Drummond Methodist Church

The Drummond Methodist Church is a former church building in Bells Corners, a suburban community in College Ward in the city of Ottawa, Canada. The building was constructed in 1898 on the northern side of what is now known as Robertson Road, using stone from the demolished Union Church on Old Richmond Road.^[1] In 1925 it became the United Church and was used until 1962 when the new United Church was completed.^[2]

After 1962 the building was no longer used as a church gathering place. At present the building houses "The Spa".^[3][4] It is one of the oldest buildings in Bells Corners.

The Union Church on Old Richmond Road was built in 1853 by the Anglicans, Methodists and Presbyterians on land donated by the early Irish settler Hugh Bell, who operated a public house in that area from 1834 to 1863, and who played a prominent role in early government. The land (part of lot 35, concession 1) in Bells Corners is now the present site of the Bells Corners Union Cemetery.^[5] It was the only building to survive the great fire of 1870. The Rev. John Lowry Gourlay, writing in his book "The History of the Ottawa Valley", said "The old stone church (Presbyterian) seems to have been all that escaped the fire. The people took refuge in it, and held it some days till they made provision for building again.... The church was a union of Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Methodists."^[6]

References

1. "Our History". Bells Corners United Church.
2. "Early Churches". Nepean History. Nepean Museum. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
3. "Bells Corners: A suburban oasis". Ottawa Web City Beat.
4. The Spa, 2027 Robertson Road, Nepean, ON, Canada
5. "Early Churches". Nepean History. Nepean Museum. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
6. J. L. Gourlay (1896). History of the Ottawa Valley. Ottawa, ON. p. 288.

Coordinates: 45°19′27.20″N 75°49′43.77″W / 45.3242222°N 75.8288250°W