St. Michael's Church is an 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 States ...

church in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

. Built in 1714, it is New England's oldest Episcopal church building on its original site. It is currently 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 ...

. The building was listed on 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 ...

in 1973.

Description and history

St. Michael's is set on a property that primarily faces Summer Street to the south, even though its address is on Pleasant Street to the north. The church building was constructed in 1714, originally as a parish church of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and twenty-nine of the original thirty-three donors were sea captains. The

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organisation (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Pa ...

provided the church with its first rector. The original square church had a similar architectural style in layout and roof design to the Nieuwe Kerk Church (Haarlem) in the Netherlands. The church was expanded in 1728. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

in 1776 a mob of patriots raided the church and removed the British royal coat of arms from the building. Many of St. Michael's members were Loyalists who fled to Canada during the Revolution. In 1793 the original spire on the bell tower was taken down due to 'being rotten.' The building was renovated in 1833 with Gothic windows, new pews and with the altar, a pulpit and original reredos at the north end. Stained glass windows by Redding & Baird were installed in the Gothic windows in 1888. The windows over the south entrance were added later. The church building was added to the

in 1973.Historica churches of America
by Nellie Urner Wallington (Duffield, 1907) In the 1980s, residing activity uncovered some of the original window configuration, and archaeological activity was done in its crypt area to study 18th-century burial practices. In August 2014 a spire was added back to the bell tower as part of the church's 300th anniversary celebration. File:Stmichaels1714.jpg, Church as it appeared with original roof style and steeple File:AshleyBowen sketch st michaels.jpg, St. Michael's Church sketch from 1763 by Ashley Bowen showing original steeple File:Marblehead stmichaels.jpg, St. Michael's Church in 1818 showing original window arrangement File:St Michaels steeple.jpg, St. Michael's Church after Steeple restoration in 2014

References

External links

Official Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michael's Church, Marblehead, Massachusetts Episcopal church buildings in Massachusetts Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Churches completed in 1714 Religious organizations established in the 1710s Churches in Essex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Marblehead, Massachusetts 18th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts 1714 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay

Description and history

See also

References

External links