After the capture of Quebec by the British in 1759, the Protestant population there increased rapidly. This new community gradually established itself and set up its institutions. However, it was not until 1772 that it opened its first cemetery.

Neighboring the current Claire-Martin library on rue Saint-Jean, the former Saint-Matthew church, this "Protestant Burying Ground", as it was called at the time, was enlarged in 1778. It was finally closed in 1860 because there were no more places available.

From Graveyard to Parish Church:

After New France was handed over to England in 1763, the need to bury Christians of different denominations in separate graveyards led the British government to acquire a plot of land on Chemin Saint-Jean where Anglicans—and later Presbyterians—would be buried. Opened in 1772 it boasts what is probably the province's oldest gravestone: Alexander Cameron .

Fifty years later a priest would sometimes celebrate mass in the gravedigger's house for the French-speaking Anglicans from the islands of Jersey and Guernsey who had moved to Québec. Arched windows and a dome were added, confirming the new use for the wooden building that became known as St. Matthew's Chapel. But the fire of June 1845 destroyed the building, along with the rest of the Saint-Jean district.

A stone chapel that could hold up to 500 people was inaugurated on the same site in 1849 and had to be enlarged several times to meet the needs of the growing Anglican population. Montréal architect William T. Thomas oversaw a series of major renovations between 1870 and 1882, while St. Matthew's was formally erected as a parish. He made the chancel and nave bigger, added a transept, and had a towered gatehouse with chiming clock built.

A Successful Conversion:

Québec City's Anglican community dwindled throughout the 20th century, to the point that in 1954 when the time came to replace the grand polychrome slate roof, parishioners opted for a more affordable copper covering. In 1979 the community was forced to ask the City of Québec to take charge of both St. Matthew's Church and graveyard.

The city acquired the historic church and graveyard for a symbolic dollar. It then converted the church into a library, taking care to preserve its authenticity and religious character so that visitors today can admire baptismal fonts from 1894, a marble pulpit, stained-glass windows, and original woodwork.

May They Rest In Peace!

In 2009-2010, the City of Quebec restored the cemetery, taking great care to preserve the spirit of the place. A peaceful haven in the heart of the Saint-Jean- Baptiste quarter, the cemetery still has the feeling of being a corner of England.

There are currently 314 gravestones on which the names of some 580 people are inscribed. Worn by time, they tell the stories of the deceased: infant deaths, epidemics, death by drowning...

Three hundred and fourteen is a small number considering that the cemetery served, from 1772 to 1860, as a burial site for the Protestant Anglophone population of Quebec City, which was flourishing at that time.

Three hundred and fourteen is a small number when you think that of the 6,000 to 10,000 individuals who were buried here, their bodies were piled one on top of the other, buried tightly and close to one another.

St. Matthew's cemetery and the church next door-now converted into a library- have been designated as an historic site by the Government of Quebec.

(To find out more, you can borrow an iPod at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Library located in the former church. The application can also be downloaded from Apple's App store (St. Matthew's cemetery).