The First Church of Christ, Unitarian, also known as First Church of Christ, Lancaster and colloquially as "the Bulfinch Church", is a historic congregation with its meeting house located at 725 Main Street facing the Common in
Lancaster,
. The church's fifth meeting house, built in 1816, was designed by architect
Charles Bulfinch
Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...
, and was designated 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 1977, recognizing it as one of Bulfinch's finest works.
History
First Church of Christ was "gathered in 1653 by the
Puritans
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
of
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
."
The town of Lancaster also dates from 1653. The current meeting house was built in 1816 of local brick and slate when
Nathaniel Thayer
Rev. Nathaniel Thayer I (July 11, 1769 – June 23, 1840) was a congregational Unitarian minister.
Early life
Nathaniel Thayer was born in Hampton, New Hampshire to Ebenezer Thayer and Martha Olivia Cotton. His father was a pastor in Hampton ...
was minister.
On December 30, 1970, the meeting house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
[First Church of Christ Unitarian website](_blank)
/ref> and designated 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 ...
. Architectural historian G. E. Kidder Smith George Everard Kidder Smith (1 October 1913 – 8 October 1997) was an American architect, author, educator, photographer and prolific “builder” of books and curator of exhibitions.
He collaborated with some of the leading publishers and graph ...
has called it "one of the great federal style churches in the country."
In May 2010, the Church began a restoration of the meeting house cupola and facade supported by contributions from the Bulfinch Fund, a secular organization dedicated to restoring Bulfinch's works.Restoration begins
''Worcester Telegram and Gazette'', May 19, 2010 Formerly a
Congregational church
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, it is now
Unitarian Universalist
Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to:
Christian and Christian-derived theologies
A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism:
* Unitarianism (1565–present) ...
. Wil Darcangelo, M.Div, (also minister at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church of Fitchburg) is its current minister.
Architecture
The church is a rectangular structure with a projecting front section supporting a two-stage tower, and with an arcaded and pedimented portico at the very front. The portico consists of three high openings with round-arch tops, which frame three entry doors (the central one taller) behind. The arches are separated by pilasters, which rise to an entablature and a fully enclosed gable pediment. The pediment is lined by modillioned cornices, with plain brickwork in the tympanum. The sides of the portico are also arched and pilastered. The tower section, whose interior houses the vestibule area, rises the full width of the portico to the height of the gable peak, where there is a cornice line, above which rises the tower, flanked by carved wooden fan designs. The first stage of the tower is square, with clock faces adorning otherwise plain brick walls. Above a cornice is the second stage, a round section with a partially open belfry surrounded by twelve Ionic columns, which support an entablature and dentillated cornice. An attic section decorated with swag drapery rises above the belfry, and is topped by a round dome and weathervane.
See also
*
First Church of Christ (disambiguation) First Church of Christ, or variants thereof, may refer to:
* First Church of Christ, Congregational (disambiguation)
* First Church of Christ (New London, Connecticut)
* First Church of Christ, Scientist (disambiguation)
* The First Church of Chr ...
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a total of 191 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) within its borders. This is the second highest statewide total in the United States after New York, which has more than 250. Of the Massachusetts NHLs, 57 ar ...
*
References
Further reading
*
William H. Pierson Jr., ''American Buildings and Their Architects: The Colonial and Neoclassical Styles'' (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970), pp. 270ff.
External links
First Church of Christ Unitarian websiteNational Historic Landmarks Program listingBulfinch Fund website"Prim Grandeur, Elegant Geometries" John Wilmerding
John Currie Wilmerding Jr. (born April 28, 1938), is an American professor of art, collector, and curator, and is best known as a prolific author of books on American art.
Early life
Wilmerding was born in Boston, Massachusetts on April 28, 19 ...
, ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', 8 March 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Church Of Christ, Unitarian
1653 establishments in Massachusetts
National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
Churches completed in 1816
Unitarian Universalist churches in Massachusetts
Charles Bulfinch church buildings
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Churches in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts