Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at the center of the campus of
Duke University in
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
,
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 ...
, United States. It is an
ecumenical Christian chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
. Constructed from 1930 to 1932, the Chapel seats about 1,800 people and stands 210 feet (64 m) tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in
Durham County. It is built in the
Collegiate Gothic style, characterized by its large stones, pointed arches, and ribbed vaults.
It has a 50-bell
carillon and three
pipe organs, one with 5,033 pipes and another with 6,900 pipes.
The Chapel stands at the center of the university, on the highest ridge of Duke University's
West Campus. Although plans for a chapel were first made in April 1925, the cornerstone was not laid until October 22, 1930. When it was completed in 1935 at a cost of $2.3 million, the Chapel was the last of the original buildings to be built on West Campus. It was first used during
Commencement in 1932, and was formally dedicated on June 2, 1935.
Stained-glass windows and other details were installed at a later date.
The chapel was designed by
Julian Abele
Julian Francis Abele (April 30, 1881April 23, 1950) was a prominent Black American architect, and chief designer in the offices of Horace Trumbauer. He contributed to the design of more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library at ...
, a noted African-American architect who designed much of Duke's west campus and who was also chief designer for the Philadelphia firm of
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...
.
, the dean of the Chapel is the Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery.
On May 11, 2015, the Chapel closed for a year due to necessary restoration work on the ceiling. The Chapel reopened May 11, 2016.
Exterior
Entrance portal
Carved on the ornate entrance to the Chapel are ten figures important to
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
,
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, and the
American South. On the outer arch above the portal are carved three figures pivotal to the American Methodist movement: Bishop
Francis Asbury
Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ...
stands in the center, while Bishop
Thomas Coke and
George Whitefield stand on the left and right, respectively. On the left wall within the entrance portal are carved (from left to right)
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
,
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
, and
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...
.
On the right wall (from left to right) are
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
, statesman of the South;
Robert E. Lee, soldier of the South; and
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...
, poet of the South.
John Wesley, founder of Methodism, stands atop the inner arch within the portal, directly above the Chapel doors.
These figures were carved by employees of the contractor, the John Donnelly company. According to "Duke lore," the architects gave Donnelly the choice of which figures to represent, which he did after consulting with an unnamed Vanderbilt professor.
On Lee's carving, the belt buckle was initially inscribed 'USA' rather than 'CSA' for Confederate States of America; it was partially chiseled away but was still visible. The university
removed the statue of Lee from the entrance after it was vandalized in August 2017 as part of nationwide protests against Confederate memorials. Duke later announced that the space will remain empty with the hope that it will "evoke this moment in history".
Bell tower
The bell tower of Duke Chapel is modeled after the Bell Harry Tower of
Canterbury Cathedral. It is 210 feet (64 m) tall and square at its base. Like the rest of the edifice, its main body is constructed of stone from the Duke Quarry near
Hillsborough, North Carolina
The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020.
Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hills ...
, while its upper trimmings are of limestone from
Bedford, Indiana
Bedford is a city in Shawswick Township and the county seat of Lawrence County, Indiana, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 13,792. That is up from 13,413 in 2010. Bedford is the principal city of the Bedford, IN Micropo ...
. Housed in the tower is a 50-bell
carillon, a gift from
The Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke. It supports selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and spiritual life in North Carolina and Sout ...
. The heaviest bell, G-natural, weighs 11,200 pounds, and the lightest weighs 10.5 pounds.
A service elevator and a winding staircase of 239 steps provide access to the top. The bell tower is not open to the public, and restricted for Duke University students to special times during Orientation and Graduation.
Interior
![Duke Chapel interior 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Duke_Chapel_interior_2017.jpg)
Duke Chapel, like many Christian churches and cathedrals, is
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly describe ...
, with a
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
that measures long, wide, and high. The walls and
vaults of the nave and
transepts
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
are constructed from
Guastavino tile
The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of Catalan vault introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892.
