Evolution Of New England Church Architecture

A

PRO

P H E T

o

F

THE

SOU

. Evolution of Early New England Ecclesiastical Architecture in Relation to ReI igious Thought

A Mitchell McSweeney Honors English 29 October 1990

L

,

7

Prophet of the Soul

I. II. III. IV.

Introductory Statement Background of European Influence Early Fort-like Buildings Hip-roof Meetinghouses A.

V.

VI.

VII.

Hingham

Towers Added A.

Old South

B.

Wethersfield

Towers Recessed A.

Ki 11ingworth

B.

Asher Benj amin

Greek Revival A.

Old Lyme

Colonial

meetinghouses

The Separatists physically

sprouted

and Puritans

in most societies and religion.

thing.

creating

need to congregate

enltled,

never

forces

-- are government lived under an

of religion

and government

a social harmony manifested,

blended

In the colonies.

As the

a place to do so became

important.

The buildings two functions.

the colonies

to

they felt the influence of God in every-

The two worlds

increasingly

The two dominant

-- this one is no exception

theocracy,

naturally,

and came to America

a New England.

So although

In duallty~~

had broken with the Anglicans,

as well as philosophically,

begin a second society,

organized

from and flourIshed

that emerged

A government

from this need were one form with

official was as welcome,

to speak there as any minister.

arose as to who was more entitled, into loud debates.

The relation

and as

But when questions

the tacit agreements

raged

of church to state became an

issue of the highest

concern,

reshaped

life.

This reshaping

ecclesiastical

architecture

of the perIod.

from stockaded

forts to hipped roofs to towers and Pal ladlan

the Puritan

and the subsequent

windows

illustrates

the evolution

thought

in colonial

New England.

The establishment dissension

quickly,

Separatists. sixteenth

separation

is evident

The structural

of religious

of the church of England

and early seventeenth

In private century,

~ ~

in 1559 brought

houses

Jl

flow

and political

from those known as the Puritans

They met secretly

in the

and the

In the late

while the followers

of

----------2-

the national church worshiped The Separatists, sovereignty

of each congregation,

Though Brown returned

freely.

and chapels.

led by Robert Brown, believed

1582 A treatise of reformation

continued,

in churches

a proposition

without

in 1586, the movement

and looking for a way to worship

Freedom came by way of Amsterdam. as leaders, the

With Francis Johnson and H~~~pworth Separatists

settled

In a reluctant

Immigrant Separatists

Amsterda~ThOU9h

and Dutch Calvinists

perhaps here where their abhorrence

the

had their differences,

the former were able to develop their religion

hold.

set forth In his

tarrying for any.1

to the Anglicans

fighting repression

in the

freely.

It was

of idolatry and images took

When James I took the throne in 1603, the Separatists

requested

In the Puritan Millenary

Petition

that

all monuments of Idolatry ...dedlcated heeretofore by the Heathens or Antichristlans to their false worship ought ...to be rased and abolished. As with everything

these Separatists

roots in the scriptures.

The connection

In this case, as the Separatists

idolatrle and worship In England, houses.

Because

audience

Is not difficult

the antichrlstian

to see as

worship,

for

of divils."3

the Separatists

continued

to worship

they still gathered secretly,

3 in a company ...and all being gathered appointed

did, this Idea had Its

viewed all the Anglicans

pagans, and the Bible "condemneth

2

to teach stands

in private

they arrived "2 or

together,

the man

in the midst of the Roome and his

gather about him."4

Crowds are known to have

"

-3-

•

accumulated

to more than one-hundred

fifty at a time.

never had the internal strength or cooperation own building

program which met the standards

Because of this, the Separatists architecture

But they

to establish

their

of their worship.

had no ideas for religious

when they settled Plymouth,

save for the rejection

of the English parish churches, The Puritans,

meanwhile,

~,

denied the supremlty

-------

of the monarch

called for the abolishment

whenever ~ea

In the Church of England and The Puritans

in their parish churches

At the very least, the Puritans

what form a meetinghouse

ment of the Massachusetts

ob-

for which they found no justification

But they worshiped

they could.

in England while they

of the episcopacy.

jected to any ornamentation In the Bible.

remained

had some

should take, and after the settle-

Bay In the 1630's, they built the first

New Engiand meetlnghouses.5 In the earl iest settlements, uses of the meetinghouse. place to discuss colonies.

there were three important

The first was to serve as a gathering

the administrative

The second, sometimes

place of worship.

