episcopal churches

Christ Church, Swansea // 1900

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Designed in the mode of a traditional English country church, the Christ Church of Swansea is among the finest Neo-Gothic Revival edifices in New England and evokes a sense of history and tradition despite only being built in 1900. The church was funded by benefactors, Frank Shaw Stevens and Elizabeth Case Stevens, who lived down the street in the town’s largest mansion. After the death of her husband Frank, Elizabeth began a large gifting campaign to the Town of Swansea, and funded the construction of the town’s library, school, and this church (they had already funded the 1891 Town Hall). For the village church, Elizabeth hired their friend, and renowned English-born architect, Henry Vaughan, who designed the building with heavy granite walls, lancet windows and a facade dominated by an entry tower with rounded corner all capped by battlements. The Christ Church of Swansea resembles an old Medieval English church but in a New England village, amazing work as always Mr. Vaughan!

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

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, New Haven // 1829

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built beginning in 1829, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Chapel Street in Wooster Square, New Haven, Connecticut, was one of the first churches in the nation built in the Gothic Revival style and a visual entrance to the iconic neighborhood. Constructed from local brownstone, the design of the building is attributed to a partnership between master builder and contractor, Sidney Mason Stone, and Sherman Croswell, son of the congregation’s pastor, Rev. Harry Croswell, who possibly consulted with architect, Ithiel Town. St. Paul’s is said to be the first attributed work of Sidney Mason Stone, who went on to build and design over 100 churches, homes, and buildings all over the region. The church originally featured two end towers were built of wood but were ambitiously removed in 1893 to be replaced with stone belfries, which was likely the original design. Sadly, funding ran out and only one tower was rebuilt of stone, leaving the lopsided single-tower look today.

Trinity Episcopal Church of Wrentham // 1872

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Overlooking the Town Green in Wrentham, Massachusetts, the Trinity Episcopal Church of Wrentham stands as the town’s finest example of Victorian Gothic architecture and the community’s oldest Episcopal church. Episcopalians in Wrentham first began worshipping in 1863 and in less than ten years, quickly grew in numbers from just two members to so many that a church building was needed to house the congregation. The site on East Street was purchased and architect, Shepard S. Woodcock, was hired to furnish plans for the new building. Completed in 1872, the Victorian Gothic design features all of the hallmarks of the style, including the steeply pitched roof, pointed arch windows and entry doors, buttresses, and towering steeple.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church // 1829

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Warren, Rhode Island, is a small, yet architecturally significant building that was one of the first examples of the Greek Revival style in the community. The episcopal church was formed in Warren in 1828, with members originally meeting in Cole’s Hotel while this site and construction completed on their new house of worship. The well-connected congregation hired architect, Russell Warren, who had just completed the Westminster Arcade, a landmark in the Greek Revival style, in Downtown Providence. Distinguished by its beautiful four columned Ionic portico and canted door frames, the church also originally had a square tower and parapet, which were removed following the 1938 hurricane, and replaced with a simple pediment. The parish closed in 2010 and the diocese sold the building in 2012 to private owners, who converted it about ten years ago into a residence, but retained the historic stained glass windows and character of the building. The entire site today (2026) is being renovated with what appears to be a modern addition on the side (not pictured). Hopefully the architecture of this landmark will be preserved.

Immanuel St. James Episcopal Church // 1843

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Gothic Revival style Immanuel St. James Episcopal Church of Derby is a landmark example of the style in this part of Connecticut and serves as the eastern anchor to the Birmingham Green in town. The church dates to 1843 and was built by The stone church was was built by stonemason, Harvey Johnson and Nelson Hinman, a carpenter. The land for the church was donated by Sheldon Smith and Anson G. Phelps, wealthy industrialists in town. The building originally had a wooden steeple, which was replaced by the present stone belfry in 1853. The church merged with another area congregation, which together, have preserved this significant structure, though the communications antennae on the battlements on the belfry is unfortunate.

St. John’s Church, Portsmouth // 1807

Buildings of New England2 Comments

St. John’s Episcopal Church is located on Chapel Street, atop Church Hill near the historic commercial center of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A church has been located on this site since 1732, when British Anglicans built Queen’s Chapel here. It was named “Queen’s Chapel” after King George II’s wife, Queen Caroline, who donated many fine gifts to help the new parish. The congregation increased in growth alongside the community until a tragic fire on Christmas Eve in 1806, which destroyed over 300 buildings in Portsmouth including the original wooden structure of St. John’s and most of its contents. The parishioners immediately began to raise funds to erect the present brick church, with its cornerstone laid in June 1807. The Federal style church was one of the first known buildings by architect-engineer, Alexander Parris, in the time before he moved to Boston, designing many iconic buildings there. St. John’s Church of Portsmouth stands as the oldest Episcopal Parish in New Hampshire and was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Memorial Church of All Angels, Twilight Park // 1896

