Battell Chapel

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Battell Chapel was built in 1874-76 as a Civil War memorial, with funds donated by Joseph Battell. The chapel was designed by Russell Sturgis, Jr. in High Victorian Gothic style. It was the third of Yale's chapels and is the largest on-campus house of worship.

Built together with Durfee and Farnam Halls at the corner of College and Elm Streets, it was part of an ongoing program to segregate the Old Campus from the rest of New Haven. Daily attendance at chapel was mandatory for Yale students until 1926. In the twenty-first century, Battell Chapel is the setting for the Sunday services of the Church of Christ in Yale University, conducted by a Yale Chaplain.

The chapel has chimes that ring at each quarter hour. The organ was the gift of Joseph Battell's sister, Irene (Battell) Larned.

The chapel was enlarged in 1893 by architect J.C. Cady. An apse was added in 1947 and dedicated to the undergraduate deacons who died in World War II (The chapel is also the site of other memorials.) The interior was restored in the 1980s by Herbert S. Newman.

Farnam, Durfee and Battell were among the first Yale buildings to be named for donors rather than function, location, or legislative funding.

Battell Chapel is one of the locations on the Connecticut Freedom Trail, and an exhibition depicting the role that Yale Divinity School faculty and students played in assisting the Amistad Africans is maintained by Yale in the chapel's vestibule.

The chapel also serves a dual role as a concert hall and is the main performance venue for the Greater New Haven Youth Ensembles of Neighborhood Music School: The Greater New Haven Youth Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Concert Orchestra as well as the Greater New Haven Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Concert Band.

[edit] References

• Patrick L. Pinnell, The Campus Guide: Yale University, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1999.