Thirdly,

from Indian attack.

and societal desires of the

primary,

the buildings

reason was to act as a protected

And though the palpable

the colonists

effects of this

third function became somewhat obscured over the years,

trac;~fl

Indirect influence can be seen in churches built nearly two

'-l0

hundred years later. With these three functions very simple, purely utilitarian

In mind, the colonists structures.

They had no

built

.• .

-4-

ornamentation, without

no exquisite

any definite

craftsmanship.

style closely

But as the threat from ~nger became more stYliZed'~w The critlcai meetinghouses

years,

All records houses, wanted

period

waned somewhat

of transition

to the Civil War

Bay colony, Indicate

though

of 1630-1642,

in England.

were built:

six In Connecticut, this

whether

as distinct

In it there was no mention

But in the secret was a request England

"Cambridge

Agreement"

that all stockholders

separatism clearing

of everythlng.8

and rei igious

Soon after, to discuss

the colonists

to the Massachusetts

of August

26, 1629, there

In the company

6, 1629, a congregation

A visitor

from England

described

and

It was here that political developed,

then combined,

In the colonies. had met

of fforts ...and convenyent

On August

program.

to go to New

the leaders of the enterprise

the "buiiding

of meeting-

from "churches."7

intending

independence

the way for a theocracy

in the Massa-r

of a building

should by all the shares possible

assume control

the arrival

and one on Long Island.

Is the first appearance

"meetinghouses"

similar

In these twelve

twenty-nine

On March 4, 1628 a charter was granted Bay colony.

forts.6

and architecture

into somewhat

it cannot be determined

to build

stockaded

forms developed.

forty meetinghouses

chusetts

resembled

was the Great Migration

of John Winthrop

These buildings

was organized

in London

churches."9

in Salem, Mass.

this group as meeting

in "a /

falre house newly built

for the governor.,,10

John Winthrop

had decided

in his journal

meet! nghouse"

at Dorchester,

Mass.

Within

a year,

to build a "new

From that day -- March

~---5-

19, 1631-- t~e.~types

c.p

houses. "11

In Charlestown,

were referred

of buildings

to as "meetlng-

Mass, a "Great House" was built

made of timber with a large chamber for meetings. arrangement

was the same as Winthrop's

later, the congregation

house.12

In 1628,

The Four years

at Boston and Charlestown

"began the

meetinghouse

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

contribution

of 120 pounds."13

ecclesiastical building,

architecture

This was the beginning

in Boston.

Little

except that in 1640 it was declared

of

is known of this "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." Yankee

This combination

Ingenuity, however.

was not an Innovation of

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

areas of construction. In 1640 In Hartford;

Clapboards

in the general

and a stalred porch were used

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

.

-6-

Salem In 1636 and SMhamptoo.

Now Yock. hod hooti

OQ

s,stoms.

n

0/

As the 1640's arrived, more records were made describing the actual nature of these meetinghouses.

It is believed

most were square or close to It, with an entrance They usually had galleries

to increase seating capacity,

not always part of the original building plan.

were on.18

one to shed light on the ground floor, the

other for the galleries. shaped panes.

but

There was not

as to which side the galleries

Two rows of windows,

on three sides.

on the same sides as the entrances.

Galleries were often necessary

yet any preference

that

The windows were with

leaded, dlamond-

The building was capped with a steep hlp roof

which had a turret in the center. bel I stood in the turrets.19 been built separately.

A watchman with a drum or a

If not, a bell tower may have

Some churches,

like Springfield,

Mass.,

1644, had both a tower for a bell and a tower for watchman, placed on either end. architectural literature,

Gables were also first being used, an

design considered but probably

symbolic

In contemporary

EnglIsh

used her only for the medieval

effect.20 Inside, the puipit was placed on whatever the main door.

