A PRO P H E T o F THE SOU L

. Evolution of Early New EnglandEcclesiastical Architecture inRelation to ReI igious Thought

A MitchellMcSweeney

Honors English29 October 1990

,

Prophet of the Soul

I. Introductory Statement

II. Background of European Influence

III. Early Fort-like Buildings

IV. Hip-roof Meetinghouses

A. Hingham

V. Towers Added

A. Old South

B. Wethersfield

VI. Towers Recessed

A. Ki 11ingworth

B. Asher Benjamin

VII. Greek Revival

A. Old Lyme

7

Colonial meetinghouses sprouted from and flourIshed In duallty~~

-

The Separatists and Puritans had broken with the Anglicans,

physically as well as philosophically, and came to America to

begin a second society, a New England. The two dominant forces

in most societies -- this one is no exception -- are government

and religion. So although the colonies never lived under an

organized theocracy, they felt the influence of God in every-

thing. The two worlds of religion and government blended

naturally, creating a social harmony In the colonies. As the

need to congregate manifested, a place to do so became

increasingly important.

The buildings that emerged from this need were one form with

two functions. A government official was as welcome, and as

enltled, to speak there as any minister. But when questions

arose as to who was more entitled, the tacit agreements raged

into loud debates. The relation of church to state became an

issue of the highest concern, and the subsequent separation

reshaped the Puritan life. This reshaping is evident in the

ecclesiastical architecture of the perIod. The structural flow Jlfrom stockaded forts to hipped roofs to towers and Pal ladlan ~

windows illustrates the evolution of religious and political ~

thought in colonial New England.

The establishment of the church of England in 1559 brought

dissension quickly, from those known as the Puritans and the

Separatists. They met secretly In private houses In the late

sixteenth and early seventeenth century, while the followers of

----------

-2-

the national church worshiped in churches and chapels.

The Separatists, led by Robert Brown, believed in the

sovereignty of each congregation, a proposition set forth In his

1582 A treatise of reformation without tarrying for any.1

Though Brown returned to the Anglicans in 1586, the movement

continued, fighting repression and looking for a way to worship

freely. Freedom came by way of Amsterdam.

With Francis Johnson and H~~~pworth as leaders,

Separatists settled In a reluctant Amsterda~ThOU9h the

the

Immigrant Separatists and Dutch Calvinists had their differences,

the former were able to develop their religion freely. It was

perhaps here where their abhorrence of idolatry and images took

hold. When James I took the throne in 1603, the Separatists

requested In the Puritan Millenary Petition that

all monuments of Idolatry ...dedlcated heeretofore bythe Heathens or Antichristlans to their false worshipought ...to be rased and abolished. 2

-

As with everything these Separatists did, this Idea had Its

roots in the scriptures. The connection Is not difficult to see

In this case, as the Separatists viewed all the Anglicans as

pagans, and the Bible "condemneth the antichrlstian worship, for

idolatrle and worship of divils."3

In England, the Separatists continued to worship in private

houses. Because they still gathered secretly, they arrived "2 or

3 in a company ...and all being gathered together, the man

appointed to teach stands in the midst of the Roome and his

audience gather about him."4 Crowds are known to have

•

" -3-

accumulated to more than one-hundred fifty at a time. But they

never had the internal strength or cooperation to establish their

own building program which met the standards of their worship.

Because of this, the Separatists had no ideas for religious

architecture when they settled Plymouth, save for the rejection

of the English parish churches,

The Puritans, meanwhile, remained in England while they~,

denied the supremlty of the monarch In the Church of England and-------

called for the abolishment of the episcopacy. The Puritans ob-

jected to any ornamentation for which they found no justification

In the Bible. But they worshiped in their parish churches

whenever they could. At the very least, the Puritans had some

~ea what form a meetinghouse should take, and after the settle-

ment of the Massachusetts Bay In the 1630's, they built the first

New Engiand meetlnghouses.5

In the earl iest settlements, there were three important

uses of the meetinghouse. The first was to serve as a gathering

place to discuss the administrative and societal desires of the

colonies. The second, sometimes primary, reason was to act as a

place of worship. Thirdly, the buildings protected the colonists

from Indian attack. And though the palpable effects of this

third function became somewhat obscured over the years,

Indirect influence can be seen in churches built nearly

hundred years later.