Description
...
and were sealed in 1976 to increase sound reverberation and enhance the sound of the organ. The Chapel also houses a Memorial Chapel and a
crypt.
Stained-glass windows
The 77 Chapel windows were designed and constructed over a three-year period by 15 artists and craftsmen, including S. Charles Jaekle of
G. Owen Bonawit, Inc. They are constructed from over one million pieces of glass, imported from
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and varying in thickness between 1/8 and 3/16 inch. The largest window measures 17.5 by , and the smallest measures just 14 by .
The windows depict scenes and characters from the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
; of the 800 or 900 figures represented in the windows, 301 are larger than life-size. The large, upper
clerestory windows along the nave and
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
depict scenes from the
Old Testament, while the smaller medallion windows along the walls of the nave aisles represent scenes from the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
. Both Old and New Testament images are present in the two large transept windows as well as the
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
window. The windows of the
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
depict women of the Old Testament, and the small windows of the two small entrance halls on either side of the narthex contain six scenes from the life of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
painted in black on amber glass. The windows of the Memorial Chapel are made from silver-tinted
grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...
glass, and those in the crypt are of purple glass framed in lead grilles.
Chancel
Duke Chapel's chancel contains the altar, the
choir stalls
A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tab ...
, the
pulpit, and the
lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...
.
Patriarchs
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certa ...
,
apostles,
saints, and other religious figures carved in limewood and oak appear in the niches of the choir stalls and in the decorative screen behind the altar. Scenes from the
Passion are carved into the north and south walls of the chancel.
Organs
Duke Chapel houses three large
pipe organs
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
, each constructed in a different style, which are used for religious services, ceremonies, recitals, and the study of organ performance. Additionally, a portable
"box" organ belongs to the Chapel and accompanies small groups and organizations.
The Kathleen McClendon Organ is Duke Chapel's original organ and is lodged behind ornate oak screens in two chambers on either side of the chancel and in front of both transepts. Built in 1932, it was the last major instrument made by the Aeolian Organ Company before the company merged to form the
Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. 6,900 pipes, controlled by four manual keyboards and a pedal keyboard, provide a wide range of dynamic expression and orchestral voicing for the organ's individual
stops. The organ was fully restored by Foley-Baker Inc. of Tolland, Connecticut, in 2009. Broome & Company of Connecticut restored the existing reed stops and added a new unenclosed Festival Trumpet.
The Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Organ, dedicated in 1976, was built by the Dutch
Flentrop
Flentrop is a Dutch company based in Zaandam that builds and restores organs.
History
It was established in 1903 by Hendrik Wicher Flentrop (1866 -1950) from Koog aan de Zaan. Hendrik, originally a house painter by trade, was an organist at the ...
Company in the 18th century styles of Dutch and French organs. Housed in the arch between the
narthex
The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
and the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, it contains 5,033 pipes controlled by four keyboards and a pedal keyboard. The organ's main case, in which most of the pipes are housed, is built of solid mahogany and decorated with various colors and
gold leaf. tall and deep, the main case is situated on a solid oak balcony overlooking the nave.
The Brombaugh Organ, installed in 1997 in a "
swallow's nest
The Swallow's Nest ( uk, Ластівчине гніздо, , russian: Ласточкино гнездо, ), ) in Ukrainian, ''Schwalbennest'' in German, and (''Qarılğaç yuvası'') in Crimean Tatar., group="nb" is a decorative castle locat ...
" gallery of the Memorial Chapel, was the last organ to be added to the Chapel. It is a two manual and pedal organ of 960 pipes, modeled in the style of
Renaissance Italian instruments. It produces a gentle, sparkling tone with very low wind pressure, and like instruments of the 16th and 17th centuries, it is tuned in
meantone temperament
Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, that is a tuning system, obtained by narrowing the fifths so that their ratio is slightly less than 3:2 (making them ''narrower'' than a perfect fifth), in order to push the thirds closer to pure. M ...
. The Duke
family crest
A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to a lesser extent, battles, crests became solely pictorial after t ...
can be seen at the top of the organ case.
