Victorian Gothic

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.

North Billerica Baptist Church // 1870

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As the Talbot and Faulkner mills of North Billerica thrived, bringing thousands of workers, their families and customs; new schools, social clubs, and schools were needed to provide quality of life improvements to those who worked tirelessly all days of the week in the cramped factories. As far back as 1828, Baptists began to informally meet to worship together in North Billerica. Years later, they built a small meeting house that grew alongside the surrounding community. By 1868, 27 members pooled resources and alongside funding from Thomas Talbot, politician and part-owner of the Talbot Mill in Billerica, it was decided that a proper church be built in the industrial village for area Baptists. Architect, Alexander Rice Esty, was hired to furnish plans for the building, which is of the Victorian Gothic style, built of wood and notable for its many lancet windows. The church has been modified a few times since its first service in 1870 and remains a vital cultural landmark in the industrial village. 

Bennett Library, Billerica // 1881

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In the late 19th century, Eleanor Richardson Bennett (1794-1891), the widow of Joshua Bennett (1793-1865), bequeathed funds to erect the first purpose-built public library building in her hometown of Billerica, Massachusetts. A private members library known as the Social Library, was formed in Billerica in 1772, but Ms. Bennett wished to gift the town a public facility of learning in memory of her late husband, a prominent landowner in the West End of Boston and one of the richest men in Middlesex County. Eleanor Bennett hired the Boston firm of Rotch & Tilden, to design the new library building overlooking the Town Common. Completed in 1881, the Victorian Gothic library is built of brick with limestone trim, and features a large rose stained glass window, intricate terracotta and wooden detailing, and a slate hipped roof with a pointed spire. The library was eventually outgrown and the facility relocated to a new building, and again to the former Town Hall building in 2000. The former Bennett Library is still owned and maintained by the town as an event space available for rent. The building has been restored through Community Preservation Act funding.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Chadwick Mausoleum // 1873

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While many monuments in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston stand out for obvious reasons, there are many historic mausoleums dispersed throughout the cemetery, but none quite like the Chadwick Mausoleum. Mausoleums are above ground burial structures, where family can be interred together within the walls of the structure, that provides an interior space for family to mourn inside. Many mausoleums were designed by noted architects and are often outfitted with decorative bronze doors or stained-glass windows. The most visible and ornate at Forest Hills is the Chadwick Mausoleum, located at the west end of Lake Hibiscus. The structure was designed in the Gothic Revival style by William Gibbons Preston who designed the bridge over Greenwood Avenue. Nestled into the sloped hill in the rear, the stone mausoleum features a metal door bearing the name “Chadwick.” The structure was funded by Joseph Houghton Chadwick (1827-1902), following the death of his wife in 1872. Joseph was President of the Chadwick Lead Works in Downtown Boston and was a successful businessman, as a trustee of Boston University also serving as president and as a trustee of Forest Hills Cemetery where he was later interred. 

Forest Hills Cemetery – Receiving Tomb // 1871

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The Gothic Revival receiving tomb at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston is located not far from the iconic entrance gate and chapel/offices. The structure was built in 1871 and designed by architects, Carl Fehmer and William R. Emerson in the Gothic style, a prevalent aesthetic that the overseers encouraged for the various 19th century buildings constructed on the grounds. Historically, the Gothic Revival structure served as the entrance to underground holding tombs for the temporary storage of bodies awaiting burial or relocation, typically stored when the ground was too frozen for burial. The structure features a granite structure with oak ceiling and painted tile flooring. A massive project began in 2016 to excavate and build a new Garden Mausoleum, built into the landscape with the restored Receiving Tomb serving as the focal point. The tomb portico was adapted as a gateway to an open-air courtyard flanked by walls set into the slope which contain internment chambers for burials, with a restored fountain in front and woman archer statue atop.

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.

Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, Milford // 1870

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The grand St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Milford, Massachusetts, was built in 1870 and is tied to the period of great growth and prosperity for the community. After the Civil War, the quarrying and sale of the iconic local Milford “pink” granite boomed, and thousands of immigrants moved to the area for work, many of them Irish-born, bringing their traditions and religion. The local Catholic church was led by Father Patrick Cuddihy, who oversaw a building campaign and expansion of the church here in Milford. In the 1860s, Father Cuddihy hired architect, Patrick C. Keely to design the edifice, built of local granite quarried by many congregants. Once the foundation was laid for the church Keely was tasked to oversee the design of the new Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, so he abandoned work in Milford, leaving the remainder of the overseeing of construction to ecclesiastical architect, James Murphy, who often worked alongside Keely. Original plans for a towering belfry were uncompleted for over a decade until 1887, when work began to erect the iconic Victorian Gothic tower, it was completed by 1888. The church remains an architectural and cultural landmark in the community which offers masses in English, Spanish and Portuguese, showing the rich cultural diversity in Milford.

Milford Opera House Block // 1881

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While altered, the Milford Opera House Block on Main Street, stands as one of the architecturally distinctive and significant 19th century buildings in Milford, Massachusetts. As the town prospered in the decades following the Civil War, and wealthy residents, including William F. Draper, an executive with the Draper Corporation in nearby Hopedale, sought to use their wealth to improve their community. In 1880, planning began to erect an opera house building, which would bring the arts to the community, and after months of discussion and planning, funding and a site on Main Street was secured. Architect, Frederick Swasey was hired by the association, who furnished plans for the Victorian Gothic building to contain five retail stores on the ground floor with an auditorium above capable of seating 1,100. The building suffered from a fire in 1912 and use as an opera house ceased and starting in the 1920s and the building began showing moving pictures. Later in the 20th century, the building was altered with the storefronts enclosed, windows on upper stories changed, iron cresting at the roof and clock face removed, but the building still retains its ornate entrance and is an important landmark on the town’s Main Street.

Amos Lawrence Rowhouses // 1876

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Amos A. Lawrence (1814-1886), a wealthy Boston merchant, owned land holdings in the present-day Longwood neighborhood of Brookline, just over the Muddy River from Boston, and developed the area into a wealthy and high-quality suburb. Lots were laid and Lawrence hired civil engineer, Ernest Bowditch, to plat for multiple sets of distinctive rowhouses surrounding a small green mall, which was later named Monmouth Court. Once the property was laid out, Amos Lawrence hired the Boston architects, J. Pickering Putnam and George T. Tilden, to design rowhouses for rental income. George Tilden was previously employed at the firm of Ware & Van Brunt, a firm that mastered and popularized the panel brick style in the Boston area in the 1870s and 1880s, and he clearly built upon this expertise for the rows for Amos Lawrence in Brookline. All four rows of houses are distinctive, yet compliment each other stylistically with projecting bays. intricate brickwork, complex rooflines with dormers, and applied ornament. This row at 10-18 Monmouth Court was from the designs of partner, J. Pickering Putnam and was highlighted in an architectural publication soon after completion. The row exhibits a slate mansard roof disrupted by dormers with trusses, lancet arch and trefoil motifs, polychromatic brick and pent roof entrances all stepping out to the private courtyard.

Amos Lawrence Rowhouses // 1876

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Amos A. Lawrence (1814-1886), a wealthy Boston merchant, owned land holdings in the present-day Longwood neighborhood of Brookline, just over the Muddy River from Boston, and developed the area into a wealthy and high-quality suburb. Lots were laid and Lawrence hired civil engineer, Ernest Bowditch, to plat for multiple sets of distinctive rowhouses surrounding a small green mall, which was later named Monmouth Court. Once the property was laid out, Amos Lawrence hired the Boston architects, J. Pickering Putnam and George T. Tilden, to design rowhouses for rental income. George Tilden was previously employed at the firm of Ware & Van Brunt, a firm that mastered and popularized the panel brick style in the Boston area in the 1870s and 1880s, and he clearly built upon this expertise for the rows for Amos Lawrence in Brookline. All four rows of houses are distinctive, yet compliment eachother stylistically with projecting bays. intricate brickwork, complex rooflines with dormers, and applied ornament. This row at 69-77 Monmouth Street exhibits inlaid tile medallions and small balconets on the chamfered corners that are missing their railings.

Former St. Casimir’s Church // 1872

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Built in 1872, this Victorian Gothic style church on Greene Street in the Wooster Square area of New Haven, Connecticut, has had a varied history that tells the full story of its neighborhood. The church was originally constructed as the Davenport Congregational Church and was designed by New Haven architect, Rufus G. Russell, who formerly worked many years for Henry Austin, the city’s leading architect, before opening his own firm. In the early 20th century, the neighborhood demographics shifted to a more diverse area of recently arriving immigrants who worked in nearby industry and the edifice was occupied by an Italian Baptist church. 1927, the church was purchased by a local Lithuanian congregation, who re-established the building as the St. Casimir Catholic Church. For nearly 100 years, the church remained an active use anchoring the iconic Wooster Square park until the congregation closed, leaving the building’s fate unclear. Luckily, developers purchased the property, which is located within a local historic district, and converted the church into residential units.

Trinity Episcopal Church of Wrentham // 1872

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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.

Richmond Universalist Church of the Restoration – Richmond Free Library // 1880

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Adaptive reuse of old churches in New England is fairly common; with most conversions into housing or community centers, but have you seen a church turned into a library? Located in the charming town of Richmond, Vermont, this Victorian Gothic landmark was constructed in 1880 after Universalists in the community decided to leave the Round Church where they shared meeting space with other congregations in town. After WWII, the dwindling congregation sold the church to a resident who then offered the property to the Richmond School District, which had its large school next door. Voters accepted the gift at Town Meeting and passed a bond to convert the building into a cafeteria and gymnasium for the school next door. In the mid-1980s, with a new school built elsewhere in town, the school building was abandoned and converted to the Town Hall, with this former church, which served for years as the school gymnasium and cafeteria, eyed for demolition. It was explored to raze the former church and build a new, modern library building in its place. Preservationists petitioned to save the building, acquiring funds to restore the exterior and convert it to a library, and succeeded. Now the town of Richmond is home to one of the greatest examples of adaptive reuse in the state of Vermont.

Pickering-Apthorp Houses // 1870

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These two near-identical townhouses at 1 & 2 Otis Place in Beacon Hill are significant architecturally and as they are bounded by four streets. The unique lots were created when Otis Place was laid out on made land in 1869 and were built the following year as an identical pair sharing a party wall and with their front facades facing south on Otis Place. The two residences were designed by the firm of Ware and Van Brunt, who blendedSecond Empire and Victorian Gothic styles with gothic arched windows, bracketed cornices, slate mansard roof, and later Colonial Revival porticos added in 1916 by architect, Frank A. Bourne. No. 1 Otis Place (right side with the oriel bay window) was first owned by Henry G. Pickering, a dealer in engines and machinery at the height of New England’s industrial revolution. No. 2 Otis Place (left with later fanlight entry), was originally owned by Robert E. Apthorp, an attorney and realtor, who decades earlier, was an active member of the Boston Vigilance Committee, the group established to harbor and assist fugitives from slavery after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in September 1850.

Church of the Advent // 1878

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The Church of the Advent in Beacon Hill, Boston, is a landmark example of a church designed in the Victorian Gothic style with strong English influence. The congregation, established in 1844, purchased a large corner lot at Brimmer and Mount Vernon streets on the newly made filled land west of Charles Street in Beacon Hill Flat, to construct their new church. In 1875, John Hubbard Sturgis, a Boston architect and parishioner, began designing the red brick with sandstone-trimmed church set on a corner lot with dominant corner tower and octagonal steeple. Construction began in phases beginning in 1878 and took years until the steeple was completed in 1888. Before its completion, John H. Sturgis died and his nephew, Richard Clipston Sturgis, oversaw the completion of the church, which became somewhat of a memorial to his late uncle. Following the completion of the Church of the Advent, Sturgis’ widow, extended family and clients donated a major portion of the interior art, stained glass windows, and furnishings. The polychromatic exterior in red and charred brick mixed with sandstone trim appears to have been inspired by his designs for the original Boston Museum of Fine Arts (1876, demolished in 1911.) The Church of the Advent in Boston is one of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in New England and is the master-work of one of America’s great architects.