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St. James-the-Less Episcopal Church
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| Location: | Hunting Park Ave. at Clearfield St. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Built: | 1846 |
| Architect: | George Gordon Place; John E. Carver |
| Architectural style: | Other, Gothic Revival |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 74001801[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | November 20, 1974 |
The Church of St. James the Less is a historic Episcopal church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was architecturally influential. As St. James-the-Less Episcopal Church, it is designated a National Historic Landmark.
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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]
Set on the edge of a hill, north of Mount Vernon Cemetery and east of Laurel Hill Cemetery, the setting for the church is no longer rural. West Hunting Park Avenue, a major artery, is just beyond the churchyard's south wall, and industrial buildings lie to the west. A parish hall, which later housed the parish school, was built on the opposite side of West Clearfield Street .
The Wanamaker Memorial Bell Tower and mausoleum (1908), designed by John T. Windrim, houses a set of J.C. Deagan tower chimes and a chime of bells by the McShane foundry.
The church and associated school were closed in 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 over 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, and the congregation left.
The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel [1] is a traditional Anglican parish continuing the parochial and congregational life of the Church of Saint James the Less. Sunday Mass is at 9:30 at Ivy Hall, 6331 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia 19151 (in Overbrook Farms, between City Avenue and 63rd Street).
In the summer of 2008, the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania voted to allow St. Mark's Church, Philadelphia, to adopt the Church of St. James the Less as a mission of St. Mark's. With the assumption of St. James as a mission of St. Mark's a weekly celebration of Mass was resumed on Sundays at 5:00pm.
In June 2009, the first City Camp took place, where children aged from 6-12 participated in a Vacation Bible School. A help from St. Francis Episcopal Church (Potomac, Maryland) and St. Mark's Episcopal Church made this event possible. It lasted from June 22, 2009 to June 27, 2009, although members from both churches helped before and after to make it possible. A second successful City Camp was held in 2010.
As part of its responsibility for mission at Saint James the Less, Saint Mark's Church began a fundraising effort to open a new parish school to serve the local community. Beginning with a successful after-school program in the fall of 2010, staff were hired, renovations begun and in September 2011 Saint James School opened.[2] The school is part of the Nativity Miguel Network of Schools[3] and The National Association of Episcopal Schools.[4]
The surrounding churchyard is the final resting place of several notable people.
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