Richmond Hill United Church

Richmond Hill United Church, at 10201 Yonge Street, is a designated heritage building in the Town of Richmond Hill, Ontario. The main body of the building dates back to 1880, with later additions built in 1932 and in 1957. The United Church boasts a history of over 200 years, where it began as a simple log schoolhouse that acted as a place of worship for the local Methodists. Later a frame building was constructed in 1847 as a replacement but this structure did not survive: in 1879 it burned down to the ground. Five months later, in 1880, work began on what was to be the last building. The church was designed by Charles Walton, a Toronto architect. Construction was carried out for a year until the church was completed in 1881. In its time, the church cost $17,000 to be built, which was a very significant figure, and the property was purchased for $950 as a deed. During those times the church was large enough to accommodate everyone who lived in the area together. Originally the Methodist Church, it was renamed the United Church in 1925 when the Methodists, the Congregationalists, and the Presbyterians entered into a union.

The United Church was built in the High Victorian Gothic Revival style. This is heavily embodied through sharp edges and arches, stained glass windows, and, mostly, the two flanking steeples. Its front entrance is within a projecting exterior Gothic arch with side buttresses. A secondary entrance into the church is available on the south side of the main tower, which also has a datestone inscribed with “A.D. 1880” at its base. The southwest corner of the church features the prominent three-tier steeple that seems to be the defining element of the structure. This steeple is the tallest among all historic church steeples in the town of Richmond Hill.

The church is, and always was, first and foremost a place of worship. In its early days there is a possibility that, aside from general church related uses, it could also have served as a Sunday school. With time and with the extensions the functions expanded in range. The church began to gain recognition not only as a religious venue but also as an important community marker. Currently, the church has tenants that use parts of its space, which include a dance school, a drama group, ESL training, and a math enrichment program. Occasionally the building is also used as a place for committee meetings and as a gathering space for community groups concerning cultural, social, or other issues.

Photo Credit: Photography copyright Historic Churches of South York Region.

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