Kirkpatrick Chapel
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The Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick Memorial Chapel, known as Kirkpatrick Chapel, is the chapel to
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
and located on the university's main campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey in the United States. Kirkpatrick Chapel is among the university's oldest extant buildings, and one of six buildings located on a historic section of the university's College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick known as the Queens Campus. Built in 1872 when Rutgers was a small, private liberal arts college, the chapel was designed by architect
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh Henry Janeway Hardenbergh (February 6, 1847 – March 13, 1918) was an American architect, best known for his hotels and apartment buildings, and as a "master of a new building form — the skyscraper." Life and career Hardenbergh was born in ...
at the beginning of his career. Hardenbergh, a native of New Brunswick, was the great-great-grandson of Rutgers' first president, the Rev.
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (22 February 1735/6 – 30 October 1790) was an American Dutch Reformed clergyman, colonial and state legislator, and educator. Hardenbergh was a founder of Queen's College—now Rutgers, The State University of New J ...
. It was the third of three projects that Hardenbergh designed for the college. Kirkpatrick Chapel was named in honour of Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick was the wife of
Littleton Kirkpatrick Littleton Kirkpatrick (October 19, 1797 – August 15, 1859) was an American Whig Party politician, who represented in the United States House of Representatives for one term from 1853 to 1855. He was the son of Andrew Kirkpatrick and the ...
, a local attorney and politician who was a member of the board of trustees of Rutgers College from 1841 until his death in 1859. When Sophia Kirkpatrick died in 1871, Rutgers was named as the residuary
legatee A legatee, in the law of wills, is any individual or organization bequeathed any portion of a testator's estate. Usage Depending upon local custom, legatees may be called "devisees". Traditionally, "legatees" took personal property under will a ...
of her estate. A bequest of $61,054.57 (2013: US$1,174,079.38) from her estate funded the construction of the chapel. According to Rutgers, this marked the first time in New Jersey history that an institution became a direct heir to an estate. The chapel was designed in the
High Victorian High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promo ...
Gothic Revival style 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 ...
that was popular at the middle of the nineteenth century in the United States. Hardenbergh's design incorporated features common to fourteenth-century German and English Gothic churches. According to the
New Jersey Historic Trust The New Jersey Historic Trust was created by the State of New Jersey in 1967 to preserve New Jersey's historic resources. The Historic Trust's executive director is Dorothy P. Guzzo. Funding programs available through the New Jersey Historic Tr ...
, the chapel's
stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
s feature "some of the first opalescent and multicolored sheet glass manufactured in America." Four of the chapel's windows were created by the studios of
Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...
. Kirkpatrick Chapel is a contributing property of the Queens Campus Historic District, which 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 ...
on July 2, 1973. For its first 30 years, the chapel was used as a college library and for holding daily chapel services. Although Rutgers was founded as a private college affiliated with the
Dutch Reformed 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 ...
faith, today, it is a state university and nonsectarian. The chapel is available to students, alumni, and faculty of all faiths, and a variety of services are held throughout the academic term. It is also used for university events including convocation, concerts, alumni and faculty weddings, funerals, and lectures by prominent intellectuals and world leaders.


