Stormont Union Church

The Stormont Union Church is a small, wood-shingled church with a short, plain steeple, located on Highway 316 at Stormont in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. The municipal designation covers the church and surrounding land.

The Union Church in Stormont, Nova Scotia was built by Washington Salsman in 1926, using windows and pews from a much older Anglican church and lumber cut by the men of Stormont and Country Harbour Mines. It was purposely built for use by clergy of all dominations. This was in response to the Anglican clergyman’s closing his church to other denominations some years earlier.

The heritage value of the Stormont Union Church is that it symbolizes the community’s self-reliance and sense of inclusiveness and sharing in its simple construction and style elements.

The recently added stained glass windows, depicting the four seasons, the land and the sea, are of local design and construction, echoing the original purpose of this building as a religious centre for the whole community.

Source - Municipality of the District of Guysborough Heritage Property files, number 1444.

The character-defining elements of Stormont Union Church relate to its construction and use by multiple denominations, including:

-the functional simplicity of its design, with an unadorned, wood shingle exterior, flat interior ceiling, and chancel located in the main body of the building;

- decorative elements such as the Gothic Revival style transom over the entrance doors, moulded returns under the eaves and four-sided cap on the steeple;

- short, square steeple without a bell or decorative elements;

- the abstractly themed stained glass windows depicting the four seasons, the land and the sea.