trac;~fl

two '-l0

-

With these three functions In mind, the colonists built

very simple, purely utilitarian structures. They had no

•. . -4-

ornamentation, no exquisite craftsmanship. These buildings

without any definite style closely resembled stockaded forts.6

But as the threat from ~nger waned somewhat

became more stYliZed'~w forms developed.

and architecture

The critlcai period of transition into somewhat similar

meetinghouses was the Great Migration of 1630-1642, the arrival

of John Winthrop to the Civil War in England. In these twelve

years, forty meetinghouses were built: twenty-nine in the Massa-r

chusetts Bay colony, six In Connecticut, and one on Long Island.

All records Indicate this Is the first appearance of meeting-

houses, though it cannot be determined whether the colonists

wanted to build "meetinghouses" as distinct from "churches."7

On March 4, 1628 a charter was granted to the Massachusetts

Bay colony. In it there was no mention of a building program.

But in the secret "Cambridge Agreement" of August 26, 1629, there

was a request that all stockholders intending to go to New

England should by all the shares possible In the company and

assume control of everythlng.8 It was here that political

separatism and rei igious independence developed, then combined,

clearing the way for a theocracy In the colonies.

Soon after, the leaders of the enterprise had met in London

to discuss the "buiiding of fforts ...and convenyent churches."9

On August 6, 1629, a congregation was organized in Salem, Mass.

A visitor from England described this group as meeting in "a

falre house newly built for the governor.,,10 Within a year,

John Winthrop had decided in his journal to build a "new

meet! nghouse" at Dorchester, Mass. From that day -- March

/

~----5-

19, 1631-- t~e.~types of buildings

houses. "11 c.pwere referred to as "meetlng-

-

In Charlestown, Mass, a "Great House" was built In 1628,

made of timber with a large chamber for meetings. The

arrangement was the same as Winthrop's house.12 Four years

later, the congregation at Boston and Charlestown "began the

meetinghouse at Boston, for which ...they made a voluntary

contribution of 120 pounds."13 This was the beginning of

ecclesiastical architecture in Boston. Little is known of this

building, except that in 1640 it was declared "decayed and too

small" and torn down.14

Connecticut was moving at much the same pace. A letter to

a Lady in England tells of Sir Richard Sal ton, who "hath also ~

much building at his own house, and fencing, ploughing, and / f"(plant!ng, ...and first a house for God to dwel I in.ool5 New

Hampshire Is not known to have built such a building until 1640

when they voted on May 25 for a "parsonage house with chapple

thereunto united." This combination was not an Innovation of

Yankee Ingenuity, however. It was well known In England.16

Some of the first meetinghouses were probably timber-framed

with daubing and thatched roofs, but there are few records to

prove it. From 1630 - 1640, progress was made in the general

areas of construction. Clapboards and a stalred porch were used

In 1640 In Hartford; Dedham, Mass. had oak and pine floorboards;

Salem used glazed windows; a meetinghouse In New Haven had a

turret which could be entered by a watchman. Other meetinghouses

had small roofs on posts to shelter bells, and some, such as

.

Salem In 1636 and

-6-

SMhamptoo. NowYock. hod hooti OQ s,stoms. n0/As the 1640's arrived, more records were made describing

the actual nature of these meetinghouses. It is believed that

most were square or close to It, with an entrance on three sides.

They usually had galleries on the same sides as the entrances.