Memorial Chapel
A Memorial Chapel was later added to the left of the chapel by the Duke Memorial Association. Intended as a place for reflection and prayer, the Memorial Chapel is open to visitors, and is separated from the rest of the Chapel by large iron gates. Along the left wall, the University's benefactors—
Washington Duke
Washington Duke (December 18, 1820 – May 8, 1905) was an American tobacco industrialist and philanthropist. During the American Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate States Navy. In 1865, Duke founded the "W. Duke, Sons & Co.", a tobacco ma ...
and his two sons,
James B. Duke and
Benjamin N. Duke—are entombed in three 30-ton, white
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
carved by
Charles Keck
Charles Keck (September 9, 1875 – April 23, 1951) was an American sculptor from New York City, New York.
Early life and education
Keck studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York with Philip Martiny ...
. Over the altar are three
limewood
''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...
figures: Jesus stands in the center, with
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
on the left and
St. Peter on the right. A
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
with the Duke family coat of arms graces the ceiling.
Crypt
Several important people of Duke University are interred in the crypt directly beneath the Memorial Chapel, including three Presidents of the University:
William Preston Few
William Preston Few (December 29, 1867 – October 16, 1940) was the first president of Duke University and the fifth president of its predecessor, Trinity College.
Early life
Few received his Bachelor of Arts, B.A. from Wofford College, Class of ...
(1924–1940),
Julian Deryl Hart
Julian Deryl Hart (August 27, 1894 – June 1, 1980) served as President of Duke University from 1960 to 1963. Previously, he was the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Duke. During his presidency of three years, he planned a ...
(1960–1963) with his wife Mary Johnson Hart, and
Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pr ...
(1969–1985) with his wife
Margaret Rose Sanford
Margaret Rose Sanford ('' née'' Knight; June 6, 1918 – August 26, 2006) was an American civic leader, teacher, and philanthropist who, as the wife of Terry Sanford, served as First Lady of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965. Prior to entering pub ...
. The wife of James B. Duke, Nanaline Holt Duke, is also buried in the crypt, as are James A. Thomas, Chairman of the Duke Memorial Association, and James T. Cleland, former Dean of Duke Chapel, with his wife Alice Mead Cleland.
Two plaques on the walls of the crypt commemorate University Presidents
Arthur Hollis Edens (1949–1960) and
Robert Lee Flowers (1941–1948).
Relative size
At 210 feet, the Duke University Chapel is one of the tallest university chapels in the world. The
Chapel of Princeton University (121 feet) and the
Basilica of the Sacred Heart at
Notre Dame (218 feet) hold comparable sizes, according to
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
.
Robert E. Lee statue vandalization and removal
On August 16 and 17, 2017, in the wake of the
Unite the Right rally
The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia and subsequent calls for the
removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
More than 100 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America (CSA; the Confederacy) and associated figures have been removed, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn do ...
across the United States, the 85-year-old statue of
Robert E. Lee in the Chapel's entrance portal was defaced: the statue’s face was damaged, and its nose chipped off.
Research showed that "an unnamed
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
professor" worked with John Donnelly, who designed the chapel's ornamental stonework, to install the statue in the first half of the 1930s, but that "
e documents do not fully explain how the statue came to be included in the Chapel."
A week after the events in Charlottesville, Duke University President
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
approved the removal of the statue. Announcing the removal in an August 19 email to students, staff, faculty and alumni, Prince promised to preserve the statue "so that students can study Duke's complex past and take part in a more inclusive future."
As of January 2022, the space occupied by Robert E. Lee has yet to be filled with a new statue.
See also
*
Collegiate Gothic
*
Gothic revival architecture
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th cent ...
References
External links
Duke Chapel Website
{{Duke University
Chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
Towers in North Carolina
University and college chapels in the United States
United Methodist churches in North Carolina
Churches in Durham, North Carolina
Collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States
Gothic Revival church buildings in North Carolina