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Historic Corbetton Church reopens after extensive renovations, now available to rent

July 10, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown

Have a wedding, a celebration of life, or an annual general meeting to host? The Museum of Dufferin has just the rental space for you.

The Museum of Dufferin’s historic Corbetton Church has reopened following interior renovations and is now ready for the community to rent.

“It’s such a beautiful building and I am super impressed with how quickly and beautiful the renovations turned out. I’m excited because we can now imagine all of the different ways that people can use the space and that we can us the space. We’re already planning lots of fun activities to do in there,” said Jasmine Proteau, manager of the Museum of Dufferin.

The Corbetton Wesleyan Methodist Church was originally built in 1885. In 1925, the church became known as St. James United and served its community for 112 years until its closure in 1997. The church building was moved to the grounds of the MoD in 1999 from the village of Corbetton in Melancthon Township.

Over the years, the church space has been used to host weddings, christenings, memorials, concerts and presentations.

In April, Proteau met with Dufferin County Council to pitch a five-year fundraising and sponsorship plan for the museum, which included improvements to the museum and the Corbetton Church.

The purpose of the renovations was to improve the accessibility of the church to increase the rental usage by the community.

“We found that the fixed seating and dim lighting was difficult for folks, especially those with accessibility needs,” explained Proteau. “There was also really only one kind of use for it, so we decided we’d rather use the building and get more people into it to enjoy.”

The renovations to the Corbetton Church cost $13,399 and were funded through Dufferin County’s Museum Trust as well as fundraising from the sale of the church pews. The renovations included the removal of old church pews, repainting, additional lighting to brighten the space, and new folding chairs and tables.

Proteau noted that while the church was moved to the MoD to preserve it, it is no longer historically accurate due to renovations needed in the 1999 move.

“The church is beautiful and obviously it’s amazing to keep these types of things preserved, but it also limits people from using it,” said Proteau. “The small modifications that we needed really make a huge difference to keeping it an active part of the community rather than behind a glass wall.”

Proteau added they’re hoping the money made through rentals of the church will also help support other upgrades at the museum, including their plans to renovate the welcome desk area to be more accessible for mobility devices.

“There’s different projects we’re trying to do to improve the museum for our visitors and offer more accessibility for people,” she said.

The Corbetton Church is available for rental between April and October.

For more information about the Corbetton Church, including rental fees, rental inquiries, and scheduling, contact the Museum of Dufferin by email at info@dufferinmuseum.com or by calling 519-941-1114.

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