Galleries were often necessary to increase seating capacity, but

not always part of the original building plan. There was not

yet any preference as to which side the galleries were on.18

Two rows of windows, one to shed light on the ground floor, the

other for the galleries. The windows were with leaded, dlamond-

shaped panes. The building was capped with a steep hlp roof

which had a turret in the center. A watchman with a drum or a

bel I stood in the turrets.19 If not, a bell tower may have

been built separately. Some churches, like Springfield, Mass.,

1644, had both a tower for a bell and a tower for watchman,

placed on either end. Gables were also first being used, an

architectural design considered symbolic In contemporary EnglIsh

literature, but probably used her only for the medieval

effect.20

Inside, the puipit was placed on whatever side was opposite

the main door. A "broad alley" connected the two, with simple

bench pews on the sides. Behind the puipit was the pulpit

window, placed between the two rows of windows. The building was

often oak-framed, the wal Is were planked, and the ceiling left

off. Eventually, the congregation added backs to the benches,

then changed them into box pews.21 No ornamentation or

· -7-

artistry was found In these, as It conjured remembrances of ido-

latry and Papists. A simple, drop-leaf communion table stood In

front of the pulpit. Later, the altar was placed opposite to the

east or south entrance, contrasting directly with the English

tradition. For hour after hour, Puritans would stand to pray.

When this became too tiresome, they tilted the benches so that

they might lean back slightly. The Puritans might sit, but would

never kneel to pray.22

This building was the gathering place for Sabbath and town

meeting, as well as for any crisis. Community life revolved

around the meetinghouse, bringing the whole town together beneath

one roof. Whether it was a prayer service or guest speaker, any

Important occasion would be recognized here.

But most Important of all was the Sabbath and the oppor-

tunity to save the soul. Twice, sometimes three times, each

Sabbath the congregation would come to the church and stand

raptured, taking in the expounded glory of the sermon. And if rfthis was not enough, they could return on Thursday for more (

Inspiration. The weekly pi igrlmage to the meetInghouse seems to

have had an almost divine nature about it, but the house Itself

was supposed to have no sacred nature. Sti II, the colonists

often referred to their meetinghouse as the "house of the

Lord."23 Unintentionally, the Puritans seem to have given

their house of worship a certain degree of divinity, or at least

considered It a representation of God's grace. It was at the

meetinghouse they could pray In congregation to God, It was at

the meetinghouse they could save their soul, It was at the

-8-

meetinghouse that all good things came.

Among these good things was the pure democratic form which

stemmed from the town meetings. Within the meetinghouse, all

decisions of the town could be made by simple vote. One man, one

vote was the structure they believed to be living under. But on

Sunday, this Image of equality fell apart. The seats were

assigned by name In order of social honor or prominence.

Distinctions were made by age, wealth, birth, education, and

public service.24 The best man sat in the 'foreseats", while

the Indians and blacks were put up In the galleries so that they

might worship in isolation from the others. The seats closest to

the pulpit were held by the minister's family. The pulpit itself

was raised in near exaltation of the position of minister, though

not necessarily the minister hlmself.25 This ironic duality

resulted in a government based on near-pure democracy and a 0/church-seating system based largely on social prominence, both of

which were exercised beneath the same roof. But for the most

tance of Individual responsibility, it is only just that the

Having stressed the impor-part, this fit the Puritan mindset. ,yphysical proximity of man to pulpit be relative to his spiritual c\