History


The Kirkpatrick family and Rutgers

When Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick (1802–1871) died on March 6, 1871, at the age of 68, she named
Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
as her estate's residuary
legatee A legatee, in the law of wills, is any individual or organization bequeathed any portion of a testator's estate. Usage Depending upon local custom, legatees may be called "devisees". Traditionally, "legatees" took personal property under will a ...
.
Addresses at the inauguration of Austin Scott, Ph.D. as President of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N.J. Wednesday February 4th, 1891
''. (New Brunswick, Rutgers College, 1891).
At that time, Rutgers was a small, private liberal arts college in New Brunswick, New Jersey, affiliated with the
Dutch Reformed 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 ...
faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...
. Founded in 1766 as Queen's College, Rutgers is the eighth-oldest institution of higher education established in the United States. It was one of nine colleges founded in the American colonies before the Revolutionary War.Stoeckel, Althea
"Presidents, professors, and politics: the colonial colleges and the American revolution"
, ''Conspectus of History'' (1976) 1(3):45–56.
Rutgers' website states that this bequest from Sophia Kirkpatrick's will was the first time in New Jersey legal history that an institution became a direct heir to an estate. Sophia was the daughter of wealthy merchant and land investor Thomas Astley of Philadelphia. She married
Littleton Kirkpatrick Littleton Kirkpatrick (October 19, 1797 – August 15, 1859) was an American Whig Party politician, who represented in the United States House of Representatives for one term from 1853 to 1855. He was the son of Andrew Kirkpatrick and the ...
(1797–1859) on October 18, 1832.Wilson, James Grant.
Memorials of Andrew Kirkpatrick, and his wife Jane Bayard
''. (New York: privately published, 1870).
Littleton, an attorney and 1815 graduate of
Princeton 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 ni ...
, was a member of a wealthy, prominent New Brunswick family and pursued a career in politics. They did not have any children.Kirkpatrick, Jacob (Rev.) and Hale, George. ''The Kirkpatrick Memorial: Or, Biographical Sketches of Father and Son and a Selection from the Sermons of the Rev. Jacob Kirkpatrick, Jr.'' (Philadelphia: Westcott & Thomson, 1867). During his career, Littleton Kirkpatrick was elected as county surrogate, mayor of New Brunswick, and as a Whig Party member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
during the Twenty-Eighth Congress (1843–1845).United States Congress
"Kirkpatrick, Littleton, (1797–1859)"
in ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–present'' (online edition). Retrieved September 1, 2013.
He served as a trustee of Rutgers College for 18 years from 1841 until his death in 1859.Rutgers College and Raven, John Howard (Rev.) (compiler).
Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of Rutgers College (originally Queen's College) in New Brunswick, N.J., 1766–1916
'. (Trenton, New Jersey: State Gazette Publishing Company, 1916).
Sophia remained in New Brunswick after her husband's death. A devoted member of the city's First Presbyterian Church, she was later described as having "adorned her profession by her Christian graces and her many deeds of charity and beneficence to the needy and suffering." Littleton Kirkpatrick was the son of Jane Bayard and Judge Andrew Kirkpatrick who served as Chief Justice of the
New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...
. He was grandson of Philadelphia merchant and statesman Colonel
John Bayard John Bubenheim Bayard (11 August 1738 – 7 January 1807) was a merchant, soldier, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He achieved the rank of colonel while serving with the Continental Army, and was a delegate for Pennsylvania t ...
(1738–1807) who served as speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, delegate to the Continental Congress, judge, mayor of New Brunswick, and was a Revolutionary War hero. The Kirkpatrick family had a long association with Queen's College and subsequently with Rutgers.
The John Bogart Letters: Forty-two Letters written to John Bogart of Queen’s College now Rutgers College and Five Letters written by him, 1776–1782
'. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College Publications, 1914); citing ''Somerset County Historical Quarterly''. 1(4):250, and ''Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society'', 2nd Series, II:79.
Several members of the family served as trustees or received degrees from the college, including the following: * Littleton's father, Andrew Kirkpatrick (1756–1831), a 1775 graduate of Princeton, taught at the Queen's College Grammar School in 1782, received an honorary Masters (A.M.) from Queen's College in 1783, and served as a trustee from 1782 to 1809. * Littleton's brother, John Bayard Kirkpatrick, Esq. (1795–1864), was an 1815 graduate of Rutgers when it was Queen's College. * Littleton's nephew, Andrew Kirkpatrick (1844–1904), studied at Rutgers from 1860 to 1862 before receiving a bachelor's degree from
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
in 1863. * Another nephew, John Bayard Kirkpatrick, Jr. (1844–1912), received a bachelor's degree in 1866 and later served as college trustee (1892–1912). * John Bayard Kirkpatrick III (1878–1961) received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1900.


