1. History of St. Thomas Anglican Church, Rectory, and Parish Hall

2. Construction history

3. Bridge Street Retirement Residence- features and services

4. References

5. External links

The Bridge Street Retirement Residence is an Assisted living facility located at 85 Bridge Street East in Belleville, Ontario. In operation since 1989, Bridge Street was constructed utilizing the former Parish Hall of the St. Thomas Anglican Church (located directly across the street at 201 Church Street) as the core administrative and service area of the retirement home.

During construction, 61 suites in two residential wings were added onto the Parish Hall. The exterior of these wings and the additional amenity space that was added were designed to match that of the existing Parish Hall, resulting in a modern structure that preserved the historical heritage of the original building.

History of St. Thomas Anglican Church, Rectory, and Parish Hall

The original congregation of the St Thomas' Anglican Church was formed December 26, 1818, with the first church service being held in June, 1821.^[1] Its cemetery was the first public cemetery in Belleville city limits, and plots were initially open to all faiths, although this practice declined once other denominations opened their own churches and cemeteries.^[2]

As Belleville's population exploded from 100 people in 1816 to 700 by 1830,^[3] the congregation quickly outgrew the original structure, leading to a new Church being erected in 1858.^[4] Unfortunately, this structure was partially destroyed by fire only 18 years later, but was then rebuilt on the standing walls in order to maintain its original appearance and dimensions.^[5]

In 1871, St. Thomas Anglican Church built a rectory across from the Church on the south side of Bridge Street. Modeled after an English house that Reverend Henry Patton had lived in prior to moving to Canada, this building held the offices of the superintendent and bursar, and served as living quarters for young men in the 8-11 age group.

In 1912, the Parish Hall was built adjacent to the school headquarters to provide more space for classes and other church functions. The hall included a stage and was often the site of wedding receptions and other community functions; a gymnasium was later added in the 1950s. By the late 1980s both the Parish Hall and the adjoining rectory fell into disuse and were put up for sale. The site, Parish Hall, and rectory were purchased by a group led by Caretenders for the development and construction of the Bridge Street Retirement Residence.

Fire struck the St. Thomas Anglican Church again on April 30, 1975, this time destroying the most of the building and leaving only the outside walls and tower intact. The structure was rebuilt as a freestanding structure and then attached to the original external walls.^[6] In 1990, following the sale of the Parish Hall to the group led by Caretenders Inc., St. Thomas Anglican Church constructed a new glass-enclosed Parish center on their Church Street property that is directly attached to the church.^[7]

Construction history

A group led by Caretenders Inc., a retirement home management company based in Kelowna BC, acquired the Bridge Street site, including the Parish Hall and former rectory, from St. Thomas in 1988. Development and construction of the site and retirement facility began that year and was completed in the fall of 1989.

The gymnasium and rectory were removed to provide for the addition of the residential wings to the existing Parish Hall. During the design and construction of the new building, care was taken match the exterior of the new residential wings to that of the Parish Hall so that the historic style of the building was preserved and the property remained consistent with the architecture in the surrounding neighborhood.

The new building opened its doors to the Belleville community in September 1989 and since that time has undergone multiple improvements including an interior overhaul in 2007-2008.

Green Eitz (Belleville Inc.) acquired Bridge Street Retirement Residence in December 2015 and is now led by Rydel Management Inc., a property management company based in Toronto.{{fact|date=April 2017}}

Bridge Street Retirement Residence- features and services

An Assisted Living facility, the Bridge Street operates as a hotel-style facility where residents live in private apartments and have all services provided for them. The common space, located primarily in the former Parish Hall, includes a dedicated activities room, large lobby area, spacious dining room, beauty and barber shop and a private backyard garden complete with a putting green and patio tables.

Residents are able to choose a care package corresponding to their needs from a menu of choices, and are given access to in-house physicians, physiotherapy programs, and an in-house pharmacy. Residents are also provided with three meals a day, housekeeping services, and are offered a daily schedule of activities.

References

External links

• Bridge Street Retirement Residence  
• Bridge Street Retirement Residence Facebook Page  
• Caretenders Retirement Living  
• St. Thomas Anglican Church  
• Heritage Trust Ontario  
• Toronto and Ontario Ghosts and Haunting Research Society  
• Anglican Churches of Ontario  
• Bodies of evidence: reconstructing history through skeletal analysis By Anne L. Grauer [https://books.google.com/books?id=0tN4-2-7rNsC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=The+original+congregation+of+the+Belleville+St+Thomas%E2%80%99+Anglican+Church+was+formed+December+26,+1818%5C&source=bl&ots=VmKHRfOdbs&sig=9UKd5XyqZySt-2Tn__RdqCn1HeY&hl=en&ei=1am1TaC2N4a8sQO81rzvCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false]

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