Charles Baillairgé's interpretation of the gothic at the church of La Nativité, in Beauport, Quebec

Less than a year after Edward Staveley's Methodist temple of 1848 -- the first gothic revival church in Quebec City -- Charles Baillairgé proposed using the gothic style in the catholic parish of La Nativité in Beauport. Although the general form of his 1849 project follows the lines of neoclassical churches designed by Thomas Baillairgé or by himself (such as St-Jean-Baptiste in Quebec), and although Baillairgé's treatment of the gothic vocabulary may thereby seem a little superficial, his project is nevertheless an important and fascinating one. Baillairgé borrowed from a variety of local models, including Staveley's methodist temple and O'Donnell's Notre-Dame in Montreal. He also used references found in his collection of architectural books, most notably the facade of York Minster (which he probably knew indirectly from Minard Lafever's Modern Builder's Guide), and he seems to know relatively well the most important cathedrals of France and England. 
This paper is an attempt to clarify the meaning of such an eclectic attitude towards the gothic, as it can be seen in the Beauport church. Baillairgé comments about the reconstruction of the church after it was destroyed by fire in 1890 is most helpful in this regard. Indeed, Baillairgé argued that if he could be put in charge of the reconstruction, his plans would need to be executed more faithfully than in 1849-50, and he overtly criticized local architects and contractors unable to do more that "des tabernacles et des bébelles". Baillairgé thus blames a traditional construction process open to all kinds of modifications for the failures of his design. In this manner, he offers an understanding of the gothic as modern style, whose religious character cannot suffer approximation or improvisation.