Hardenbergh's design and construction

In 1870, the trustees of Rutgers College had decided to build a college chapel when the funds became available to do so.Demarest, William Henry Steele (Rev.). ''History of Rutgers College: 1776–1924''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College, 1924).David Murray (compiler). ''A Memorial of Rev. William Henry Campbell, D.D., LL.D. Late President of Rutgers College''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Trustees of Rutgers College, 1894), 47. Previously, chapel services had been held inside Old Queen's, but as the student body expanded in the 1850s and 1860s a larger space was needed to accommodate such events. With the death of Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick in 1871 and Rutgers receiving $61,054.57 (2013: US$1,174,079.38) from her estate, the trustees directed those funds to the building of a university chapel.McCormick, Richard P. ''Rutgers: a Bicentennial History''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1966). A young architect who had recently completed his apprenticeship and started his own firm,
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh Henry Janeway Hardenbergh (February 6, 1847 – March 13, 1918) was an American architect, best known for his hotels and apartment buildings, and as a "master of a new building form — the skyscraper." Life and career Hardenbergh was born in ...
(1847–1918), was hired by the trustees in 1870 to design an addition to the Rutgers College Grammar School then housed in Alexander Johnston Hall located across from the Queen's Campus on College Avenue. He charged the college $312 for his work.Glovin, Bill. "Castles in the Air" in ''Rutgers Magazine'' (Spring 2006), 35–41. Born and raised in New Brunswick, Hardenbergh received the contract through family connections. His great-great-grandfather, the Rev.
Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (22 February 1735/6 – 30 October 1790) was an American Dutch Reformed clergyman, colonial and state legislator, and educator. Hardenbergh was a founder of Queen's College—now Rutgers, The State University of New J ...
(1735–1790), was Rutgers' first president and one of its founders. Further, several members of his family were graduates, trustees, or otherwise associated with the school through the nineteenth century.Staff
"H. J. Hardenberg, Architect, is Dead"
in ''The New York Times'' (March 14, 1918). Retrieved September 5, 2013.
His grandfather, Rev. Jacob Janeway served as vice president of the college, and turned down the post of president in 1840. Hardenbergh studied for five years as an apprentice draftsman under German-American architect
Detlef Lienau Detlef Lienau (17 February 1818 – 29 August 1887) was a German architect born in Holstein. He is credited with having introduced the French style to American building construction, notably the mansard roof and all its decorative flourishes. Trai ...
. Lienau was also connected with projects in the city of New Brunswick and later designed the Gardner A. Sage Library (1875) on the campus of
New Brunswick Theological Seminary New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a Reformed Christian seminary with its main campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was founded in 1784 and is one of the oldest seminaries in the United States. It is a seminary of the Reformed Church in Ame ...
after Hardenbergh's earlier design for the seminary's Suydam Hall, built in 1873.New Brunswick Theological Seminary
Gardner A. Sage Library
. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
After completing the addition to Alexander Johnston Hall in 1870, Hardenbergh was hired to design a Gothic Revival-style Geological Hall that was erected in 1872 on the south side of Old Queen's; the hall was built with funds Rutgers had received from the federal government in becoming New Jersey's
land grant college A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Signed by Abraha ...
and from the university's first fundraising campaign. The new chapel, designed by Hardenbergh to complement the Geological Hall,Regan, Timothy E. ''New Brunswick''. (Arcadia Publishing, 2003), 41. would be built on
Old Queens Old Queens is the oldest extant building at Rutgers University and is the symbolic heart of the university's campus in New Brunswick in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States. Rutgers, the eighth-oldest college in the United States, wa ...
north side. Kirkpatrick Chapel was the third of three projects that Hardenbergh designed for Rutgers College. Hardenbergh was at the beginning of his career, and later would design several hotels and skyscrapers in American cities, including designing New York City's Plaza Hotel and the Dakota Building on
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
among other Edwardian-period buildings. After his death in 1918, ''Architectural Record'' celebrated Hardenbergh as "one of the most august and inspiring figures that American architecture has produced."Bach, Richard F
"Notes and Comments; Henry Janeway Hardenbergh"
in ''The Architectural Record'', 44(1) (July 1918)
Kirkpatrick Chapel was erected on a hilltop on which Alexander Hamilton, then an artillery captain commanding sixty men of the
New York Provincial Company of Artillery During the American Revolutionary War, the New York Provincial Company of Artillery was created by the New York Provincial Congress in 1776 to defend New York City from British attack. History Revolution The revolutionary government of the pr ...
, was thought to have placed his cannons to cover the retreat of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
's forces after the British occupation of New York. After the British victory in taking Fort Washington in November 1776, Washington's forces retreated across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania. Hamilton's battery protected the forces as they crossed the Raritan River and passed through New Brunswick in 1776. British forces commanded by Lieutenant General
Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
under orders from Lieutenant General
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...
pursued Washington as far as New Brunswick.Barr, Michael C. and Wilkens, Edward. (1973). Retrieved September 5, 2013. A historic marker erected as a gift of the Class of 1899 is located next to the chapel, though a more accurate marker is located near the Rutgers Academic Building. Kirkpatrick Chapel was completed at a cost of $52,204.57 (2013: US$1,003,893.88), and dedicated on December 3, 1873. The chapel, seating 350 people, occupied the front section of the present building. The rear of the building had lecture rooms, the office of the college president, a meeting room for the trustees on the first floor, and a library on the second floor.Lewis, Joseph Volney.
Rutgers College: The Celebration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of Its Founding as Queen's College, 1766-1916
'. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers College, 1917)
In August 1916, workmen began to convert Kirkpatrick Chapel into one large assembly room to be used exclusively as the college's chapel. William P. Hardenbergh, the brother of the architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, donated $10,000 (2013: US$212,800) for this purpose in honour of his ancestor who served as the college's first president. Work proceeded quickly and was completed in two months before the college's planned 150th anniversary celebrations scheduled in October. The inner partitions that separated the chapel from the former library and other rooms were removed. The removal of the partitions expanded the capacity of the chapel from 350 persons to 800. However, current fire codes limit capacity to 650.


