St. Margaret's Chapel

Not much traffic heads down the Forty Hills Road on the east side of the northern Bruce Peninsula.  It's a twisty, turny, up and down narrow gravel road with some sudden sharp bends, through forests dotted with small parcels of open farmland.  And in the middle of this back road you find an exquisite small limestone church, St. Margaret's of Cape Chin.

I remember stopping here with my mother and aunt on one of our first trips up the 'Bruce'.  I must have been 14 or 15 at the time.  It's always struck me as a beautiful place in an out of the way spot.

I was surprised at how welcoming it was, so I walked in the gates and got a few pictures on a perfect sunny day.

The chapel was built starting in 1925, made of local stone and wood, with a lot of local volunteer labour.  Architecturally it is stunning, with the lancet windows, the bell tower entrance, and the gently sloping buttresses, all in light coloured dolostone.

Several Anglican churches in the peninsula have joined together to create a joint ministry, keeping several small churches open that otherwise might have closed.  This is one of the best cared for small rural church buildings I know of, even though services are only held in the summer.

Through the trees I saw what I think must have been the original Cape Chin one-room school.  It was a congregation meeting in the school that committed to building the chapel next door.

The door was open (in the middle of the week), with a welcoming note inviting visitors to come in - so I did.  It's a larger church than you'd expect in a location like this.

The stained glass design over the door was beautiful.  A lot of the stained glass windows feature wildflowers.

Although I have no particular connection here other than a memory of stopping here with my mother 55 years ago, I found it a very peaceful, spiritual place to visit.  Glad we stopped and I took a look inside.

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