Gothic Revival

Washington Congregational Church // 1840

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Located adjacent to the Washington Meeting House and Central Schoolhouse on the Washington, New Hampshire Town Green, the Washington Congregational Church perfectly compliments the collection of vernacular buildings here to create a very cohesive, three-building historic district. The church is dominated by a Gothic-inspired two stage square tower adorned by pointed pinnacles and crenellation. The building, constructed in 1840, is a great example of a Gothic Revival vernacular church building in rural New Hampshire and has been well-maintained over the years. In 1960, a fire in the church resulted in several thousand dollars worth of damage. A full basement was built under the church in 1985 to provide space for Sunday School classes and events. The simple arched sanctuary has remained in keeping with the original interior design, and features wide board wainscoting and wooden pews, taken from the old Meeting House.

St. Patrick’s Church, Newport // 1882

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Perched high on a hill in central Newport, NH, St. Patrick’s Church has served the community in its stunning building for nearly 150 years. The town of Newport began seeing Irish immigrants moving into town looking for work at the mills as early as 1835. The large working-class population created a need for a Catholic church in the growing town. That same year, the Catholic population of the state of New Hampshire was listed at just 720 people. Over the following decades of meeting in homes and small buildings around town, the Catholic population in town, along with the newly established Archdiocese of Manchester, NH, came up with funds for a church in the mill town of Newport. The congregation hired Hira Ransom Beckwith, a carpenter, builder and architect from nearby Claremont to design and construct the new place of worship. Interestingly, Beckwith had only a high school education, so his training as an architect and builder was through apprenticeships. The church is a blend of Gothic Revival and Stick styles, with the lancet windows and tracery paired with the elaborate stick-work in the gable.

Samuel Allen Nichols House // 1848

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Samuel Allen Nichols (1790-1864) was born in Fairfield, Connecticut to a large family. He began his adult career as a farmer, but shifted towards the merchant trade after seeing how the village of Southport began to see massive wealth accumulating. He ran a store in the town and later became involved in local politics serving as the clerk from 1847-1863. A year after he accepted this position, he had this home built on Harbor Road. The 1848 home was Gothic Revival in style with gabled dormers, lancet windows, and decorative bargeboard. Nichols died in 1864 and the home was likely willed to one of his five living children. The home was renovated around 1871 with a Second Empire style Mansard roof and square belvedere to overlook the Southport Harbor. Since then, much of the detailing has been removed, but the home remains as a gorgeous home, changed over time to keep up with the changing architectural tastes of the 19th century.

Trinity Church, Southport // 1862

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The Trinity Episcopal Church in the Southport section of Fairfield, Connecticut was established in 1725. Twenty families met for worship at its first meeting house in the center of town on Thanksgiving Day, 1725. Since then, the church has constructed five different places of worship in locations around town. Architect Albert C. Nash designed the church which was constructed during the years 1854-56. Sadly, the building’s near total destruction by wind during a tornado on January 1, 1862, required the church to be completely rebuilt as originally planned, with a few structural alterations. Trinity Church is an excellent work of early Gothic Revival church architecture in wood, one of the best I have seen in my trips around the region.

Sturges Cottage // 1840

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In the 1840s in New England, one architectural style commanded a large majority of all new house styles, Greek Revival. A divergence from the Classical designs of the Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival styles which dominated at the time, the Romantic movement began its first true breaths across New England. The Gothic Revival and Italianate styles are often thought to be the first couple styles which brought the frills and detailing personified by Victorian-era architecture.

This home in Fairfield, Connecticut was built in 1840 to a design by Joseph Collins Wells, it is one of the oldest-known and best-documented examples of architect-designed Gothic Revival architecture. The home was built for for Jonathan Sturges (1802–1874), a businessman and patron of the arts. It is one of the earliest known examples of architect-designed Gothic Revival architecture, a style more often taken by local builders from pattern books published by the style’s proponents. The home was likely a pre-cursor to architect Joseph Wells later commission, the famous Roseland Cottage.

Thetford Center Methodist Church // 1838

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An outstanding example of the Gothic Revival style churches in Vermont, this brick, three bay, gable front church was constructed in 1838 in Thetford Center Vermont. The Gothic Revival style is expressed here primarily in the pointed louvered insets above the windows (including the pointed louvers in the steeple) and the finials at the steeple. The church building was constructed using brick made in the local brickyard owned by Hezekiah Porter. Designed to seat 250 people, it was constructed for the cost of a mere $1,400. Behind the church is the Evergreen Rest Cemetery, administered by a Cemetery Association, in which are many of the early residents of Thetford and members of the congregation and its founders.

West Tisbury Grange Hall // 1859

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Image courtesy of @MarthasVineyardonisland

Constructed by the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society at the crossroads of the island, this Grange Hall in West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard, is the center of agriculture and commerce for the Vineyard. Grange Halls are traditionally where farmers have gathered to learn new agricultural practices, develop strategic business partnerships, and barter for goods and services. The building was the hub of weekly farmers markets for decades and eventually owned by the Vineyard Trust in 1997, being restored soon after. The building is a vernacular Gothic Revival building with decorative bargeboard (gingerbread trim) and full-length porch.

St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Church // 1927

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This church in Agawam was built in 1927, replacing the first Catholic church in town, which was established in 1873. The earlier church was destroyed by a fire in 1925, causing the congregation and Archdiocese to fund construction of a new, fireproof church building. The Neo-Gothic Revival building features lancet windows, buttresses, and a central steeple. The building is now occupied as the Moldovian Baptist Church.

St. John’s Episcopal Church // 1868

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The St. John’s Episcopal Church in North Adams, MA was established in 1855 by Rev. William Tatlock and Stephen Higginson Tyng Jr. while both were studying at nearby Williams College. A church was built in 1858, but deteriorated quickly, and the congregation gathered funding to erect this large edifice. Architect Stephen C. Earle, a leading architect in Central and Western Massachusetts, designed the Gothic church constructed out of large stone blocks quarried nearby. The church continued to grow over the next decades, and it was added onto as the immigrant community boomed in town following North Adams’ industrial growth. In 1893, the adjoining Parish House was constructed of the same stone as the main church, also designed by Earle. In the 20th century, membership shrunk due to decreasing population, and in 2011, the parishes of St. John’s Episcopal Church in North Adams and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Adams merged to form the All Saints’ Episcopal Church.

Davis House-Aunt Felicia’s Folly // 1805

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If you stroll down Maine Street in Kennebunkport, you cant help but notice the most charming saltbox house. Constructed in 1805 by Samuel Davis, a master builder in Kennebunkport, the Federal home likely had a saltbox roof originally which would have housed the kitchen. After the Civil War, the home was owned by Silas Perkins, who then sold the home to his daughter, Felicia (Perkins) Cleaves and her husband, Albert, a teacher. By the 1870s, Felicia had the Colonial home completely renovated, turning into a Gothic Revival showpiece. Mrs. Cleaves added a new wing to the right of the original house, for she desired the high ceilings that were common during the Victorian era. The building became known in town as “Aunt Felicia’s Folly” and alternately, “the Witch House.” In 1966, owners restored the home back to what it likely looked like before the 1870s renovation, adding a saltbox roof.

Undated image showing “Aunt Felicia’s Folly” with Gothic alterations.