As the college chapel (1873–present)

For its first fifty years, Kirkpatrick Chapel was used for daily worship services by the Rutgers College student body. By 1926, the increasing size of the student body had forced Rutgers to stop daily mandatory chapel services and hold services for underclassmen on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and for upperclassman on Tuesday and Thursday. Within a few years, continued growth in the student body reduced that schedule to each class meeting in chapel only one day per week. Sunday chapel services were attended by all students who chose to remain on campus for the weekend. Kirkpatrick Chapel is one of two college chapels on Rutgers' New Brunswick campuses. The other,
Voorhees Chapel The Voorhees Chapel on the University of Jamestown campus in Jamestown, North Dakota was built in 1917. It was designed by architect Barend H. Kroeze in Collegiate Gothic style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...
, was built in 1925 after a donation from Elizabeth Rodman Voorhees to the New Jersey College for Women, later Douglass College, which was later merged into Rutgers. After Rutgers transitioned from a private church-affiliated college to a non-sectarian public university after World War II, the role of the chapel transitioned to less frequent worship services and religious use to providing a venue for the university's special events—including convocations, lectures, programs, and classes. Despite this transition, the chapel still has a place in the continuing traditions of the university. Since 1876, graduating classes would have a stone on the exterior of the chapel carved with their class year. Early classes chose the stone while today, new classes engrave stones that located next to the class that graduated 50 years before. Further, the chapel is frequently booked for weddings, baptisms, memorial services and concerts. The university's 50-member Kirkpatrick Choir, the all-male
Rutgers University Glee Club Rutgers University Glee Club (RUGC) is a nationally recognized men's chorus based at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is currently conducted by Dr. Patrick Gardner. Dr. Patrick Gardner has directed the group since 1994. The Rut ...
, and other musical groups at the university's
Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers. Mason Gross offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Theater, Digi ...
frequently use the chapel for concerts.


As the college library (1873–1903)

According to Demarest, after the building was completed, college president William Henry Campbell was charged with raising $3,000 to acquire reference books for the library.Demarest, William Henry Steele (Rev.). "History of the Library" in ''Journal of the Rutgers University Library'', Volume 1, No. 1 (1937) 1-. An 1876 survey by the U.S. Bureau of Education reported that Rutgers held 6,814 volumes in its college library and 3,800 in libraries of its two student literary societies—the Peithessophian Society and Philoclean Society.Perrone, Fernanda
"Voorhees Hall: Rutgers' First Modern Library"
in ''Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries'', Volume 61 (2005), 1-27.
In 1884, President Merrill Gates appointed a recent alumnus then serving as the college's registrar, treasurer, and faculty secretary—Irving S. Upson (A.B. 1881)—to take on additional responsibilities as librarian. Upson agreed "to devote at least one hour a day to library work, for which he received a stipend of $15 a month, out of which he paid an assistant $2.50 per week. At this time, the library was open daily from 8:00 to 8:40 A.M., noon to 12:30 P.M., and 2:00 to 4:30 P.M." Upson increased the holdings by 21,000 volumes before informing the president and trustees in 1894 that the library was inadequate to house the collection. The trustees feared that the collection posed a fire hazard or would collapse the floor of the second-floor library. By 1903 the library in Kirkpatrick Chapel housed 45,000 books that were "crowded on the shelves, many hid behind others, and piled on the floor" and that the library was fast becoming too small to accommodate. After reading of the college's effort to build a new library in a Reformed Church publication, Ralph Voorhees and his wife Elizabeth Rodman Voorhees contacted president Austin Scott for the library plans and an estimate of construction costs. Voorhees and his wife, whose wealth came as an inheritance from her family's shipping and importing business, donated $59,000 (2013: US$1,552,880) to erect a new library. $5,000 (2013: US$131,600) was added to this total from other donors to furnish the new building. The new library, called Voorhees Hall, was built on land donated by James Nielson behind Kirkpatrick Chapel that began to extend the college campus west. Voorhees Hall was dedicated on November 10, 1903—the 140th anniversary of the signing of the college's charter—and served as the school's main library until the
Archibald S. Alexander Library Archibald S. Alexander Library is the oldest and main university library for Rutgers University–New Brunswick. It houses an extensive humanities and social science collection
opened in 1956. Voorhees, who was fully blind, gave a speech and was awarded an honorary degree at the dedication ceremony.


