St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Barriefield was built in 1844. (Kamille Parkinson/Supplied Photo)
Sometime around the year 1140, in the small region known as the Île-de-France (Paris and vicinity), the era of Gothic art emerged, developing from the earlier Romanesque period. As it spread from the Île-de-France to the rest of the country and then through all of Europe, Gothic art was often referred to as opus modernum — or modern work — signifying that it was considered innovative for its time. While Gothic art was made manifest in most forms of art, it was in architecture that a coherent Gothic style was formed. While used for civic buildings, palaces and castles, the Gothic style is most visible in religious buildings, to which it is eminently suited.
In Romanesque (in the Roman manner) architecture, when you encounter arches in windows and doors, they are rounded at the top. While this formation allowed much greater height in walls, aisles and naves in stone-built churches and cathedrals than the ancient post-and-lintel system, it still had its limitations. In a Roman arch (because the arch wants to collapse), the thrust from the apex of the arch presses against the springing of the arch — where the arch meets the vertical pillar on which it is mounted — pushing the pillars apart with lateral force. This outward thrust needs to be counteracted or contained, usually by building very thick walls.
A Gothic arch, on the other hand, is pointed at the top. While there is still lateral thrust at the springing of the arch, a significant amount of thrust is directed downward into the ground rather than outward (because the pointed arch does not want to collapse on itself). This means that less buttressing is required in the walls, and the spaces the arches span can be much wider and more open. Early Gothic structures were still somewhat tentative in their use of space (though much more open than Romanesque buildings), but by the time of the Late Gothic, stone walls soared to unimaginable heights, filled with illuminating windows of stained glass.
And what, you might ask, has any of this to do with Kingston? Quite a bit, actually. Our Limestone City has numerous examples of Gothic (Revival) architecture, especially in its churches. (It also has a large number of Romanesque and Classical Revival buildings, but that’s another story.) Interestingly, when you saunter around town and the greater Kingston region, you can almost trace a progression from Early to High Gothic (we never made it to Late it seems).
St. Mary’s Cathedral was built in 1848 with the tower added in 1890. (Kamille Parkinson/Supplied Photo)
St. Marks (1844) in Barriefield, and St. Paul’s (1845) at Queen and Montreal streets, are roughly comparable Early Gothic-type structures, with relatively small windows and narrow bays. St. Paul’s has a higher nave elevation but St. Mark’s has a taller central tower with innovative buttressing at its corners rather than the sides. The former First Congregationalist Church (1865), at Wellington and Johnson streets (currently empty, it appears), and the former Queen Street Methodist Church (1886, or 1864 depending on what source you’re using), at Clergy and Queen streets (now the Sanctuary Co-working space), are good examples of a sort of mid-Gothic revival architecture, with greater vertical emphasis and penetration of the walls with tall windows. Both of these structures have had many additions and alterations in their lifetimes, so their architectural footprint differs from most Gothic-style churches. For High Gothic revival architecture, we have in Kingston two excellent examples: St. Mary’s Cathedral (1848, the tower added in 1890) at Johnson and Clergy streets, and Sydenham Street United Church (1852, the tower and spire added in 1854), a.k.a. The Spire, at Sydenham and William streets. Both of these structures are characterized by soaring walls and windows (St. Mary’s in particular) and impressive towers, all elements linked to the Gothic striving for the heavens and the perception of the dissolution of the walls to allow more light to enter the building.••
There are numerous other examples of Gothic Revival architecture throughout our region, as well as through the rest of Ontario and in many places elsewhere in Canada, especially in religious structures (to which it is so well suited). Close to Kingston, you can see it in the Holy Name of Jesus church near Kingston Mills and farther along Highway 15 at St. Barnaby at Brewer’s Mills. In Gananoque, there are at least a couple of examples of Gothic Revival churches. The style lent itself to everything from very modest wood frame churches to soaring, elaborate cathedrals, and everything in between.
As well, there is at least one example of secular Gothic revival architecture (done in a style known as Regency Gothic, a more romantic approach) in downtown Kingston. Do you know what it is? And, if you happen to be driving around admiring the local scenery, you might very occasionally spy a Gothic-arched window above the central front door on an old limestone farmhouse, instead of the more usual and staid Roman-arched window — perhaps requested by the owner in a fit of whimsy.
Kamille Parkinson earned a PhD in art history from Queen’s University, and is presently a freelance writer and art historian at large. You can find her writing at Word Painter Projects on Facebook, and can contact her at artabouttownygk@gmail.com.
Art About Town
Please check with each venue to see if the event/exhibition is actually taking place!
• Bon Echo 2020 Festival of the Arts: Juried Exhibition, July 24-26, Bon Echo Provincial Park.
• Fantasy in the Forest: 25th annual outdoor art exhibition, July 18-19, 1860 Draper Lake Rd.
• Kingston School of Art 2020 Juried Art Exhibition and Sale: July 3-28, Window Art Gallery, 647 Princess St.
