Christ Church is a historic church located at Melendy Hill Road and

US Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Conn ...

Guilford, Vermont Guilford is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford. The population was 2,120 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a to ...

, United States. Built in 1817 and later given

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

styling, it was the first

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 States ...

Church in Vermont. On May 13, 1982, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It is now owned by the

Episcopal Diocese of Vermont The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the state of Vermont. It was the first diocese in the Episcopal Church to elect a woman, Mary Adelia Rosamond McLeod, as diocesan bishop. ...

and maintained by a local nonprofit organization.

Description and history

Christ Church is set on a rise just south of Guilford's village center, overlooking Broad Brook and the junction of Melendy Hill Road and

United States Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Conn ...

. It is a single-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and a brick foundation. Its front facade is dominated by a projecting square tower, which rises in two stages. The tall lower stage has the main entrance, which is framed by pilasters and topped by a semi-oval fanlight window, at the base, and windows topped by half-round fans above, and is topped by a cornice and parapet with pinnacles at the corners. The smaller second stage houses the belfry, with rounded louver openings on each face, and is crowned by a similar parapet and pinnacles. The parapet and pinnacle detail is repeated across the rest of the main facade's cornice line. The church was built in 1817 with local materials, and was originally a copy of an Episcopal church located in

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is the county seat, and sole city, of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Commun ...

, which is no longer standing. The bronze bell was installed in 1830. In 1837 the building was given the overlay of Gothic Revival details it exhibits today. At that time the original raised pulpit was lowered to the dais, for which for of the original

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s were removed. The church congregation was first part of the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bisho ...

until the

was created in 1832. It suffered a steady decline in size, reflecting that of the town itself. Christ Church ceased to be an active parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont before the 1900s, but has never been deconsecrated and is still used occasionally for Episcopal church services.St. Michael's Episcopal Church , history.
/ref> It has been restored and is now maintained by the Christ Church Guilford Society which uses it primarily as a venue for musical and other cultural events as well as weddings and civil unions.

References

External links

*
History of nearby St. Michael's Church, Brattleboro, which touches on Christ Church

{{NRHP in Windham County, Vermont Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Episcopal churches in Vermont Buildings and structures in Guilford, Vermont Churches in Windham County, Vermont Churches completed in 1817 Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Vermont 19th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Windham County, Vermont

Description and history

See also

References

External links