HTNS Asks HRM to Issue a Stop Work Order on the Demolition of the Historic Caretaker’s House at Holy Cross Cemetery

Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia wishes to express its deep concern about the imminent demolition of the Caretaker’s House at Holy Cross Cemetery, a municipally-registered heritage property, part of the South Park Street heritage streetscape, and within the bounds of the Schmidtville Heritage Conservation District.

Last year, HRM council and mayor voted to grant permission for the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth to demolish the Caretaker's House, basing its decision on a representation from the Archdiocese that it had documentation that the original 1840s structure had been demolished in the 1910s, when the present building was erected.

Dr. Allen B. Robertson, a member of the HRM Committee of the Heritage Trust, asked the Archdiocese several times to supply the documentation (to verify its claim that the original building had been demolished). This information was never forthcoming. Subsequently, Dr. Robertson sent a request to the mayor and council that the demolition permit be rescinded, since the decision was based on an undocumented/unsubstantiated statement. Apparently, nothing was done about the request, and it was never brought up at council meetings.

Dr. Robertson states:

The current demolition process has revealed that the 1840s Caretaker's House is still there, and that only a second story and two small additions had been made. Hence a pre-Confederation building that had been given heritage designation will be lost if a stop-work order is not issued and HRM inspects the current exposed structure. I have taken several photos of the building, and compared these to a contemporary (1840s) lithograph by artist J.S. Clow, showing that the lower level conforms to the lithograph drawing. The exposed sides show that the lower level has wide boards, while the ca. 1914-15 addition has narrow boarding. Windows and the door facing the driveway conform to the placements in the lithograph. As an historian, one who has prepared reports for previous heritage designated buildings in HRM, and one who undertakes legal history reports for law-firms, I am hoping that HRM will attend to these matters before the 1840s structure, a likely unique example of early nineteenth century worker’s housing, is irrevocably gone.