A "broad alley" connected

bench pews on the sides. window, placed between

the two rows of windows.

the wal Is were planked,

off.

the congregation

then changed

the two, with simple

Behind the puipit was the pulpit

often oak-framed, Eventually,

side was opposite

them into box pews.21

The building was

and the ceiling

left

added backs to the benches, No ornamentation

or

·

-7-

artistry was found In these, as It conjured remembrances latry and Papists.

A simple, drop-leaf

front of the pulpit.

table stood In

Later, the altar was placed opposite

east or south entrance, tradition.

communion

of ido-

contrasting

to the

directly with the English

For hour after hour, Puritans would stand to pray.

When this became too tiresome, they might

lean back slightly.

they tilted the benches so that The Puritans might sit, but would

never kneel to pray.22 This building was the gathering meeting,

as well as for any crisis.

around the meetinghouse, one roof.

Whether

bringing

place for Sabbath and town Community

the whole town together beneath

it was a prayer service or guest speaker,

Important occasion would be recognized But most

any

here.

Important of all was the Sabbath and the oppor-

tunity to save the soul. Sabbath the congregation raptured,

life revolved

taking

three times, each

would come to the church and stand

in the expounded

this was not enough, Inspiration.

Twice, sometimes

glory of the sermon.

they could return on Thursday

And if

for more

The weekly pi igrlmage to the meetInghouse

rf

seems to

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

to have no sacred nature.

often referred Lord."23

to their meetinghouse

Unintentionally,

their house of worship considered meetinghouse

Sti II, the colonists

as the "house of the

the Puritans

seem to have given

a certain degree of divinity,

It a representation

of God's grace.

they could pray In congregation

the meetinghouse

or at least

It was at the

to God, It was at

they could save their soul, It was at the

(

-8-

meetinghouse

that all good things came.

Among these good things was the pure democratic stemmed from the town meetings. decisions

the meetinghouse,

of the town could be made by simple vote.

vote was the structure Sunday,

Within

form which

they believed

this Image of equality

all

One man, one

to be living under.

fell apart.

But on

The seats were

assigned by name In order of social honor or prominence. Distinctions

were made by age, wealth, birth, education,

public service.24

The best man sat in the 'foreseats",

the Indians and blacks were put up In the galleries might worship

in isolation from the others.

the pulpit were held by the minister's was raised

in near exaltation

not necessarily resulted

in a government

church-seating

hlmself.25

which were exercised

physical

proximity

so that they

The pulpit

itself

of minister,

though

beneath

democracy

the same roof.

responsibility,

0/

This ironic duality and a

largely on social prominence,

part, this fit the Puritan mindset. tance of Individual

family.

based on near-pure

system based

while

The seats closest to

of the position

the minister

and

both of

But for the most

Having stressed

the impor-

it is only just that the

of man to pulpit be relative

to his spiritual c\

to God, as measured

by his social accomplishment.

~\O

Just as it was important

to be seated near the pupit,

it was

closeness

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. sometimes

made it to the county

,y

These debates

legislator or erupted

In

-9-

violence.

It was considered

agreed upon without

a remarkable

turmoil .26

decided

the locations

colony

of Massachusetts

builte

above half a myle

event

Sometimes,

of the residential decided

meetinghouses

houses,

the midst, suppose

6 miles

from the meetinghouse."

every waye.

east

rangle,

(5 bays)

of the hlp roof.

the present

church

meeting

houses

The

Imply a gallery. Also,

the

placed

about

in New Haven,

The building

of nine squares is today.

with a hlp roof with a turret and weathervane windows

of

of the wholl Clrcumference."Z7

of the mid-most

about where

wisdom

that which we will

drew on a map of the Green.

in the center

The

wr iter: "Suppose

This plan was used for a 1669 meetinghouse James Wadsworth

house shall be

The Howses orderly

especial jy the Meetinghouse,

to be the center

as when the

that "noe dwelling

th is idea was acknowl edged by an anonymous Towne square

If a location was

CT,

faced

in the quadIt is pictured

on top. Two rows of

Dormer windows

adorn

the sides

there are three front doors, unusual

for

of this time period.28

interior of this church would probably

the second meetinghouse

built

1700.

