The Rockingham Church, located at 513 Rockingham Rd, Combermere, ON, formerly called St. Leonard’s Anglican Church, was built about 1875, when the hamlet of Rockingham was a thriving community. The last regular service was held in 1924, and the church had no minister from then until 1944. A Rev. Leon B.G. Adams was minister from 1944-47, but the church was apparently closed in 1941. The pews, font and bell were removed in 1945-46, to churches in Quadeville, Barry’s Bay and Killaloe respectively. On May 14, 1967, Bishop Ernest Reed of Ottawa performed the Act of Secularization on the church.
The building had deteriorated significantly by the mid-‘90s despite various earlier repair efforts. In 1995, the Friends of the Rockingham Church formed to save the building from destruction. Major repairs were carried out in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, the Townships of Brudenell, Lyndoch & Raglan designated the church a heritage site under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Set among tall pines, the weathered wooden church is known for its simple but appealing architectural details: the round-headed windows and graceful steeple, its warm interior paneling and the original pump organ and curved pews. Surrounding gravestones mark the lives of early settlers, including John S.J. Watson, Rockingham’s founder and an early Warden of Renfrew County.
Open daily spring, summer and fall, daylight hours only. Admission is free — donations are welcome.
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