Woodstock Anglican Cemetery, Woodstock, Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada

Standing along the east side of River Road (Highway 165), Christ Anglican Church is surrounded by the large Anglican cemetery, the original cemetery in the Woodstock area.

The Anglican Parish of Woodstock was formed in 1786, the first church being erected in 1804 or 1805. That first church stood near the north end of the cemetery which surrounds the present church. Though historical accounts are somewhat convoluted, it seems that the old church was consecrated and named Christ Church on Sunday, August 16, 1835, with the present church being built to the south of the first in 1867.

Though it is stated that the original Christ Church was "an humble little wooden building, with no pretensions toward architectural beauty", the present church exhibits slightly greater pretension toward architectural beauty. Though mostly Gothic Revival in style, it shows some Victorian influence, mostly in the decorative barge boards on each of the gable ends. Though of Medieval origin, barge boards became quite popular with Victorian architects.

The bell tower/steeple of the church is of the type now seldom seen, very small, attached to the peak of the gable roof, very thin and nearly two dimensional. Today covered in plywood with a sheet steel roof, it is apparent that it has had some remedial work done over the years. For most of its life it was most likely shingle clad. A pull rope is still attached to the bell within.

On three sides of the church is the cemetery, today known as Woodstock Anglican Cemetery, the first cemetery to be established in the area, which was first settled by British Empire Loyalists emigrating from the U.S. Find a Grave lists 1293 known burials, though there are almost certainly unmarked graves in a cemetery this old. The oldest known interment was that of Samuel Woodward, who died June 7, 1791. There were at least nine burials prior to 1800.

Woodstock is located at the confluence of the Meduxnekeag River and the St. John River, 5.35 km SW of Pembroke: Woodstock Parish, Carleton County: named for the town of Woodstock, England or for the 3rd Duke of Portland, Viscount Woodstock: PO from 1830: in 1871 Woodstock had a population of 2,000: in 1898 it was a port of entry on the W side of the St. John River with 2 Canadian Pacific Railway stations and a community with 1 post office, 140 stores, 6 hotels, 3 foundries, 1 wrapper factory, 1 woollen mill, 3 sash and door factories, 4 sawmills, 2 tanneries, 4 carriage and wagon factories, 1 sash and lock factory, 1 canning factory, 7 churches and a population of 3,500: formerly known as The Creek and Meductic: Woodstock was incorporated as a town in 1856.


Photo courtesy Beverley Quigg Kirk