closeness to God, as measured by his social accomplishment. ~\O

Just as it was important to be seated near the pupit, it was

Important to live near as possible to the church. Whether this

was because people needed to feel close to God, or simply because

they did not want to travel the poor roads, great debates were

fought over the location of the meetinghouses. These debates

sometimes made it to the county legislator or erupted In

-

-9-

violence. It was considered a remarkable event If a location was

agreed upon without turmoil .26 Sometimes, meetinghouses

decided the locations of the residential houses, as when the

colony of Massachusetts decided that "noe dwelling house shall be

builte above half a myle from the meetinghouse." The wisdom of

this idea was acknowl edged by an anonymous wr iter: "Suppose the

Towne square 6 miles every waye. The Howses orderly placed about

the midst, especial jy the Meetinghouse, that which we will

suppose to be the center of the wholl Clrcumference."Z7

This plan was used for a 1669 meetinghouse in New Haven, CT,

James Wadsworth drew on a map of the Green. The building faced

east in the center of the mid-most of nine squares in the quad-

rangle, about where the present church is today. It is pictured

with a hlp roof with a turret and weathervane on top. Two rows of

windows (5 bays) Imply a gallery. Dormer windows adorn the sides

of the hlp roof. Also, there are three front doors, unusual for

meeting houses of this time period.28

The interior of this church would probably resemble that of

the second meetinghouse built in Newbury, Mass., completed in

1700. It was described by the Reverend JS Popkins as

filled with long seats. Contiguous to the wall weretwenty pews. The spaces for the pews were grantedto particular persons who appear to have been prin-cipals. Before the pulpit ...was a large deacon'sseat ...where sat the chiefs of the fathers. Theyoung people sat in the upper gallery, and thechildren on a seat in the alley fixed to the out-side of the pews. 29

Between 1661 and 1700, at least 122 meetinghouses were

built, 52 of which were on new sites, 58 were second on site,j

-10-

eleven were the third, and one was the fourth. In this time

period, no new elements were introduced to the basic form of

meetinghouses. The major change was In size. The colonies were

growing larger, as were the parishes, and larger places of

worship were needed.

Already, the expansion was affecting the control the clergy

had over standards of conduct. They were unable to maintain

political power. In 1662, the Connecticut and New Haven colonies

were united under royal charter, and Massachusetts was ordered to

extend the vote to those people outside the Congregational

church.3D

But regardless of what is written, the ways of the past tend

to dominate the present. Thus many towns will continue to build

their meetinghouses in a form similar to other towns. Meeting-

houses of the latter part of the 17th century generally had an

entrance on the south side and a pulpit opposite. Abandoning the

fixed altar of the Angl icans made It possible to use the space in

the east end for seating with either pews or gaileries. More

galleries provided addtional seating, which were originally or

later part of 46 of the 122 meetinghouses built in the forty-year

stretch. Lean-tos, which created a similarity to an English-----parish church, were Incorporated Into several.31 Porches with

stairs became more popular In the 1660's, and, perhaps most

Importantly, the tower and spire combinations began to develop

atop the hip roofs. The Third Church in Boston is shown In

Burgls' "View of Boston" to have three gables on the long side,

and a huge turret in the center. Also, It was described as being

-

· -11-

"completely covered with sheete lead." Medieval decorationsA

continued to be a part of the structures, especial Iy the~ ,

pyramidal motlf.32

The oniy structure stll I standing from this period is the

"Old Ship" Meetinghouse in Hingham, Mass., bull t over three days-in late July, 1680. That year, the congregation had agreed to a

