The Gothic Revival transformed the appearance of churches in North America and nowhere more so than in New Brunswick. In 1845, John Medley travelled to the New World from England where he became the first Anglican Bishop of New Brunswick. With him, he brought ideas, architects and architectural designs which would change the appearance of churches throughout the province. By the turn of the century, Medley had overseen the construction and renovation of more than one hundred Anglican churches, influenced the design of a host of Protestant and Roman Catholic houses of worship, and helped launch a movement that changed the appearance of both public and private buildings throughout North America. In On Earth as it is in Heaven, Gregg Finley and Lynn Wigginton examine this transformation in church architecture, from the simple Georgian forms of the early 1800s to the decorated Gothic Revival style that dominated the second half of the century. Featuring more than one hundred paintings and drawings of the remaining churches as well as of architectural details such as vaulted ceilings, chancels, windows and arches, On Earth as it is in Heaven captures the dramatic shift in the architectural landscape.

The former director of King’s Landing Historical Settlement, Dr. Gregg Finley is a cultural historian who teaches at St. Stephen’s University and Atlantic Baptist College.

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Lynn Wigginton is a graduate of Mount Allison University’s Department of Fine Arts. Painting in the realist tradition, she captures the suggestive shape of the Gothic Revival with intricacy and detail.

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