Chapel

Saint Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, Marion // 1874

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Originally constructed in 1835 as the Sippican Seminary, also known as the “Dames School” because its student body included many daughters of Marion sea captains, this building had its beginnings as a private school and was later converted to a Victorian chapel as Marion grew into a summer colony. As public schools became more popular, the such a private institution was no longer needed and the site was purchased by a local Episcopal congregation for use as a summer chapel. In 1874, the Greek Revival style academy building was either fully transformed into this modest, Carpenter Gothic shingled chapel or the new chapel was built on its site. As Marion prospered as a summer colony with wealthy summer residents coming to town every summer, members of the congregation donated stained glass windows and other fixtures to the chapel. Many of the distinguished stained glass windows by the Charles J. Connick Studios of Boston remain.

St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church // 1916

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A Roman Catholic parish was established in the South Coast/Cape Cod area by 1830 in Sandwich, where a large glass company employed a number of Irish immigrants. Over the course of the 19th century, several mission churches were established, and eventually a second parish, St. Patrick’s, was established in Wareham in 1911. Soon after, a mission was established in nearby Marion to serve the summertime Catholic community there, where many Irish laborers worked on the coastal estates there. A parcel of land was acquired by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fall River and noted ecclesiastical architect Matthew Sullivan, was selected to furnish plans for the small church. Matthew Sullivan was a partner in the firm of Maginnis, Walsh and Sullivan, which was widely known for its ecclesiastical work, where he too specialized in religious buildings. St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church is an example of an early 20th century chapel in the Craftsman style, characterized by eaves marked by long projecting rafter tails and a bold entry framed by Tuscan columns, but with the unique use of brick walls.

Marion Congregational Chapel // 1885

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Completed in 1885 in the small coastal village of Marion, Massachusetts, the Marion Congregational Chapel was one of the last major gifts from Elizabeth Pitcher Taber (1791–1888), the wealthy widow whose patronage shaped the town’s entire civic landscape. Ms. Taber in her later years had already funded Marion’s library, founded Tabor Academy, and built its academy hall before purchasing a vacant lot on Main Street to build this chapel for her church, the First Congregational Church of Marion. Built in 1885, the chapel is designed in the texturally rich Shingle Style that was then sweeping New England’s coastal towns by the late 19th century with its continuous wood-shingle siding and gabled massing gave it a warmer, more approachable character than the town’s earlier Greek Revival and Italianate landmarks. The chapel stands out for its rubblestone entry tower and the trio of polygonal bays on the primary facade. For its first several years it doubled as Marion’s only real venue for public lectures and amateur theater, an arrangement that reportedly so dismayed Taber over the poor quality of the “worldly theatricals” staged there that she went on to fund a dedicated Music Hall, designed by architect William Gibbons Preston nearby. Given the fact Ms. Taber so-often utilized Preston as architect for her gifts to Marion (and as he was a summer resident here), it is probable that he too designed this Shingle style chapel. The Congregational Chapel stands today as a smaller, later addition to Marion’s Congregational history, which stretches back to the town’s original 1799 meetinghouse (now the Marion General Store) and the Greek Revival church built across the street in 1841 which is still home to the First Congregational Church of Marion.


First Universalist Church, Marion – Marion Arts Center // 1833

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I do love a good adaptive reuse story! This historic church building on Main and Pleasant streets in the Wharf Village of Marion, Massachusetts, was constructed in 1833 for the town’s growing and new Universalist congregation. Architect Seth Eaton was hired and furnished plans, likely relying on neighbor, Warren Blankinship, a carpenter and congregant, to construct the building. It blends together the Greek and Gothic Revival styles well, but in a less sophisticated form than some larger churches. By World War II, the church’s membership had dwindled to only a few old Marion families and eventually closed. With the building’s future uncertain, at a time where demolition for surface parking lots was the go-to solution, Marion residents Andrew and Dorothy Patterson, purchased the building and soon after worked with local artists in town to restore the building for use as an art space. The Marion Art Center was founded in 1957, and to this day, serves as a non-profit community cultural organization dedicated to promoting the visual and performing arts.

St. Andrew’s in the Valley Church // 1927

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The St. Andrew’s in the Valley Episcopal Church in Tamworth, New Hampshire, is an architecturally significant early 20th century rustic chapel that has been lovingly preserved and expanded by its congregation. The church was envisioned by Reverend Frederick C. Cowper (1851-1929), who was called to gather congregants in the summer colonies in the White Mountains to fund and build a new chapel. Rev. Cowper was granted land in the Whittier area of Tamworth and worked with Boston architect, Walter H. Kilham, who had a summer home in Tamworth, to draw up plans for the new church. Kilham is said to have based his designs off of the 11th-century Church of Saint Helena in Austerfield, England, just in the local vernacular with rubblestone acquired from the land in New Hampshire and not cut stone blocks like that of St. Helena. The church exhibits elements of the Arts and Crafts style with the stucco wing and thoughtful stone bell tower.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel, Tamworth // 1905

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Located in rural Tamworth, New Hampshire, the Our Lady of Perpetual Help chapel was built as a vernacular, Roman Catholic house of worship in 1905 and later altered into the present shingled-Gothic style. The chapel was originally a typical late-Gothic, rural chapel with white clapboard siding and a belfry, and it served as the house of worship for many local, working-class residents of Tamworth, specifically in the summer months. Many members of the church likely worked at the mills in nearby towns or as housekeepers in the large summer mansions in the White Mountains. By the 1940s, the chapel was renovated with the present shingle siding and Tudor portico, around the time that the summer chapel became a year-round church. As the membership dwindled in the late 20th century, the Catholic Diocese deconsecrated the church and sold it to a private owner. Since then, the building has been preserved inside and out, and used as a weaver’s studio, but is now (2026) for sale!