structure "55 footes In length & 45 footes In breadth, and twenty

or one and twenty footes to be the height of the posts, with

galleries one one side and at both ends" to replace the building

demolished 35 years earlier. The location was of considerable

debate, and the governor had to make the decision. Once the

location was decided, the building was built at a cost of 430

pounds, paid for by a progressive tax on the citizens.33

Old Ship was built with a hlp roof, probably adorned with

three dormers. The longer side ran roughly east to west, while

the main entrance was found In the center of the south side,

with two other entrances on the east and west sides. The pulpit

was placed In the north or north-east section. Two rows of

diamond-paned windows graced all four wal Is, with and additional

window centered behind the pulplt.34

The interior was simple as the outside. Two rows of seven

benches were placed on each side of the alley, 9 or 10 to each

bench. Nine shorter seats at right angles to each other were

set on the north side. These benches, surrounded by galleries on

three sides, provided the seating. The communion table, a major

cause of disagreement between the Anglicans in the Puritans, was

attached to the deacon's chair. Old Ship, like other Puritan

· . -12-

churches, emphasized the communal, not sacrificial, aspect of the

Last Supper. No plaster was used, but the wal Is were ciapboarded

Inside. The roof's resemblance to an Inverted ship's hull and

that It was probably built by local shipmen give the church Its

nickname. The compasses found on the cupola and above the pulpit

emphasize this. 35 ,~'VlY"The first mass was held on January 8, 1681. The entire

-<---population of Hingham sat within their new church arranged accor-

ding to age, wealth, and dignity. The women sat on the east, men

In the west, and the young In the galleries. Below the pulpit

were two seats for the elders. At the head of the women's side

sat the minister's wife. This mixture of the wealthy with the

honorable became a common seating arrangement for the next

100 years.36

The Puritan opposition to the beliefs of the Church of

England affected their architecture, and it seems likely that the

Separatist disagreement with the Dutch had a milder, but similar,

effect. Despite the Dutch presence In southern Connecticut, there

is very little Dutch influence on the meetinghouses there. One

exception is in Fairfield, built in 1698, and described by

Alexander Hamilton as

another town in which is an octagonal I church ormeeting built of wood like that of Jamaica uponLong Island, upon the cupola of which is a publicclock. 37

Hamilton refers to the Dutch Reformed Church of Jamaica, 1715,

which was actually hexagonal and a late example of Dutch style.

These are the only two octagonal or hexagonal shaped churches or

meetinghouses known to have been built in 17th century New

--

-13-

England. This wouid indicate that Engl ish settlers were not

particularly enthusiastic about imitating the Dutch architecture,

even though they had been built with a similar religious zeQI.

Mostly, the settlers seemed content with copying or slightly

modifying what they had seen In other towns. Hip roofs became

gabled, then cross-gabled. Dormers were added, as were pronounced

platforms and higher turrets. Though the settlers began with no

single Idea of what a meetinghouse should look like, by the end

of the 17th century, major Ideas had been worked into the

architecture. The meetinghouses had accomplished what the

settlers had wanted -- they were dlstingulshabie from the

churches of England. There was no opulence, there was purpose.

They had combined two functions into one public bui Iding, and

that building, through competition, would become the hallmark of

New England society. I ) I

At last, this competitionYcombined with revised thinking, had

brought about change. The fear of art, music, and poetry began

to subside. The plainness of the first meetinghouses was

decorated with columns or other structural ornamentation. The

early 18th century saw a faltering In the strictness of compul-

sory faith and was a prelude to the Great Awakening. The sheer

utilitarian approach to ecclesiastical architecture lessened. The

basic requirements which had been established since 1642 -- a

room with a pulpit toward the center of one wall -- became some-

thing to be elaborated upon. Beyond just more galleries, more

pews, and a larger belfry, but serious architectural innovations

-14-

to correspond with the new enlightened age.

A sudden change from the squarish to the rectangular buildings

carried over into the early 18th century. There was no single

event which pushed out the sides, perhaps just a need for greater

size. It was architecturally difficult to support a hlp roof on

a square building with sides longer than 50 feet.

In 1699, the first known church with a tower and spire at

one end was built In Boston. The Brattle Street church fol lows

a Wren-like design on the outside. The Burgis view shows a two

story building with a balustraded gable roof, and a square tower

on one end. The tower has a belfry window, another balustrade, a

spice, and a weathervane. At 72 feet long and 52 feet wide, it

was the largest meetinghouse since Boston's third meetinghouse,

1665.38

The first meeting here was held on Christmas Eve, 1699. The

minister preached from Chronicles, asking

will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannotcontain thee; how much less this house which I havebuilt!

This text suggests the sanctity of the new building, however

contrary to Puritan belief, and coincided with the first

reference to such a building as a "church."39

By 1710, radical changes had occured. Along with oblongness

came the steep pitched roof, a cupola mounted atop a square

tower, and traces of decoration. The desire for size created the

pitched roof, but It was the desire for reform which brought the

other effects, forecasting the Great Awakening by 20 years.

