St. Peter's Episcopal Church is a historic

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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located at 19 Smith Street in Port Chester,

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

History

St. Peter's was formed as a mission of Christ's Church in neighboring

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

in the 1830s, and the first services were performed by the Rev. Peter Chauncey, rector of Christ's Church, in 1836. The original chapel building was replaced in 1853, when St. Peter's became a stand-alone parish.Robert Bolton, ''History of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the County of Westchester, From its Foundation, A.D. 1693, to A.D. 1853'' (Stanford & Swords, 1855). Located on North Main Street next to the railroad, the building was destroyed by fire in 1883 and a new site was sought for the church.St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Port Chester, ''One hundredth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone, April 23, 1889'' (1989). In 1887 the parish acquired land on the corner of Smith Street and Westchester Avenue and a new church was constructed in 1889−1890 to designs by

A. Page Brown A. Page Brown, born Arthur Page Brown (December 1859 – January 21, 1896), was an American architect known for buildings that incorporated classical styles in the Beaux-Arts manner. Having first worked in the office of McKim, Mead and White ...

, who had previously worked for the firm

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

. The cornerstone was laid by the Rt. Rev.

Henry Codman Potter Henry Codman Potter (May 25, 1834 – July 21, 1908) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States. He was the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Potter was "more praised and appreciated, perhaps, than any public man ...

, Bishop of New York, on 23 April 1889 and the church opened for worship the following year.

Architecture

The church has a

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * felds ...

, gray

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and brick exterior with a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roof, in a late

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 ...

style. It features a large square clock tower, which also serves as a

porte cochere Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

, ten

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grisaille windows and other Tiffany furniture including an

altar rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and oth ...

and brass

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

. A bronze honor roll was erected after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

containing the names of church members who had served during the conflict. The parish hall was built in the 1920s with a castellated parapet and gable roof and includes a large auditorium with a raised stage. ''See also:''

Current status

St. Peter's Church 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 ...

in 2006. As of 2022, it is no longer an active Episcopal church holding regular services, but continues to offer social programs for the community.Meals on Main Street website
Retrieved 14 December 2022.

References

Port Chester, New York Churches completed in 1889 Churches in Westchester County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York Episcopal church buildings in New York (state) Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Gothic Revival church buildings in New York (state) 19th-century Episcopal church buildings 1889 establishments in New York (state) {{NewYork-church-stub