Wonalancet Union Chapel // c.1880

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The Wonalancet Union Chapel in Tamworth, New Hampshire, is one of the most charming and photographed churches in the state, not only for its architecture, but its location with backdrop of the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains. The church was originally built around 1880 as a union chapel of multiple denominations in the Wonalancet village of town and was more vernacular in style when originally constructed. In 1896, an open tower and bell were added and the chapel saw its biggest change in 1937, when Arthur Treadwell Walden, an area resident and Klondike Gold Rush adventurer, dog breeder and participant in the first Byrd Antarctic Expedition, helped fund updates to the chapel. The present Colonial Revival appearance is following the designs of Hanover architect, Stanley Orcutt. The Wonalancet Union Chapel remains a vital institution in the village and operates sermons in the summer months. 

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Ashland // 1859

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Located next door to the historic Town Hall, the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Ashland, New Hampshire, stands as one of the state’s finest Victorian-era churches. The Episcopal congregation in Ashland was established in 1855, and originally met in the town’s union church before funding was secured for land and designs for a new church. The unique building was designed by New York architect, J. Coleman Hart, who specialized in parish churches in the Victorian Gothic and Stick styles. With a single nave, the church is notable for its brick construction with walls adorned by half-timbering. The tower rises three stories with circular openings and an open belfry in the third, all topped by a spire. Now known as the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, the congregation is a part of the New Hampshire Episcopal diocese.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Forsyth Chapel and Office // 1884 & 1921

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Adjacent to the Entrance Gate at Forest Hills Cemetery, the Forsyth Chapel and Cemetery Office building stands at the ceremonial entrance to the iconic landscape and architecturally compliments the adjacent structure and surrounding grounds. The Forsyth Chapel was designed by the firm of Van Brunt and Howe and completed in 1884 as a space for mourners and for celebration of lives well-lived. The chapel was expanded in 1921-22 when the Boston firm of Andrews, Jacques & Rantoul, was commissioned to expand the building perpendicular to the gateway, and expand the offices in the building, to serve the greater administrative needs of the busy cemetery and burial planning. The Neo-Gothic addition continues the architectural aesthetic of the cemetery, while being clearly of its time, a well-intentioned and designed addition.

South Swansea Union Church // 1916

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The South Swansea Union Church on Gardner’s Neck in Swansea, Massachusetts, is an excellent example of a seaside New England church that blends architectural styles in a unique composition. The church was built in 1916 years after development of the Neck began in earnest as a partnership between local congregations and the South Swansea Sunday School. The new church became a union church for multiple congregations to have a shared house of worship as well as a space for sunday school for area pupils. The building that features elements of Shingle and Neo-Gothic Revival styles, was built by William L. Hunt & Son and now houses the South Swansea Baptist Church.

St. John’s Episcopal Church of Sharon // 1902

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The small yet architecturally significant St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sharon, Massachusetts, was built in 1902 from plans by one of the premier ecclesiastical architects of the early 20th century. Episcopalians in Sharon began demanding their own house of worship in the late 19th century, and by the turn of the century, had funding to erect their own chapel. Boston-based architect, Ralph Adams Cram, of the firm Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson, designed the building, which fits within the scale of the residential neighborhood it is located within. St. John’s is an example of Neo-Gothic Revival architecture, a style which Cram became known for, with a fieldstone base, three feet thick, and stucco gabled facade above with tripartite windows with diamond-cut colored glass. The chapel was expanded at the rear, but maintains its rustic charm at the street.

First Church of Christ Scientist, Sharon // 1928

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Located on North Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, the community’s Christian Science Church was built in 1928 and is a great example of a diminutive chapel designed in the Colonial Revival style. Before it was completed, the Sharon Christian Science Society had been meeting and holding Sunday services in rooms at the Town Hall and other churches until funding was secured for their own house of worship. Customary of all Christian Science churches, the Christian Scientist in Sharon needed to have the building completely free of debt before being dedicated. The church was designed by architect Prescott A. Hopkins, who was likely the first person to receive a master’s degree in architecture at MIT before moving to Atlanta to became the first head of the Architecture Department at Georgia Tech. The building features a large Palladianesque window at the facade and twin curved entry porches at the facade.

St. Mark’s Chapel, Warren // c.1853

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This charming shingled building on School Street in Warren, Rhode Island, was built around 1853 as a chapel for the accompanying St. Mark’s Episcopal Church a stone’s throw away on Lyndon Street. The chapel was originally constructed on the same lot as the church, but in 1863, was moved to its present location and rotated to face the street. The formerly plain chapel would be expanded in 1900, where a rear addition perpendicular to the main building was added, a new octagonal entry on the facade, and the entire building clad with cedar shingles. The chapel remained in use as a sunday school and for smaller services and later as a parish house. In 2012, the building was sold by the congregation and has since been a residence, which preserves the important architecture of the chapel while supplying much needed housing for the community. Oh how I love adaptive reuse!

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.