-15-

Characteristic of this new type was a main door set In the

middle of a long side, often entered through a porch. Also, doors

were placed at each of the two narrow ends. The type began with

little ornament, and without a tower looked similar to a barn.

The pulpit moved from an end to the broadside, opposite the main

door and close to the congregation. The pulpit was elevated high

enough to facilitate the observing and observance of the

7'

mi nister. A gallery wrapped around three sides, leaving open

the pulpit wal I where a sounding board hung down to give the

1minlster's voice extra verve. The deacon's seat with an attached

~CQmmUniOn table was placed below him. Most of the ornament was

found in the pulpit and the surrounding area. This style

dominated al I parts of New England In the 18th century.46

In 1712, four of these types were built. Guilford,

Connecticut, Concord, Mass., and Portsmouth and Newington, New

Hamphire, all witnessed the birth of a giant in ecclesiastical

architecture. The church in Guilford was 68 feet by 45 feet and

was lit by three stories of windows. The main entrance sat in

the middle of the broad south side, and two doors opened at the

ends. In 1726, a tower was added with a belfry and clock, making

It the first church In New England to have a bell, clock, and

steeple. The church survived until 1830.41

Concord's Second Meetinghouse was simi lar. It also had

three stories, but no tower. A small porch watched over the main

entrance on the broad east or south side. A tower was added in

1791, with an octagonal belfry and spire. The Greek Revival

altered It In 1841, and it burned sixty years later.42

-16-

Portsmouth's Old North Meetinghouse is also similar to

Guilford, with Its three floors, and later Its tower. The main

door was entered through a two-storied porch on the south side.

Two tiers of galleries satisfied demands for a greater size.

The Congregational Church In Newington, NH, is the oldest

Congregational building in the United States. Also built in

1712, it is smaller than its cousins, has a single row of long

windows on either side, and a belfry attached to the roof on the

east end. The pulpit stands at the west end, where a square

tower originally was. Before alterations, the main entrance was

in the middle of the south side, the pulpit was placed on the

north wall, and two rows of windows were divided by a three-sided

gallery, just as the other churches were.43

But perhaps the finest example of this type of building Is

the Old South Meetinghouse in Boston, constructed of brick In

1729. At 94 feet long and 64 feet wide, It Is probably the ~

largest of Its kind ever built in New England. The long axis

runs roughly east to west. In the middle of the broad south side

sat the main entrance, which has since been moved. The two rows

of windows are rounded on top, a departure from the usual

rectangular design. The upper row is slightly larger than the

lower, possibly to bring more light Into and over the galleries.

The west end is home to the 90 foot tower, which houses the bel I,

another deviation from tradition. An octagonal cupola with eight

columns and arched openings rises into an octagonal stage and the

spire, atop which sits a weathervane.

Though the Interior was completely destroyed by the British

·-17-

during the Revolution, enough remains to know that the floor was

covered with square pews, and two tiers of galleries hovered

above, possibly on the east, south and west sldes.44 This

design continued to be prominent for 70 years after its creation.

Because of the problematic times of the early 18th century,

a rel igious movement to pick up the people's spirits, so to

speak, was desired and probable. As Jonathan Edwards launched

his fervorous fire-and-brimstone attacks on sin, a new religious

feeling manifested In the hearts of New Englanders. The Renais-

sance and Christopher Wren had sent Influence across the Atlantic

to give American builders a classical base. Better and grander

ways to please the Almighty became a necessity. And necessity,

as ever, mothered invention, to bring about greater advances In,

among other things, religion and architecture.

