New BrunswickChrist Church in Maugerville is designated as a national historic site. After facing flood damage in 2017 and 2018, the congregations can no longer afford to maintenance the building.Historian says Christ Church in Maugerville is architecturally significantIan Curran · CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Christ Church in Maugerville faces an uncertain future after flooding in 2017 and 2018 damaged the building, with minimal maintenance since then. (Ian Curran/CBC)Just off Route 105 in Maugerville, alongside the St. John River, also known as the Wolastoq, sits an old church.With the windows gone, peeling paint and rotting wood debris on the ground, the building — constructed in 1865 — isn’t what it once was.And as of Nov. 2, Christ Church has been deconsecrated and, according to the Fredericton diocese, the Anglican parish of Oromocto and Maugerville is in the process of selling the building.In 1990, the church was designated as a national historic site because of its gothic-revival style of architecture. But in 2017 and 2018, major floods hit the area and the church fell into disrepair, facing structural damage and mould.The Fredericton Anglican Diocese did not agree to an interview but in an emailed statement said the parish is not able to afford upkeep of the building.”Though the parish did some renovations and mitigation, to fully do so is beyond their means.” However, if someone is interested in the church building, it is more complicated than just buying it and fixing it up.WATCH | ‘One of the most important historical churches in New Brunswick’:Historic Maugerville church is up for saleChrist Church faced major flooding in 2017 and 2018, leading to significant building damage. But according to Parks Canada, there is no legal protection for the church, which is a designated national historic site.“It will need to be moved,” the statement from the diocese said. “The property itself cannot be sold because of the graveyard.”The group said there have been offers to move the building or repurpose the wood but the church is still in discussions with potential buyers.Since the floods, the congregation from Maugerville church moved to the Oromocto building and there has been “very little happening in the Maugerville building,” said the statement from the diocese.But according to one local historian, Christ Church is one of the most important historical churches in the province. “If there’s something that could be done to save this building, you just hope that people maybe take a breath, slow down a bit and see if that could happen,” said architectural historian John Leroux. John Leroux, an architectural historian, believes Christ Church is one of the most historic churches in New Brunswick (Ian Curran/CBC)“It has an incredible lineage that a lot of people aren’t aware of.“It’s also a national historic site, which very few buildings in the province are, so it has deep gravitas as something that matters to the province and to the country.”According to Parks Canada, having national historic site designation does not guarantee legal protection for heritage sites in Canada — it’s merely honorific.“Protection of heritage property not owned by the federal government is the responsibility of each provincial and territorial government under its respective legislation,” Parks Canada wrote in an emailed statement. “Only provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over private property, which enables them to pass and enforce legislation extending legal protection to designated properties.”New Brunswick’s Department of Tourism Heritage and Culture said that Christ Church is privately owned and not designated as a provincial heritage place.Christ Church, pictured here on Aug. 15, 1996, while it still housed an active Anglican congregation. (The New Brunswick Provincial Archives P787-23)This means that the church does not fall under New Brunswick’s Heritage Conservation Act and the department “does not have regulatory decisions regarding the property.”The parish, which hasn’t had a congregation worshiping in the building since the 2018 floods, is responsible for any maintenance of this heritage property.Christ Church was built by Bishop John Medley and architect Frank Wills and was the first of hundreds of churches the two would go on to build in New Brunswick.Leroux said the pair are most well known for constructing the iconic Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Fredericton, beside the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge.“It represents this whole collection of buildings around the country which were connected to England, but also something about architectural excellence,” said Leroux. “There’s a lot of professors of architectural history in Canada that really think a lot about this building.”Architectural historian John Leroux points out Christ Church in his copy of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada journal from 2013. (Ian Curran/CBC)In Leroux’s collection, he has a copy of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada journal from 2013 which includes a “deeply researched” article about the architectural significance of Christ Church in Maugerville.“My heart goes out to the owners,” said Leroux. “If there’s not a vibrant congregation to look after it, what do you do?”ABOUT THE AUTHORIan Curran is working with the Fredericton bureau at CBC News. You can contact him with story ideas at ian.curran@cbc.ca.
Flood-damaged national historic site in N.B. facing uncertain future