by the Reverend

It was described

in Newbury,

Mass.,

resemble

that of

completed

JS Popkins

in

as

filled with long seats. Contiguous to the wall were twenty pews. The spaces for the pews were granted to particular persons who appear to have been principals. Before the pulpit ...was a large deacon's seat ...where sat the chiefs of the fathers. The young people sat in the upper gallery, and the children on a seat in the alley fixed to the outside of the pews. 29 Between built,

1661 and 1700, at least 122 meetinghouses

were

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

j

-10-

eleven were the third, and one was the fourth. period,

no new elements

meetinghouses. growing

were

introduced

In this time

to the basic form of

The major change was In size.

larger, as were the parishes,

The colonies

were

and larger places of

worship were needed. Already,

the expansion

had over standards political

power.

was affecting

of conduct.

extend

They were unable

In 1662, the Connecticut

were united under royal charter,

the control

to maintain

and New Haven colonies

and Massachusetts

the vote to those people outside

the clergy

was ordered

to

the Congregational

church.3D But regardless to dominate

of what

the present.

their meetinghouses

is written,

the ways of the past tend

Thus many towns will continue

in a form similar

to other towns.

to build Meeting-

houses of the latter part of the 17th century generally entrance

on the south side and a pulpit opposite.

fixed altar of the Angl icans made It possible

Abandoning

provided

addtional

stretch.

Lean-tos,

-----

Incorporated

stairs became more popular Importantly,

and a huge turret

to an English Porches with

In the 1660's, and, perhaps most

The Third Church

"View of Boston"

or

in the forty-year

Into several.31

the tower and spire combinations

atop the hip roofs. Burgls'

built

which created a similarity

parish church, were

More

seating, which were originally

later part of 46 of the 122 meetinghouses

the

to use the space in

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

had an

began to develop

in Boston

is shown In

to have three gables on the long side,

in the center.

Also,

It was described

as being

·

-11-

"completely

covered

with sheete

lead."

Medieval

continued

to be a part of the structures,

pyramidal

motlf.32

The oniy structure

stll I standing

"Old Ship" Meetinghouse in late July, structure

1680.

in Hingham,

from this period

45 footes

to be the height

35 years earlier.

and the governor

location was decided,

had agreed

In breadth,

had to make

the building

the decision.

with

two other entrances

was placed

window

windows

centered

were placed

bench.

Nine shorter

east to west, while

section.

The pulpit

Two rows of

all four wal Is, with and additional

the pulplt.34 as the outside.

Two rows of seven

on each side of the alley, seats at right angles

set on the north side.

These benches,

three sides, provided

the seating.

cause of disagreement

between

attached

adorned with

on the east and west sides.

The interior was simple benches

Once the

In the center of the south side,

graced

behind

the building

tax on the citizens.33

In the north or north-east

diamond-paned

and twenty

was built at a cost of 430

The longer side ran roughly was found

-

to a

of the posts, with

Old Ship was built with a hlp roof, probably

the main entrance

is the

The location was of considerable

paid for by a progressive

three dormers.

,

Mass., bull t over three days

one one side and at both ends" to replace

demolished

pounds,

&

In length

or one and twenty footes

debate,

especial Iy the~

That year, the congregation

"55 footes

galleries

decorationsA

to the deacon's

to each other were

surrounded

The communion

the Anglicans

chair.

9 or 10 to each

Old Ship,

by galleries

on

table, a major

in the Puritans, like other Puritan

was

·.

-12-

churches,

emphasized

Last Supper. Inside.

the communal,

No plaster

nickname.

this. 35

to an Inverted ship's hull and

built by local shipmen give the church

The compasses

emphasize

aspect of the

was used, but the wal Is were ciapboarded

The roof's resemblance

that It was probably

not sacrificial,

Its

found on the cupola and above the pulpit

,~

'VlY"

The first mass was held on January 8, 1681. The entire -<--population of Hingham sat within their new church arranged according to age, wealth,

and dignity.

The women sat on the east, men

In the west, and the young In the galleries. were two seats for the elders. sat the minister's honorable

wife.