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The Memorial Church of All Angels is located in the center of the summer colony of Twilight Park, found in the town of Hunter in the Catskill Mountains. The founding of the church began shortly after the colony was established in 1888, when two years later, the Rev. H. M. Baum from Evanston, Pa., an early visitor to the Park, realized the need for an Episcopal Church, and funds were raised to build a small chapel, known as the St. Paul’s Church. The church was foreclosed upon in a matter of years. In 1895, church services were again reinvigorated when the Rev. Henry Yates Satterlee, the first bishop of Washington, then the Rector of Calvary Church, New York, had taken the cottage of his cousin, the artist Walter Satterlee, for his summer home. He set out to establish a summer chapel for Episcopalians in Twilight Park, and he hired architect Alexander Mackintosh, to furnish plans for the church. The church opened in 1896, and it would be expanded in 1909 with an addition and porch and again in 1915 with the belltower. The church opens every summer for services and is one of the finest Episcopal chapels in the Northeast.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church // 1833

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Salem, is a landmark example of a granite, Gothic Revival church of the 19th century. The present church, which is constructed of Cape Ann granite, was the second church on the site built for local Episcopalians, replacing a wood-frame building constructed there 100 years prior. Designed by architect Isaiah Rogers, the Gothic church features a prominent entry tower with a quatrefoil window in each elevation, large lancet-arched windows in the tower and lining the sanctuary, and a crenelated parapet. When completed, St. Peter’s had Salem’s first church bell, an 1740 English bell that supposedly still graces the tower today and is said to be the oldest church bell in the United States! In 1871, the rear chapel was added to the building, from plans by George E. Harney. The chapel was built directly over the old parish cemetery, requiring some of the tombstones to be placed inside the chapel walls, while others were moved to the front of the church, creating a really unique “garden cemetery” in front of the church.

Trinity Episcopal Church, Newton // 1915

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Trinity Episcopal Church in Newton Centre is one of the most unique and architecturally significant buildings in the village. Episcopalians began meeting in Newton Centre by at least 1889 and began discussions about erecting their own church. A small wood-frame chapel was built (since relocated and used by the Newton Parks Department) and provided worship space for years until the 1910s when the congregation acquired enough funds to build a more substantial structure. The cornerstone for the new church, which was designed by architect George W. Chickering, was laid in May of 1915, and the building was completed in 1916. Modeled after the stunning King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England, the high-style Gothic edifice is notable for the crenelated parapet and pinnacles rising above the buttresses.

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

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church // 1891

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Tucked away off Broad Street in the Danielson village of Killingly, Connecticut, you will find this charming and eclectic church building, long-occupied by the St. Alban´s Episcopal Church. Episcopalians began congregating in the town in the 1860s, and it would be in 1865, when an old academy building on this site was acquired and converted for use as an Episcopal church. By 1891, the relative prosperity of members of the church made it so a new church building was to be built on the site. Worcester-based architect Stephen C. Earle was hired to furnish plans for the new edifice which is eclectic with Victorian Gothic and Shingle style elements. The congregation appears to have either disbanded or merged with a nearby church as the building does not appear to be occupied. 

St. Christopher’s-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church // 1892

Buildings of New England1 Comment

In 1891, a proposal was made to build a summer Episcopal chapel, to be known as St. Christopher’s by the Sea, on Grindstone Neck in Winter Harbor, Maine. This project was supported by local area residents and by the summer community on Grindstone Neck. The construction of the church started in 1892, but it was not until August 6, 1893 that the first service was held in the chapel. The Rev. Julius Atwood, rector of St. James’ Church in Providence, Rhode Island, officiated and preached the first sermon. The church was designed by Lindley Johnson, a Philadelphia-based architect who also summered in a cottage on Grindstone Neck and designed other cottages in the colony. The Shingle style chapel is architecturally unique and rustic, a quality which is also visible at the interior, which is rustic in appearance with exposed beams and shingled walls.

St. John the Evangelist Church // 1885

Buildings of New England3 Comments

One of the most bucolic and beautiful buildings I have ever seen is this church in the Catskills, just outside of Elka Park, NY. Wow I wish New England could claim this one! The St. John the Evangelist Chapel was developed as part of a smaller enclave of summer cottages for rusticators from the Philadelphia-area, which was largely established by Mr. Alexander Hemsley (1834-1904) a chemist from Philadelphia who would later die from anaccidental chemical explosion at his factory. In 1883, Hemsley sold cottage lots to friends and family to erect summer houses in the Catskills and in 1884, decided to develop a lot for an Episcopal summer chapel. In that same year, Hemsley hired his future son-in-law, William Halsey Wood, to design the chapel. The Stick-style Victorian chapel blends the rustic use of natural materials found on the property with an elegant siting and attention to detail, not typically found in rural chapels. The native stone and stylized half-timbering really stood out to me. The church is used still in the summer with regular services on Sundays in July and August.