Historic St. James Anglican Church in Hudson, Que. undergoing major renovation after devastating fire

Light fills St. James Anglican Church in Hudson, Que. Above the original fieldstone walls, the roof is covered in a translucent white tarp held up by brand new Douglas Fir trusses.

Inside the nave, the floor is covered in dust and debris as scaffolding reaches towards the sky. The historic church is undergoing major rebuilding following a devastating fire in April 2024.

Congregant Marcus Owen walks through the space pointing out some of the work that is underway.

"We had 13 stained glass windows, which had been put in over the years," he says, pointing to boarded up spaces.

"You can see they have all been removed."

A fire destroyed much of the historic St. James Anglican Church in Hudson, Que. on April 14, 2024. (Cosmo Santamaria, CTV News)

The fire completely destroyed the 183-year-old church's roof. Most of the damage inside the structure was due to smoke and water, says Reverend Sophie Rolland.

"It took about three or four months to really get the cleanup done," she told CTV News, "then we were able to sort of take a look at the site and with new eyes."

Next week, the final sections of the roof will be installed. The parish has regularly been updating congregants on the work and now it wants input from the community on what the future of the site should be.

"What we have always wanted to do right from the get-go was to rebuild the exterior as close as we could to the original," says Owen. "The interesting part going forward is we're involving the community in every step of the way."

The St. James Anglican Church in Hudson, Que. (Kelly Greig/CTV News)

There will be open discussions on the functionality and aesthetics of the church, as well as critical infrastructure like energy efficient heating systems.

"I think there are a lot of people who can see images of 21st century architecture being merged with the old church," says Rolland. "We want them to be able to have a say in what's going to be able to be hopefully a building for the 21st and 22nd century."

One of the ideas is to install glass coverings over some of the newly exposed original walls so visitors can have a look into the church's structure. "A window to the past," says Owen.

While the 18-inch walls of the church are still intact and a nearby hall survived with minimal damage, a side building needed to be demolished. Rolland says out of the destruction comes an exciting opportunity for the community to rebuild.

"There's never been any question we're going to rebuild that church," says Owen, "from day one that was a non-negotiable."

While the rebuild is ongoing, Rolland hopes St. James Anglican Church will reopen for services in the fall.