Greatly affected by the Awakening and its results was the

Wethersfield, CT, Congregational Church, built In 1761. Wethers-

field and Old South are the only two remaining brick churches

from this period. The pitched roof, and the main entrance on the

long south side are reminiscent of Old South, as Is the great

tower. But the most distinguishing trait of Wethersfield is the

spire, a near mirror of Trinity Church, in Newport, RI, an

Episcopal church. The Inside is filled with rectangular pews and

box pews along the sides. The three-sided gallery Is lit wIth

rows of forty-paned windows.

But as the effects of the Awakening wore off after the

Revolution, New England fell Into social and religious turmoil.

Atheists and Yale students al ike became disenchanted with

-18-

tradition. Social unrest and indecIsion blocked meaningful

development, and America was hit by the post-war economic dive.

As the government reorganized the country, New England was

once again able to get back on Its cultural horse. The shipping

and trade Industries renewed themselves, the agricultural

Interests yielded benefits, and wealth and leisure were enjoyed.

The movements from the hills to the valleys began as people

sought more of the good Iife. Their confidence in religion

surged, yet they also became more tolerant of other reI igions.

And as this freedom expanded, no one church was capable of

meetIng the needs of the town's entice population as wei I as act

as meeting house for public affairs. More people felt that God

should have his own house, separate from the house of the

The secular role in meeting houses declined, and

religious buildings were built, acting as a harbinger

of the separation of church and state.45 Society wanted sepa-

rate buildings for different purposes, and separate Institutions

for different aspects of society.

There were, of course, some transitional churches. Mostly,

these churches simply mOdified the Interior and put the main

entrance at the tower end, and the pulpit opposite. The old

entrance was closed, and the wall on which the pulpit window sat

would be changed accordingly. The other important features

remained. An example of this can be found at West Springfield,

Massachusetts. This meetinghouse was built In 1800, and retains

the look its predecessors save for the entrance at the base of

the tower, and two more on the sides of the front. By standing

-19-

In front of the church, one can see all three doors. A small

Palladian window crosses the bridge from the old to the new.46

As West Springfield shows, the elongated shape of these new

churches remained the same, except with a gentler slope to the

roof. The entrances were moved to one end, the pulpit placed at

the opposite. The doors were In sets of three, one on the

center, one on either side of the porch. Palladian windows were

put above the doors. Over the two-storied entrance bay entrance

stood the steeple, pushed back into the building. This new

steeple was often more ornate than those of the older buildings,

but did not always carry a splre.47

The Inside was graced with far more elaborate carvIng and

designs. The gallery flowed around three sides, stopping at the

fourth where a high pulpit rose. Nearly every church built after

1800 until the Greek Revival used this "Federal" design, sup-

ported by Asher Benjamin in his Builder's Assistant, Charles

Bulfinch, and James Gibbs.48

Benjamin offers a Bulflnch-inspired "Design for a Church" In

his book, which became a great Influence throughout New England,

with the exception of Connecticut and Rhode Island. He proposed

a church with a shallow entrance porch with three doors across

the narrow front side. The middle Is the largest, and three

windows sit above, the center a Palladian. Around the square

tower is a railing decorated with urns which surrounds an open

belfry of eIght columns. Square-topped openings separate them

and stand below another ral ling and more urns. Above this, a

second octagonal stage with pilasters is decorated with painted

-20-

ovals made to look like windows. Al I this Is topped with a

double dome.49

An example close to this proposal is the Congregational

Church in Killingworth, CT, built in 1820. A Jate Federal,

Killingworth has three doors on the two-story front bay; the

center Is the tallest. Three windows are set over the doors on

the second level of the bay. The square steeple gives way to a

two-stage belfry topped with a fish design weathervane. A large

clock Is centered in the tower. Inside, the altar Is surpri-

singly simple, with a few columns and elevated pulpit.

Atypical of the Federal period is the Park Street Church

Boston. Built of brick In 1809, It serves as a model of the

flexibility of a city church. Boston could afford to build a

church such as this, and Peter Banner was a competent architect.

The space between the tower and the face of the building Is

arched forward, making a semisphere across the front. A large

Palladian and four columns on each side give Park Street a

different look than most other churches in New England.

