Christ Episcopal Church, also known as Christ Church on Capitol Square, is an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

church at 120 East Edenton Street in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Built in 1848–53 to a design by

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...

, it is one of the first

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

churches in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The church was built for a parish established in 1821; its minister is the Rev. James P. Adams. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1987. and

Description and history

Christ Episcopal Church is located within Raleigh's

Capitol Area Historic District The Capitol Area Historic District is a national historic district located at Raleigh, North Carolina. The district encompasses 25 contributing buildings and was developed after 1792. The district includes notable examples of Classical Revival a ...

, just east of the

North Carolina State Capitol The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the ...

at the southeast corner of East Edenton and South Wilmington Streets. It is a generally cruciform structure, built predominantly out of rough-cut stone that is varied in color, with dressed stone at the corners and openings. It has a red tile roof that is topped by cruciform finials at the gable ends. The walls are buttressed at the corners, and separating the bays on the long axis. A covered arcade extends north from the west end of the church, joining it to an otherwise-freestanding tower. The tower has three stages, with buttressed corners, and a lancet-louvered belfry in the upper level. It is crowned by a spire and a distinctive bronze

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. The Christ Church parish was organized in 1821, and its first church was a wood-frame structure built in 1829. The present church was designed by

in 1846, and was consecrated in 1854. At the suggestion of the church's Bishop Levi Silliman Ives, Upjohn based his design on St. Mary's in

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

, which he had recently completed. The church's parish house with chapel, added in 1913–1914, was designed by Upjohn's grandson

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. The

Ravenscroft School Ravenscroft School is a coed independent school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The school enrolls students between PreKindergarten and 12th grade, and serves 1,239 students. The school has three divisions: Lower School, Middle School an ...

, a private K-12 school in Raleigh, was started by members of the church and named after the Episcopal Bishop of the area at that time,

John Stark Ravenscroft John Stark Ravenscroft (May 17, 1772 – March 5, 1830) was the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and helped organize the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee. Early life Ravenscroft was born in 1772 on his family plantation near ...

, who was also the rector of the church. Olivia Raney served as organist until her death in 1896.

Notable people

*Author

Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ) (born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for ''Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...

attended the church with his family as a child. *Anti-suffragist

Mary Hilliard Hinton Mary Hilliard Hinton (June 7, 1869 – January 6, 1961) was an American painter, historian, clubwoman, and anti-suffragist. She was a leader in North Carolina's Anti-suffragism, anti-suffragist movement and an outspoken white supremacist, co-fou ...

attended this church.

References

External links

Christ Church on Capitol Square web site
{{National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina National Historic Landmarks in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Raleigh, North Carolina Churches completed in 1848 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Churches in Raleigh, North Carolina Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Episcopal church buildings in North Carolina Richard Upjohn church buildings Historic district contributing properties in North Carolina

Description and history

Notable people

See also

References

External links