Gainsford, John

GAINSFORD, John (fl. 1819 - c. 1858), of Charlottetown, P.E.I. was “an English gentleman with a natural talent for architecture which study and foreign travel have greatly developed”. In 1843 he was hired to draw the plans and superintend the construction of the second St. Dunstan’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. (PAPEI, MSS 2353/235, p. 12). His Gothic design for the church was completed in 1848, and spire added in 1850. The interiors, however, remained unfinished until 1855, at which time the Trustees made alterations to Gainsford’s plans, prompting him to resign from the commission in May 1855. The church was completed on a ‘strictly utilitarian plan’, and stood until 1897 when it was moved from its location to make way for a new Cathedral designed by the Quebec City architects Berlinguet & Lemay. The original building by Gainsford was then demolished shortly after the opening of this new structure. A view of the design by Gainsford can be found in Irene Rogers, Charlottetown: The Life in its Buildings, 1983, 113, illus. The Last Will for Gainsford, proved on 16 July 1858 noted him to be “formerly of Charlottetown, now of Newfoundland” (PAPEI, Wills, Book 6, Folio 2; inf. Harry T. Holman, Charlottetown)