Below the pulpit

At the head of the women's

This mixture

of the wealthy

became a common seating arrangement

side

with the

for the next

100 years.36 The Puritan England affected Separatist effect.

opposition

their architecture,

disagreement

Despite

to the beliefs

and it seems

likely that the

with the Dutch had a milder,

the Dutch presence

is very little Dutch

of the Church of

In southern

Connecticut,

influence on the meetinghouses

exception

is in Fairfield,

Alexander

Hamilton

built

but similar,

there.

in 1698, and described

refers

to the Dutch Reformed

which was actually

hexagonal

Church of Jamaica,

and a late example

These are the only two octagonal meetinghouses

One

by

as

another town in which is an octagonal I church or meeting built of wood like that of Jamaica upon Long Island, upon the cupola of which is a public clock. Hamilton

there

or hexagonal

known to have been built

37 1715,

of Dutch style.

shaped churches

in 17th century New

or

-13-

England.

This wouid

particularly

indicate that Engl ish settlers were not

enthusiastic

about imitating the Dutch architecture,

even though they had been built with a similar religious Mostly,

the settlers

modifying

seemed content with copying or slightly

what they had seen In other towns.

gabled, then cross-gabled. platforms single

and higher

turrets.

of the 17th century, major

settlers

Though the settlers began with no should

look like, by the end

Ideas had been worked

The meetinghouses

had accomplished

had wanted -- they were dlstingulshabie

churches of England. They had combined that building,

There was no opulence,

two functions

to subside.

I )

there was purpose.

of

with revised thinking, had

The fear of art, music, and poetry began

The plainness

of the first meetinghouses

early 18th century saw a faltering sory faith and was a prelude approach

from the

I

with columns or other structural

utilitarian

what the

would become the hallmark

At last, this competitionYcombined brought about change.

into the

into one public bui Iding, and

through competition,

New England society.

decorated

Hip roofs became

Dormers were added, as were pronounced

Idea of what a meetinghouse

architecture.

zeQI.

was

ornamentation.

The

In the strictness

of compul-

to the Great Awakening.

The sheer

to ecclesiastical

architecture

lessened. The

basic requirements

which had been established

room with a pulpit

toward the center of one wall -- became some-

thing to be elaborated

upon.

since 1642 -- a

Beyond just more galleries,

pews, and a larger belfry, but serious architectural

more

innovations

-14-

to correspond

with the new enlightened

A sudden change from the squarish

age.

to the rectangular

carried over into the early 18th century.

buildings

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. a Wren-like

The Brattle Street church fol lows

design on the outside.

story building with a balustraded on one end.

The Burgis view shows a two gable roof, and a square tower

The tower has a belfry window, another balustrade,

spice, and a weathervane.

At 72 feet long and 52 feet wide,

was the largest meetinghouse

since Boston's

a

it

third meetinghouse,

1665.38

The first meeting here was held on Christmas minister

preached

from Chronicles,

Eve, 1699.

The

asking

will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! This text suggests contrary

the sanctity of the new building,

however

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. pitched

The desire for size created the

roof, but It was the desire for reform which brought

other effects,

forecasting

the Great Awakening

by 20 years.

the

7'

-15-

Characteristic middle

of this new type was a main door set In the

of a long side, often entered

through a porch. Also, doors

were placed at each of the two narrow ends. little ornament,

and without

The type began with

a tower looked similar

The pulpit moved from an end to the broadside, door and close to the congregation. enough to facilitate mi n ister.

the observing

A gallery wrapped

1minlster's ~CQmmUniOn

voice extra verve.

and observance

The deacon's

al I parts of New England

Hamphire,

Mass.,

all witnessed

architecture.

the middle ends.

leaving open

Most of the ornament area.

was

This style

In the 18th century.46

and Portsmouth

Guilford,

and Newington,

New

the birth of a giant in ecclesiastical

The church

was lit by three stories

of the

seat with an attached

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

high

board hung down to give the

found in the pulpit and the surrounding

Connecticut,

the main

The pulpit was elevated

table was placed below him.

dominated

opposite

around three sides,

the pulpit wal I where a sounding

to a barn.

in Guilford was 68 feet by 45 feet and of windows.

