Email icon Back to Search

Notice of intention to designate under the Ontario Heritage Act

Location of subject lands 5 First Avenue

Take notice that The Council of the Corporation of the Town of Orangeville intends to designate the above noted property under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. 0.18., as amended, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest.

Description of property

5 First Avenue is located on the north side of First Avenue, between First Street to the west, and Second Street to the east, in the Town of Orangeville. The property contains a 19th century Gothic Revival church.

Statement of cultural heritage value or interest

The property meets design and physical value as it contains a representative example of a mid-19th century Gothic Revival church. Characteristics of a Gothic Revival style church are demonstrated through its tower with lancet windows, its overall exterior with lancet windows some with window tracery, pointed arch window and door surrounds, steeply-pitched gable roof, and buttresses.

The property also has direct historical association with stained glass company Robert McCausland Limited ,who installed the stain glass in the church. Robert McCausland Limited is a well-known Toronto based firm that was established in 1856. Since the 1850s, the company has designed and manufactured stained glass for both vernacular and religious structures across the country and remains North America’s oldest surviving stained glass studio. The church at 5 First Avenue fits into the larger portfolio of Robert McCausland Limited.

Property’s heritage attributes

The property at 5 First Avenue contains a representative example of a 19th century Gothic Revival church, designed by William Robinson, which contains the following heritage attributes that exhibit this value:

  • one storey structure with raised basement*
  • steeply-pitched side gable roofs with parapets
  • red brick construction with buttresses
  • lancet window openings
  • stained glass windows
  • lancet windows with wood tracery
  • south façade, comprising:
    • three storey square tower with buttresses and lancet window openings
    • one and one-half storey protruding bay with gable roof, buttresses, lancet windows, and wood segmental arch door with a pointed arched wood transom with trefoil moulding
    • one storey basement entrance with gable roof, pointed arch door opening and pointed arch window openings

A heritage attribute of the property at 5 First Avenue includes its direct association with stained glass window company Robert McCausland Limited.

Submitting an objection to this notice

Any person who objects to this proposed designation may, no later than 4 p.m. on September 24, 2026, give the Town Clerk, a Notice of Objection, setting out their reasons for the objection and all relevant facts. Objections can be submitted to [email protected] or delivered in-person to the clerk’s office at Town Hall, 87 Broadway, Orangeville.

If no objection is received within the designated period, Council may consider and pass a bylaw designating this property under Part IV of the Act.

If a Notice of Objection is received, the Council of the Town of Orangeville will consider the objection on or before December 23, 2026 and make a decision to withdraw this intention to designate the property, or pass a bylaw to designate the property.

For more information

For more information about this matter, including information about the property’s heritage attributes and cultural heritage value or interest, contact the Planning division in person at Town Hall, by phone at 519-941-0440 ext. 2228 or electronically at [email protected] during regular office hours.