Glencairn is a castle-like mansion in

Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania Bryn Athyn is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census. It was formed for religious reasons fro ...

, that was home to the Pitcairn family for more than 40 years. Now the Glencairn Museum, it contains a collection of about 8,000 artworks, mostly religious in nature, from cultures such as ancient Egypt,

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

, the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

and medieval Europe, as well as Islamic,

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n, and Native American works. The museum is affiliated with

The New Church The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborgian or ...

, and the building is on 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 ...

Mansion

Multi-millionaire businessman Raymond Pitcairn (1885–1966) and his wife, Mildred Glenn (died 1979) built "Glencairn" between 1928 and 1939. Its name was a combination of their surnames. Pitcairn, a member of the New Church himself, had no formal training in architecture and designed the Romanesque-style building using a series of models. The nine-story,

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

-and-ruddy-colored-stone mansion features more than 90 rooms on 10 floors. It has three main sections – a central rectangle, and two large rectangular wings – that together measure approximately 175 feet by 135 feet. The exterior features a nine-story tower, carved doorways, pillars, and wall insets. The building also contains elaborate interior mosaics,

monel Monel is a group of alloys of nickel (from 52 to 67%) and copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Monel is not a cupronickel alloy because it has less than 60% copper. Stronger than pure nickel, Monel alloys are res ...

metalwork, Early Medieval stained glass windows, and a replica of the Biblical tabernacle. ''Note:'' This includes The Pitcairn fortune derived from control of

Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By re ...

, of which his father John Pitcairn, Jr. (1841-1916), was director, 1896–1906. Adjacent to "Glencairn" is Raymond Pitcairn's first architectural success, the Gothic Revival

Bryn Athyn Cathedral Bryn Athyn Cathedral is the episcopal seat of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a denomination of Swedenborgianism. The main building is of the Early Gothic style, while the adjoining structures are of a transitional period reflective ...

(1913–19), and his father's house " Cairnwood." The Pitcairns were funders of the

American Liberty League The American Liberty League was an American political organization formed in 1934. Its membership consisted primarily of wealthy business elites and prominent political figures, who were for the most part conservatives opposed to the New Deal of Pr ...

. Following Mildred's death in 1979 (Raymond died in 1966), the mansion, with its collections and Pitcairn archives, was given to the Academy of the New Church.Glencairn Museum
/ref> "Glencairn" was added to the

in 1978 and is a contributing property of the Bryn Athyn Historic District.

Glencairn Museum

Guided tours of the building and collection are available year-round. Tours are offered Tuesday through Friday at 2:30pm or by appointment, and weekends at 1:00, 1:45, 2:30 and 3pm. The Museum's first floor, including the Great Hall, Upper Hall, Bird Room, and current temporary exhibition, is open free of charge for self-guided viewing on weekends from 1:00 to 4:30 pm. Glencairn Museum also offers a variety of events and exhibitions throughout the year.

References

External links

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Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools

Cairnwood Estate

Bryn Athyn Historic District
{{authority control Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Swedenborgianism Museums in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Religious museums in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1942 Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania Museums of Ancient Near East in the United States Egyptological collections in the United States Museums of ancient Greece in the United States Museums of ancient Rome in the United States 1929 establishments in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania Pitcairn family

Mansion

Glencairn Museum

See also

References

External links