Notable events

* On May 6, 1881, the second intercollegiate forensic debate was held at Kirkpatrick Chapel between the Peithessophian Society of Rutgers and the
Philomathean Society The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is a collegiate literary society, the oldest student group at the university, and a claimant to the title of the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States.This cl ...
of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
on the topic of whether
voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...
and suffrage should be limited or denied by any requirement other than age. The team from Rutgers won the debate. The first intercollegiate debate took place the night before between societies at
Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...
and Knox College. * In 1957, American poet Robert Frost gave a poetry reading at the chapel, after an invitation by Rutgers English professor and poet
John Ciardi John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
. * In a special ceremony held in the chapel on June 28, 1981, Rutgers belatedly presented to Queen
Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...
a 1941 honorary
Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...
(LL.D.) degree that the university granted to her grandmother, Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
, for her bravery at the onset of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.


Architecture

Kirkpatrick Chapel was designed to complement the Gothic Revival brownstone exterior masonry of Geology Hall which was constructed the year before of New Jersey brownstone after Hardenbergh's earlier proposal for brick was found to be prohibitively expensive and overbudget.Hawes, George W., et al. for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Census Office. "Report on Building stones of the United States and Statistics of the Quarry Industry for 1880" from ''Final Report on the Tenth Census'', Volume 10. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1884), 310. Brownstone is a durable reddish-brown sandstone used for many houses and buildings in New York City and New Jersey, including Old Queen's, Geology Hall, and Kirkpatrick Chapel. Brownstone and similar materials, known as freestone, were popular for constructing stone buildings because the properties of the rock allowed it to be worked freely in every direction instead of having to be cut in one direction along a grain. In his design for the chapel, Hardenbergh attempted a "restrained approach to Gothic architecture" that refrained from the excesses ("fripperies") of typical examples of Victorian Gothic. The facade has a porch with three archways and buttresses described in the ''Architectural Record'' of 1918 as being suggestive of German Gothic. It has
lancet windows A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet ...
and an appearance described in the application for inclusion on the National Register as "similar to an English country church". Internally, the chapel has a nave and aisles with the arcade supported on slender iron columns. The roof is of open timber in black walnut and stained pine. Similarly, the former library that is presently part of the expanded chapel (as of 1916) was "finished with open-timbered roof in the native wood."Doolittle, T. S. “Rutgers College” in Richardson, Charles Francis; and Clark, Henry Alden (editors). ''The College Book''. (Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company; Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1878), 164. Both the iron columns and the walls were painted in delicate tints. The chapel was described by alumnus Michael C. Barr and architecture professor Edward Wilkens as having "a particularly graceful interior of wood" with "light, delicate proportions." Kirkpatrick Chapel was included as part of the Queen's Campus on the
New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office with ...
on January 29, 1973, and 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 ...
on July 2, 1973.


