chapel architecture

Wooster Memorial Chapel, Fountain Hill Cemetery // 1915

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Located in Fountain Hill Cemetery, which has become a sort of Rural Cemetery in the small town of Deep River, Connecticut, this handsome gothic chapel graces the entrance and has provided a place of solemn memorials and celebrations of life for over 100 years. The Fountain Hill Cemetery was originally established in 1851, but after a half-century of use, Miss Mary McCellan Wooster (1839-1911), sought a non-denominational chapel for the grounds to not only beautify the local cemetery, but provide a place to honor the dead. In her will, Miss Wooster left $10,000 for a new chapel. The cemetery board of directors hired architect, Isaac Allen, Jr. of Hartford, Connecticut, to design the structure. The Neo-Gothic chapel was built of local stone and opened to the public in April 1915.

Another interesting story in the cemetery is the mysterious ‘XYZ’ gravestone. Legend says that in the evening of December 13, 1899, an unnamed man arrived in Deep River, Connecticut (along with three other male accomplices), to rob the local bank. This unnamed individual was confronted by the night security guard with a sawed-off shotgun, firing at the robber, blowing away part of his face. The other three robbers fled, leaving their accomplice in Deep River. In the hope that someone could identify him, his body was laid out for viewing at the local funeral parlor. During this time, an anonymous letter arrived, requesting that the man be buried with the headstone only marked as XYZ. The odd request was accorded, but was never fully explained. To this day, many locals leave stones and coins at the marker in Fountain Hill Cemetery.

St. Mark’s Orthodox Church // 1882

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Built in 1882 as a Catholic mission church, the St. Mark’s Orthodox Church on Main Street in Kingston, Massachusetts, stands as a lovely example of a Victorian Gothic ecclesiastical building in a great state of preservation. In the waning decades of the 19th century, the Irish and Catholic population of Kingston grew, which led members to petition the Diocese to erect a mission church closer to their homes, rather than attend St. Peter’s in Plymouth. Originally called St. Joseph’s Church, the building served the local Catholic population until after the new, brick St. Joseph’s. Church was built further down Main Street in the 1930s. The local St. Mark Of Ephesus Orthodox Church congregation purchased the chapel in 1995 and restored the building, removing faux-brick shingling and reshingled the exterior.

Union Chapel, Twilight Park // 1897

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The Union Chapel in the summer colony of Twilight Park in the Catskill Mountains of New York, is one of the finest late Victorian chapels in the region. The edifice was built in 1897, a year following the erection of the All Angels Episcopal Church, in Twilight Park, and was designed to complement the rustic character of the surrounding cottages. The chapel was built as a non-denominational, or Union church, for summer residents of the colony who preferred an alternative to Episcopal sermons down the dirt road. The church was designed by Alice Hands, of the New York firm Gannon & Hands, the first all-female architectural firm in the United States. The chapel was eventually closed in 1970 and converted to a private residence, with some stained glass windows donated to the Episcopal Church in Twilight Park.

Pine Grove Cemetery Mausoleum & Chapel // c.1875 & 1904

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Mausoleum

The mausoleum and the Jonas A. Stone Memorial Chapel are two historic structures located in the Pine Grove Cemetery of Westborough, Massachusetts. Land here was acquired in 1746 by the Reverend Ebenezer Parkman, and it comprised of a pine lot of sixteen acres on the road to Mendon (now South Street). Nearly 100 years later, in 1844, the lot was deeded to the town as a new cemetery, as the older cemeteries were quickly becoming crowded. It was named Pine Grove after the historic use of the grounds. Due to the rural cemetery movement, which sought to reimagine cemeteries as a beautiful park-like setting, not a simple burial ground, many Westborough families purchased plots here and some even moved their loved ones to the new family plot, in the “new” Pine Grove Cemetery.

Chapel

The Mausoleum was built sometime in the mid-19th century and is a modest, Greek Revival style structure of granite and brick construction. Four Doric columns support the portico and wooden roof which serves as a pediment above. The Jonas A. Stone Memorial Chapel was built in 1904 following a bequest to the town from the will of Jonas Adams Stone (1821-1900), and additional donation by his brother, Nymphas Stone. The Victorian Gothic chapel is built of brick and brownstone with a wooden gable and roof. The structure was damaged during the destructive 1938 New England Hurricane, but restored and is an important local landmark today.

Holyhood Cemetery Chapel // 1857

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Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, was laid out in 1857 under the direction of Father Joseph M. Finotti, pastor of Assumption Parish , which included Brookline and Brighton. The cemetery reflects the mid-19th century influence of the Rural Cemetery movement and the romantic landscape cemetery planning begun at Cambridge’s Mount Auburn Cemetery in the 1830’s. A plan of the cemetery was drawn up by Shedd & Edson and published in August 1857. It shows curvilinear avenues and paths named after former bishops of Boston and Biblical figures. All were welcome to be buried except those who “died in a state of Drunkenness, Duel, or by self-destruction, unbaptized, non-Catholic, or otherwise opposed to the Catholic Church.” In the 1857 Shedd & Edson plan for Holyhood Catholic Cemetery, a chapel was located at the center on the hill shown in a small drawing on the edge of the plan. Known as St. Joseph’s Chapel, the stone building was designed by Patrick Keely, the successful and influential New York architect of many mid-19th century Catholic churches. The chapel would be dedicated in 1862. Decades later, a cemetery office was planned and built across Heath Street from the cemetery gates, but was demolished sometime in the 20th century. The cemetery grew and it along with the mid-19th century chapel, has been lovingly maintained to this day.  

Spaulding Memorial Chapel // 1910

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Located within the Fairview Cemetery in Chicopee, Massachusetts, this lovely memorial chapel serves as an everlasting love letter from one spouse to another. Justin Spaulding (1838-1906) was a wealthy grocer who operated stores locally and amassed quite a sizable fortune. He and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth (Cooley) Spaulding, lived in a large Queen Anne home and would bequeath substantial funds to the City in their will. Justin died in 1906, and Sarah would die a year later, and as they do not appear to have had any children, they became benefactors to the town, partially funding the construction of the town’s first purpose-built library and this memorial chapel in the Fairview Cemetery. Over $6,000 was spent on this chapel, with plans drawn by architects Eugene Clarence Gardner and his son, George C. Gardner. The Classical Revival building is constructed of yellow brick with stone trim and ornament, with a notable eternal flame motif in the gable.

All Saints by-the-Sea Episcopal Church // 1905

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Possibly my favorite type of building in Maine are the historic Episcopal summer chapels that sprouted up along the coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is the All Saints by-the-Sea Episcopal Church of Southport, Maine, an island community with many summer residents. This church had its beginnings when Reverend John Thomas Magrath of Gardiner, Maine, would visit Southport in the summers and hold services for rusticators under the oak trees or in the cottage living room if the weather was poor. Eventually, a member of the congregation purchased a lot on the east side of Southport on the rugged coastline, and planning began for a chapel. In 1905, the chapel was designed by architect, Albert Hall in a rustic blending of the Shingle and Tudor styles. The building exhibits shingle siding with half-timbering, the original diamond-pane windows, and a large entry porch off the entrance.

Highland Cemetery Chapel // 1903

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Tucked away in Highland Cemetery, a typical looking cemetery in Norwood, Massachusetts, you will find a masterpiece chapel designed by one of the great architects of the Arts & Crafts movement. The Highland Cemetery was established in 1880 becoming the town’s second and primary burial ground. The town’s first burial ground was the Old Parish Cemetery which is located in the center of town on a 3/4-acre hill and because of its limited size and the difficult terrain; there was no room for growth. The rapidly developing town required a second cemetery and laid out Highland View on the outskirts of the village. In 1903, the Chapel of St. Gabriel the Archangel, also known as the Day Memorial Chapel, was erected at the center of the cemetery. The Chapel, which also acts as a mausoleum, was donated to the town by Lewis and Anna Smith Day in memory of their parents. Their only stipulation was that the chapel be available for use free of charge for any resident who desired to do so, no matter their religion or race. Esteemed architect Ralph Adams Cram designed the chapel in the Neo Gothic Revival style. Fred Holland Day, a renowned photographer and publisher, was the only child born to Lewis and Anna and he was a close friend of Ralph Adams Cram and Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, likely leading to their commission here in Norwood. F. Holland Day lived in a Tudor mansion in town, modified from his childhood home. The Cemetery Chapel remains a seminal building for its genre and time.

Wildwood Baptist Chapel // 1910

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Tucked away on a wooded lot, away from the main villages of Kennebunkport, Maine, the Wildwood Baptist Chapel sits on the side of the road looking like a scene from a storybook. The chapel was built in 1910 for Baptists residing in the Wildes District of town, between the busier Kennebunkport Village and Cape Porpoise. The stone used in the construction of the chapel was taken from nearby properties and assembled on site by a skilled mason who built the walls with a Shingle style roof. Services here were limited and eventually ceased in earnest in 1935, as personal automobile allowed residents to travel to the church in the village for services. The poorly insulated chapel and small fireplace made the sanctuary inside difficult to heat in the cold winter months. The chapel is maintained well to this day, and is primarily used for summer services and special events.

Dutch Arms Chapel // 1875

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Tucked away on a side street in Saugerties, New York, this Victorian Gothic chapel has recently been given a new life for the arts. The chapel was constructed in 1875 as part of the Reformed Church of Saugerties (1852), designed by famed architect James Renwick, Jr., the architect of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan and the Smithsonian in D.C. The architect of the chapel is not clear, but it retains similar detailing and materials to the main church. The structure was used for smaller religious meetings and a sunday school for decades until it eventually closed. The chapel was recently acquired by Isabel Soffer and Danny Melnick, co-founders of Hudson Valley Live, and has been restored and transformed into The Local: a year-round, multi-arts venue, breathing new life to the building and culture to the artistic town.