But these city churches had little opportunity to develop

after the War of 1812. As the shipping trade decreased its

activity, people came to work in the factories, and the control

of the church again relaxed, the time and energy to create new

churches with relevance to the mores of New England society was

lost. The classical leanings of the Greek Revival came up from

the South. By 1830, the era of Federal building had passed.

Though there were some architectural problems In smoothly

placIng a steeple atop a temple, some churches were reasonable

-

,

-21-

accomplishments. The basic look was a low pitch roof, a pushed

back, two-staged steeple, Doric columns, and heavy square

doors.5D

The church in Old Lyme, CT, built in 1817, is considered

by many to be the finest example of Greek Revival In the 19th

Century and fits the description well. Four slender Ionic

columns stand on the porch, framing the three heavy doors.

Above, a two-stage square steeple supports a six-sided pll-

Jared belfry. A spire shoots Into the air.

But regardless of the strength of these steepled temples,

they did not speak of the New England religion any longer.

symbolized the falling apart of the small-town way 'which gave us

the Old Ship and "One If by land, Two If by sea." These thIngs

seem Inapplicable to a Parthenon-like fortress stuck on the wrong

continent. The Greek revivals were devoid of feeling, of

personality. And so through the Greek period and the subsequent

Gothic period, New England ecclesiastical architecture lost Its

meaning and fell into a trap of unorlginality and creative loss.

If the pattern of understanding people through their architecture

Is to be fol lowed here as wei I, one could make the case that the

same could be said of New Englanders.

. .I •

ENDNOTES

Sinnott, p. 137.50.

1. Marian Card Donnelly, The New England Meetinghouses ofthe Seventeenth Century (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UniversityPress, 1968), p. 39.

2. Donnelly, p. 40.3. Donnelly, p. 40.4. Donnelly, p. 41.5. Donnelly, p. 42.6. Edmund W. Sinnot, Meetinghouse and Church In Early New

England (New York: McGraw-Hili, 1963), p. 15.7. Donnelly, p. 7.8. Donnelly, p. 9.9. Donnelly, p. 9.10. Donnelly, p. 11.11. Donnelly, p. 9.12. Donnelly, p. 12.13. Donnelly, p. 13.14. Donnelly, p. 13.15. Donnelly, p. 13.16. Donnelly, p. 13.17. Donnelly, p. 15-16.18. Donnelly, p. 14.19. Sinnott, p. 16.20. Donnelly, p. 50.21. Sinnott, p. 9.22. Sinnott, p. 6.23. Sinnott, p. 6.24. Sinnott, p. 7.25. Sinnott, p. 8.26. Sinnott, p. 8-9.27. Donnelly, p. 25.28. Sinnott, p. 30.29. Sinnott, p. 31.30. Donnelly, p. 64.31. Donnelly, p. 65.32. Donnelly, p. 66.33. Donnelly, p. 72.34. Sinnott, p. 32.35. Sinnott, p. 32.36. Sinnott, p. 36.37. Donnelly, p. 79.38. Donnelly, p. 79.39. Donnelly, p. 79.40. Sinnott, p. 20.41. SInnott, p. 39.42. Sinnott, p. 40.43. Sinnott, p. 41.44. Sinnott, p. 44.45. Sinnott, p. 73.46. Sinnott, p. 73.47. Sinnott, p. 74.48. Sinnott, ij. 25.

49. Slooott. ~~

-

, .

Donnely, Marian Card. TheSeventeenth Century.Press, 1968.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

New England Meetinghouses of theMiddletown, CT: Wesleyan University

Mallary, Peter T. New England Churches and Meetinghouses. NewYork: Vendome Press, 1985.

Rose, Harold Wickliffe. The Colonial Houses of Worship InAmerica. New York: Hastings House, 1963.

Sinnott, Edmund W. Meetinghouse and Church In Early New EnglandNew York: McGraw-Hi I1, 1963.