Thy Dwellings Fair: Churches of Nova Scotia: 1750-1830

Michael Dicketts was Information Librarian at the Kingston Public Library in Kingston, Ontario.

Allan Duffus has served as president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada as well as a governor of Heritage Canada. For this book he has been joined by two other Maritime architects and by writer and local historian Elizabeth Pacey. Together the four compilers have produced an architectural survey of 22 representative historic churches in Nova Scotia. Each entry contains one or more photographs, a floor plan and, often, line drawings detailing significant architectural features. Textual information includes both a discussion of the role the building played in an evolving architectural style and an historical account of the church’s place in its community.

The book fills a gap in regional surveys; I hope that it inspires other historians to emulate it. We are lacking in architectural historians perhaps because the market for their research is considered too slim for this specialty to recoup the expenses involved. Yet the dearth of books of this kind is well known; until such time as various aspects of our architectural history are documented and discussed, our awareness of buildings and the part they play in our social history will be lacking. Thy Dwellings Fair deserves encouragement and can be safely purchased by anyone interested in the growth of Nova Scotia.