Fittings and furnishings


Organ

Since 1916, Kirkpatrick Chapel's services have been augmented by the force of large pipe organ regarded as one of the "finest classical examples of the instrument anywhere in the state."Spivey Mark
"Kirkpatrick Chapel's historic pipe organ goes silent as electronic replacement signals changing times: Mason Gross Dean: Renovation costing $4-5 million in the works; pipe organ either to be replaced or renovated"
from mycentraljersey.com (a Gannett company) (May 19, 2013). Retrieved September 3, 2013.
In 1916, the daughter of Rutgers alumnus George Buckham (A.B. 1832), donated $10,000 (2013: US$212,800) to the college for a new organ in her father's memory. Her donation coincided with the observance of Rutgers' 150th anniversary that year, and the completion of a renovation to remove the partitions dividing the chapel from the former library and classrooms. Previously, an organ purchased by the class of 1866 was located in the gallery above the chapel's narthex. Built in 1916 as the "Opus 255" by the Ernest M. Skinner & Company of Boston, the organ featured 33 stops, 24 registers, 27 ranks, and 1606 pipes.Organ Historical Society — Aeolian-Skinner Archives
Specifications. Skinner Organ Co. Opus 255 (1916): New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University - Kirkpatrick Chapel
. Retrieved September 3, 2013. Compiled from Skinner, Ernest M. and Kinzey, Allen. ''E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List: According to Company Records with input by others, plus information on Ernest M. Skinner & Son Company'' (Richmond, Virginia: Organ Historical Society, 1997).
According to Rutgers,
Skinner Skinner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Skinner (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with that surname * Skinner (profession), a person who makes a living by working with animal skins or driving mules *Skinner, a rin ...
(1866–1960) who was considered the nation's premier organ-builder in the early twentieth century, gave personal attention to the building of this organ. When the purchase of the organ was being considered in 1916, Rutgers' director of music, Howard D. McKinney (RC 1903), sought the advice of English organist
T. Tertius Noble Thomas Tertius Noble (May 5, 1867 – May 4, 1953) was an English-born organist and composer, who lived in the United States for the latter part of his career. He served as organist and choirmaster at a number of churches including Ely Cath ...
who had been installed as the organist and music director at Saint Thomas Church (Episcopal) on Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street in New York City. When it was dedicated on April 12, 1917, Noble performed an organ recital. During these years, Skinner-built organs were installed in several churches across the United States, including the chapels at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
,
Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
, Oberlin College, for Saint Thomas Church and several for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. In 1931, chimes were added to the Opus 255 organ's ranks and some of the reeds were repaired. The organ's components were releathered in 1957. From 1958 to 1961, the organ was updated and rebuilt by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, the successor to Ernest M. Skinner's company. University organist David A. Drinkwater oversaw the work as the organ—then renamed "Opus 255-C"—expanded to 59 stops, 52 ranks, and 3,059 pipes.Organ Historical Society — Aeolian-Skinner Archives
Specifications. Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co., Inc. Opus 255-C (1958): New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University - Kirkpatrick Chapel
. Retrieved September 3, 2013. Compiled from Skinner, Ernest M. and Kinzey, Allen. ''E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List: According to Company Records with input by others, plus information on Ernest M. Skinner & Son Company'' (Richmond, Virginia: Organ Historical Society, 1997).
As of 2013, the chapel's organ has "gone silent" after several years of problems and failures and has been temporarily replaced with a state-of-the-art electronic organ. Rutgers has not decided whether it will restore the organ or replace it with a new pipe organ as the university considers the possibility of undertaking a larger restoration of the chapel. As of December 2019, a replacement organ, an Appleton Organ from 1840 had been located and purchased with intention of an inauguration concert occurring on November 11, 2019, but was later canceled and is not installed as of December 9 and its location is unknown, but a recital is meant to be held on it February 16, 2020.


Stained glass windows

Among the stained glass windows at Kirkpatrick Chapel are approximately twenty
lancet windows A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet ...
along the chapel's side aisles that were donated by graduating classes at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (1890–1912). These windows depict their class year and phrases in
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. Four of the chapel's windows were designed and crafted in the studios of
Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...
(1848–1933).Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey — Kirkpatrick Chapel
"Stained Glass Windows"
. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
DiIonno, Mark

in ''The Star-Ledger'' (August 8, 2012). Retrieved September 2, 2013.
Tiffany and Hardenbergh were acquainted through their work with the Architectural League of New York. According to the
New Jersey Historic Trust The New Jersey Historic Trust was created by the State of New Jersey in 1967 to preserve New Jersey's historic resources. The Historic Trust's executive director is Dorothy P. Guzzo. Funding programs available through the New Jersey Historic Tr ...
, the windows are "some of the first opalescent and multicolored sheet glass manufactured in America." Opalescent glass, used often in
Tiffany glass Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northrop, an ...
windows, is glass in which more than one colour is present and caused in the manufacture by fusing through two colors being laminated, or through a superficial application of metallic oxide solutions. The four windows from the Tiffany studios include those donated by the college's Class of 1899 and Class of 1900. A window depicting
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
was donated in memory of Rutgers College sophomore Henry Janeway Weston (1877–1898) who committed suicide in 1898. According to Rutgers, this window was a gift of the Tiffany studios. Weston, the grandson of Henry Latimer Janeway (1824–1909)—a wealthy wallpaper manufacturer, Rutgers alumnus (A.B. 1844, A.M. 1847) and long-serving trustee (1862–1909)—killed himself after his family became aware of a romantic relationship with a woman that would have negatively affected his reputation. The large window in the chancel above the altar, titled "Jesus, the Teacher of the Ages", was also designed by Tiffany studios. It was donated by William P. Hardenbergh after the renovation of the chapel in 1916 and dedicated to his great-great-grandfather and the college's first president, the Rev. Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (1735–1790). A large window over 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 ...
(or the entrance of the chapel) and a
choir loft A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
commemorates the signing of charter creating Queen's College in 1766 by New Jersey's last royal governor,
William Franklin William Franklin (22 February 1730 – 17 November 1813) was an American-born attorney, soldier, politician, and colonial administrator. He was the acknowledged illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin. William Franklin was the last colonial G ...
. According to '' Star-Ledger'' columnist Mark DiIonno, the "Charter Window" was donated by Frelinghuysen family to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the signing, and dedicated to their ancestor the Rev.
Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen ( – ) was a Dutch-American Dutch Reformed minister, theologian and the progenitor of the Frelinghuysen family in the United States of America. Frelinghuysen is most remembered for his religious contribution ...
(1692–1747)—an early advocate for establishing the college—and his sons Rev.
Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen II Theodorus Frelinghuysen II (1724–1761) or Theodorus Frelinghuysen, Jr., was a theologian in Albany, New York. He was a member of the Frelinghuysen Family Biography He was the first-born son of Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen and Eva Terhune. He ...
(1724–c.1760) and Rev. John Frelinghuysen (1727–1754). Rev. Frelinghuysen, his sons, and Rev. Hardenbergh were instrumental raising funds and political support for establishing the college. The windows of Kirkpatrick chapel underwent an eleven-year restoration beginning in 2004 with the chapel's clerestory windows under the direction of Michael Padovan and his studio Jersey Art Stained Glass in
Frenchtown, New Jersey Frenchtown is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Frenchtown is located along the banks of the Delaware River on the Hunterdon Plateau thirty two miles northwest of the state capital Trenton. As of the 2010 United States ...
.


Portraits and memorial plaques

An alumnus and local attorney, Edward Sullivan Vail (1819–1889), a graduate from the class of 1839, is listed in University publications as "Collector of Portraits for Kirkpatrick Chapel", after spearheading the effort to collecting over sixty paintings portraying Rutgers presidents, prominent trustees, professors and the chapel's namesake, Sophia Astley Kirkpatrick.Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey — Kirkpatrick Chapel
Portraits in Kirkpatrick
. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
Kirkpatrick, whose portrait was painted by an American artist named G. Bruecke, is the only woman among the collection. The earliest portraits date to the eighteenth century. The walls inside Kirkpatrick Chapel are adorned with memorial plaques recording the names of Rutgers graduates who died in war. In 1966, Richard P. McCormick wrote that the names of 234 men and two women associated with Rutgers who died "in the line of duty" are inscribed in the chapel's Service Book and that a number of "Gold Star scholarships" were established by the Alumni Association as a tribute. This number of alumni killed in action has increased since McCormick's tabulation was published before the conclusion of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
(1961–1975). Several more Rutgers alumni were killed in Vietnam after McCormick's 1966 tabulation, and during recent conflicts in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
(2001–present).4 Iraq casualties are listed in Glovin, Bill. "In Harm's Way" in ''Rutgers Magazine'' (Winter 2007), 30.


References


Notes


Citations


Further reading

* ''Catalogue of Portraits Exhibited in Kirkpatrick Chapel, Old Queen's, Library, Van Nest Hall, Alumni House, Alumnae House, College Hall, Voorhees Chapel, Woodlawn'' (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University, 1937).


External links


Kirkpatrick Chapel
(official website)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick Chapel Rutgers University buildings Henry Janeway Hardenbergh buildings University and college chapels in the United States Churches completed in 1873 19th-century churches in the United States Churches in Middlesex County, New Jersey Gothic Revival church buildings in New Jersey Sandstone buildings in the United States Queens Campus, Rutgers University Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey