The Reformed Church of Bronxville is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the Reformed Church in America, and previously the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

, located in Bronxville, New York.

History

The Reformed Church of Bronxville was founded in 1850 in its present location, on a two-acre hill above the corner of Midland Avenue and Pondfield Road in the village of Bronxville. The first church building was a smaller,

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

-stye, wooden

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

building, and was dedicated on April 9, 1850. Though the original belfry was constructed simultaneously with the rest of the church, it was not outfitted with bells until money was raised by Sunday school children in 1872. The church was eventually replaced with the current Norman-style stone and

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 ...

structure in 1926, following a vote of the congregation in 1923 to construct a larger church. The architect of the new building was Harry Leslie Walker, a member of the church and the designer of the other institutions constituting the village's "Four Corners:"

Bronxville High School Bronxville Union Free School District is a public school district serving the Village of Bronxville, Westchester County, New York. In 2012, 1635 students were enrolled in the district elementary, middle and high school which are all housed wit ...

in 1924 and the

Bronxville Public Library Westchester Library System (WLS) is the library system for the residents of Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1958. The system has 38 public libraries across the county and its headquarters are located in the town of Greenburgh, ...

in 1942. Upon its completion, the church was consecrated in 1926. The stained glass windows were designed by the prominent artist

Charles Jay Connick Charles Jay Connick (1875–1945) was a prominent American painter, muralist, and designer best known for his work in stained glass in the Gothic Revival style. Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania, Connick eventually settled in the Boston area wh ...

. In the twentieth century, due to increasing membership, the church underwent further expansion. Following a seven-year fundraising campaign, a lot on the corner of Midland and Kraft Avenues was purchased. On this land was added a

nursery school A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

, a 40-foot expansion of the

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 ...

to accommodate a larger pipe organ, an usher's parlor adjacent to 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 ...

, a

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 ...

, a social hall, a glass enclosure of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, and a parking lot in 1955. This complex was designed by

Eggers & Higgins Eggers & Higgins was a New York architectural firm partnered by Otto Reinhold Eggers (August 4, 1882 – April 23, 1964) and Daniel Paul Higgins (September 12, 1886 – December 26, 1953). The architects were responsible for the construction phas ...

and dedicated in September 1957. With the disestablishment of the

in 2004, the Reformed Church of Bronxville joined the Reformed Church in America.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bronxville, New York Reformed Church in America churches in New York (state) Churches in Westchester County, New York Churches completed in 1926 Religious organizations established in 1850 1850 establishments in New York (state) Churches with Norman architecture 20th-century Reformed Church in America church buildings Former Dutch Reformed churches in New York (state)