Church of St. James the Less

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Church of St. James the Less
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Location: Hunting Park Ave. at Clearfield St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°0′14″N 75°10′59″W / 40.00389, -75.18306Coordinates: 40°0′14″N 75°10′59″W / 40.00389, -75.18306
Built/Founded: 1846
Architect: George Gordon Place; John E. Carver
Architectural style(s): Other, Gothic Revival
Added to NRHP: November 20, 1974
NRHP Reference#: 74001801[1]
Governing body: Private

The Church of St. James the Less is an historic Episcopal church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The building was added to the list of National Register of Historical Places in 1974 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. According to the National Park Service's official Statement of Significance (as of designation, February 4, 1985): "This is the first example of the pure English Parish church style in America, and one of the best examples of a 19th-century American Gothic church for its coherence and authenticity of design. Its influence on the major architects of the Gothic Revival in the United States was profound."[2]

The building's remarkable fidelity to Gothic design was accidental. When the congregation applied to its parent group in Cambridge, England, for a set of approved plans for its church, it was inadvertently sent measured drawings, prepared by G. G. Place, of St. Michael's Church in Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, built c. 1230, which were followed in every detail under the supervision of architect John E. Carver.[3]

St. Michael's Church, now disused, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, England, the model for St. James-the-Less
St. Michael's Church, now disused, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, England, the model for St. James-the-Less

The church and associated school have been closed since 2006, when, after a lengthy court battle, the local Episcopal diocese assumed control of the property. St James the Less had disaffiliated from the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1999 due to growing theological differences, and the diocese sued the parish in 2001 to seize the property. The Pennsylvania courts eventually decided that while the parish owns the property, there exists an “implied trust” in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Given the choice between the property and the faith, the congregation chose the faith, and moved out. The Rector and congregation continue as The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel ACA worshipping in Philadelphia.

Contents

[edit] Notable interments

Lych-gate at St. James the Less
Lych-gate at St. James the Less

The surrounding churchyard is the final resting place of several notable people.

  • Chapman Biddle (January 22, 1822 – December 9, 1880) Civil War Union Army Officer.[4]
  • Horace Binney (January 4, 1780 – August 12, 1875) US Congressman.[4]
  • Mark Wilkes Collet (June 2, 1826 – May 3, 1863) Civil War Union Army Officer and physician.[4]
  • James Barnet Fry (February 22, 1827 – July 11, 1894) Civil War Union Brigadier General.[4]
  • Louis M. Goldsborough (February 18, 1805 – February 20, 1877) Civil War Union Navy Rear Admiral.[4]
  • Henry K. Hoff (d. December 25, 1878) United States Navy Rear-Admiral.[4]
  • Robert Morris, Jr. (d. August 13, 1863) Civil War Union Army Officer.[4]
  • John Grubb Parke (September 22, 1827 – December 16, 1900) Civil War Union Major General.[4]
  • Anthony Taylor (Medal of Honor recipient) (October 11, 1837 – May 21, 1894) Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient.[4]
  • Martin Russell Thayer (1819 – 1906) US Congressman for Pennsylvania, 1863 to 1867. State Court Judge in 1867.[4]
  • Benjamin Chew Tilghman (October 26, 1821 – July 3, 1901) Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General, inventor of sandblasting.[4]
  • Stephen Decatur Trenchard (July 11, 1818 – November 15, 1883) United States Navy Rear-Admiral.[4]
Wanamaker family tomb
Wanamaker family tomb
  • John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838 – December 12, 1922) Businessman, founder of chain of Wanamaker's Department Stores of Philadelphia, New York and Paris, and Postmaster General of the United States.[4]
  • William Halsey Wood (April 24, 1855 – March 13, 1897) Architect, one of four finalists in the competition for the design of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York.[5]

[edit] See also

Philadelphia Portal
Anglicanism Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  2. ^ Listing at the National Park Service
  3. ^ American Architecture: A History, by Leland M. Roth
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m St. James-the-Less Episcopal Church at Find-A-Grave
  5. ^ The Ancestry and Posterity of Matthew Clarkson, by J. R. T. Craine

[edit] Further reading

  • King, Moses. Philadelphia and Notable Philadelphians. New York: Blanchard Press, Isaac H. Blanchard Co., 1901.
  • Stanton, Phoebe B., The Gothic Revival and American Church Architecture: An Episode in Taste, 1840-1856. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1968. ISBN 0801856221
  • Webster, Richard J., Philadelphia Preserved. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press, 1976. ISBN 0-87722-089-1

[edit] External links

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