The main entrance

sat in

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

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

It the first church steeple.

The church survived

Concord's three stories, entrance

In New England

was simi lar.

It also had

A small porch watched

on the broad east or south side.

1791, with an octagonal altered

until 1830.41

Second Meetinghouse but no tower.

to have a bell, clock, and

belfry and spire.

over the main

A tower was added The Greek Revival

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

in

-16-

Portsmouth's Guilford,

with

Old North Meetinghouse

Its three floors, and later Its tower.

door was entered

through a two-storied

Two tiers of galleries The Congregational Congregational

satisfied

Church

building

1712, it is smaller windows

is also similar

In Newington,

for a greater

size.

NH, is the oldest

in the United States.

Also built

in

has a single row of long

on either side, and a belfry attached

east end.

The main

porch on the south side.

demands

than its cousins,

to

to the roof on the

The pulpit stands at the west end, where a square

tower originally in the middle

was.

Before alterations,

the main entrance was

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

the Old South Meetinghouse 1729.

in Boston, constructed

At 94 feet long and 64 feet wide,

largest of Its kind ever built runs roughly east to west. sat the main entrance, of windows rectangular

It Is probably

in New England.

lower, possibly

from the usual

The upper row is slightly

larger than the

light Into and over the galleries.

from tradition.

and arched openings

~

The two rows

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

columns

the

The long axis

which has since been moved.

to bring more

another deviation

In

In the middle of the broad south side

are rounded on top, a departure design.

of brick

Is

An octagonal

the bel I,

cupola with eight

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 on the east, south and west sldes.44

above, possibly design continued

to be prominent

Because of the problematic a rel igious movement

for 70 years after

to pick up the people's

fire-and-brimstone

feeling manifested

to give American ways to please

Wethersfield,

Edwards

the Almighty

base.

by the Awakening

The pitched

long south side are reminiscent

Episcopal

church.

of Trinity

rows of forty-paned

Atheists

Wethers-

brick churches

roof, and the main entrance

on the

of Old South, as Is the great trait of Wethersfield

Church,

in Newport,

The three-sided

gallery

is the

RI, an pews and

Is lit wIth

windows.

But as the effects Revolution,

In 1761.

The Inside is filled with rectangular

box pews along the sides.

In,

and its results was the

Church, built

But the most distinguishing

spire, a near mirror

advances

and architecture.

field and Old South are the only two remaining

tower.

And necessity,

to bring about greater

CT, Congregational

from this period.

The Renais-

Better and grander

became a necessity.

invention,

affected

launched

attacks on sin, a new religious

a classical

among other things, religion Greatly

As Jonathan

so to

Wren had sent Influence across the Atlantic

builders

as ever, mothered

its creation.

spirits,

In the hearts of New Englanders.

sance and Christopher

This

times of the early 18th century,

speak, was desired and probable. his fervorous

hovered

New England

of the Awakening

wore off after the

fell Into social and religious

and Yale students

al ike became disenchanted

turmoil.

with

-18-

tradition.

Social unrest and indecIsion blocked meaningful

development,

and America was hit by the post-war

As the government

reorganized

economic dive.

the country, New England was

once again able to get back on Its cultural horse. and trade Industries renewed Interests yielded benefits, The movements

themselves,

The shipping

the agricultural

and wealth and leisure were enjoyed.

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, meetIng

no one church was capable of

the needs of the town's entice population

as meeting house for public affairs. should have his own house, separate

as wei I as act

More people felt that God from the house of the

The secular role in meeting houses declined, religious of the separation rate buildings for different

buildings

were built, acting as a harbinger

of church and state.45

for different

purposes,

Society wanted sepa-

and separate

entrance

Institutions

aspects of society.

There were, of course, some transitional these churches

and

simply mOdified

churches.

Mostly,

the Interior and put the main

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. remained.

The other important features

An example of this can be found at West Springfield,

Massachusetts.

