed with two towers flanking the ends. The Northeast tower, smaller than the Northwest one, does not have a spire but is capped by a curved tapering roof that is typical of the Baroque style of the 1600’s. In a niche in the roof is a statue of the Virgin installed there in 1893. The Northeast or bell tower is quite splendid, and terminates with a fine octagonal or eight-sided spire that is beautifully propor— tioned in the French tradition. The central facade is dominated by a huge rose window, another medieval motif, that works powerful- ly in the design of the whole. The doors are capped with pointed highly decorated gables typically of later, or flamboyant Gothic.

The shingles covering the church were arranged in the style of the late 1800’s and were cut in decorative shapes ranging from

13