St. Thomas's Episcopal Church is a parish church of the Episcopal Church located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1848, the original English Gothic church was completed in 1855 on Elm Street, on the site of a temporary chapel the parish built in 1849. St. Thomas moved to its present site on Whitney Avenue in 1939.
| St. Thomas's Episcopal Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 41°19′55″N 72°54′48″W / 41.33194°N 72.91333°W | |
| Location | New Haven, Connecticut |
| Denomination | Episcopal Church |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | 1848 |
| Consecrated | October 8, 1939 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Connecticut |
History
editOn February 24, 1848, a meeting was held by sixteen lay Episcopalians in New Haven, Connecticut, to discuss the opening of a third Episcopal church in the city.[1] The first services were held in a room that belonged to Center Church on April 23, 1848, where they remained until 1849.[2] The rector purchased a lot on Elm Street that year,[3] and began construction of a temporary chapel. Five months later, the first services were held in the chapel on August 12, 1849.[4] The congregation decided that a new, larger church would be built on the site of the existing chapel, and the last services in the chapel were held on March 12, 1854.[5] One month later, the cornerstone of the new church was laid, with Bishop John Williams in attendance. In the meantime, services were held in Brewster Hall.[6] The completed church was consecrated on April 19, 1855.[7] It was constructed in the English Gothic Revival style out of Portland stone.[8] A parish house was not built until 1888. The cornerstone was laid on May 21, and the building was dedicated on February 3, 1889.[9]
In 1923, the rector proposed that the church relocate to another part of New Haven, as since the founding of the church, Elm Street had become entirely commercial.[10] The congregation purchased a lot on Whitney Avenue, between Odgen and Cliff Streets in 1923.[11] There, a new parish house was constructed in 1931.[12] A new church was constructed there, and consecrated on October 8, 1939.[13]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 2
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 23
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 26
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 27
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 32
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 33
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 39
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 43
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 62
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 87
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 88
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 89
- ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 98
Sources
edit- Beardsley, William A. (1941). History of St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, New Haven, Connecticut, 1848–1941 (PDF). New Haven, Connecticut: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. OCLC 10610775. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019 – via Project Canterbury.