This meetinghouse

the look its predecessors

was built In 1800, and retains

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, Palladian

window

one can see all three doors.

crosses

the bridge

As West Springfield churches roof.

remained

center,

The doors were

shape of these new

back

was often more ornate

but did not always

Palladian

into the building.

a high pulpit

by Asher Benjamin

Bulfinch,

offers

rose.

the exception

Nearly

This new

in his Builder's

a great

Influence

of Connecticut

the narrow

The middle

front side.

sit above,

is a railing

the center decorated

of eIght columns.

and stand below another second

stopping

design,

Assistant,

octagonal

"Design

and at the

sup-

Charles

for a Church"

throughout

and Rhode

entrance

belfry

carvIng

every church built after

used this "Federal"

a church with a shallow

tower

three sides,

a Bulflnch-inspired

his book, which became

windows

bay entrance

and James Gibbs.48

Benjamin

with

were

than those of the older buildings,

flowed around

1800 until the Greek Revival ported

at

carry a splre.47

The gallery

fourth where

windows

entrance

The Inside was graced with far more elaborate designs.

placed

In sets of three, one on the

Over the two-storied

pushed

slope to the

to one end, the pulpit

side of the porch.

the doors.

stood the steeple, steeple

the elongated

were moved

one on either

put above

from the old to the new.46

the same, except with a gentler

The entrances

the opposite.

shows,

A small

porch with

New England,

Island.

He proposed

three doors across

Is the largest, and three

a Palladian.

Around

the square

with urns which surrounds

Square-topped

openings

ral ling and more urns.

stage with pilasters

an open

separate Above

is decorated

In

them

this, a

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 Church

in Killingworth,

Killingworth center

CT, built in 1820.

A Jate Federal,

has three doors on the two-story

Is the tallest.

the second

is the Congregational

Three windows are set over the doors on

level of the bay.

two-stage belfry clock Is centered

front bay; the

The square steeple gives way to a

topped with a fish design weathervane. in the tower.

A large

Inside, the altar Is surpri-

singly simple, with a few columns and elevated pulpit. Atypical Boston.

of the Federal period

is the Park Street Church

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 The space between

architect.

the tower and the face of the building

arched forward, making a semisphere

across the front.

Is

A large

Palladian

and four columns on each side give Park Street a

different

look than most other churches

But these city churches after the War of 1812. activity,

had little opportunity

As the shipping

churches with relevance The classical

the South. Though

to develop

trade decreased

people came to work in the factories,

of the church again relaxed,

lost.

in New England.

its

and the control

the time and energy to create new

to the mores of New England society was

leanings of the Greek Revival came up from

By 1830, the era of Federal building had passed. there were some architectural

problems

In smoothly

placIng a steeple atop a temple, some churches were reasonable

, -21-

accomplishments.

The basic

back, two-staged

steeple,

look was a low pitch roof, a pushed

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 Century

and fits the description

columns stand on the porch, Above, a two-stage Jared belfry.

Four slender

Ionic

framing the three heavy doors.

square steeple supports

A spire shoots

But regardless

well.

In the 19th

a six-sided

pll-

Into the air.

of the strength

of these steepled

temples,

they did not speak of the New England religion

any longer.

symbolized

way 'which gave us

the falling apart of the small-town

the Old Ship and "One If by land, Two If by sea." seem Inapplicable continent.

fortress

stuck on the wrong

The Greek revivals were devoid of feeling,

personality. Gothic period, meaning

to a Parthenon-like

These thIngs

And so through New England

the Greek period and the subsequent

ecclesiastical

architecture

and fell into a trap of unorlginality

If the pattern

of

of understanding

people

lost Its

and creative

loss.

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 1. Marian Card Donnelly, The New England Meetinghouses of the Seventeenth Century (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 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. 50. Sinnott, p. 137. 49. Slooott. ~~

,

.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Donnely, Marian Card. The New England Meetinghouses of the Seventeenth Century. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1968. Mallary, Peter T. New England Churches and Meetinghouses. New York: Vendome Press, 1985. Rose, Harold Wickliffe. The Colonial Houses of Worship In America. New York: Hastings House, 1963. Sinnott, Edmund W. Meetinghouse and Church In Early New England New York: McGraw-Hi I1, 1963.