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St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Beacon, New York)
Encyclopedia
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located in Beacon
, New York, United States. The church complex of four buildings and a cemetery
takes up a 12 acres (4.9 ha) parcel between Wolcott (NY 9D
), Rector, Phillips and Union Streets. It was founded in 1832 as a religious school that soon became St. Anna's Church of Fishkill Landing.
The church and rectory were built in 1869 from a design by Frederick Clarke Withers
, who later on considered the former one of his best buildings. The Gothic Revival-styled
building strongly reflects contemporary Ecclesiological
theories of appropriate church architecture. Despite some modifications and restoration, the buildings and grounds have remained largely as they were when first built. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2008 as "St. Luke's Episcopal Church Complex".
, on the corner of Wolcott and Rector. A Parish House was added near the end of the 19th century. It was added to, and a garage built, in the mid-20th. The church buildings and cemetery were laid out by Henry Winthrop Sargent
.
building faced in Schenectady
bluestone
in an ashlar
pattern with Ohio sandstone
trim. It is over a hundred feet (30 m) in length and 60 feet (20 m) wide. Two porch
es extend from the south profile, a main entrance in the middle of the nave
and a secondary one in the transept
. There is another porch, pent-roofed, on the north transept. An organ and robing room is attached to the north side of the chancel.
The gable
d roof is covered in a variety of materials, mostly cement
-asbestos
shingles
, with some areas of slate
and metal. A frame
bell cote topped with cast iron
cross
rises from the west end. The roofline is further pierced by a stone chimney
on the north transept and several English Decorated Gothic stone crosses at junctions on the east end. All windows are either lancet
or round-arch
ed, with some having additional trefoil
s. The stained glass
was done by Louis Comfort Tiffany
's firm and the British glaziers Bell & Almond. Above the main entrance is a bronze
lamp with a stone medallion of a bull, the symbol of St. Luke.
The interior walls are plaster
applied over an interior brick face, with vertical beadboard and molded
chair rail complemented by a similar cornice
at the joint between the walls and ceiling. The slip pews are made of oak
with tre- and quatrefoil
carvings at the ends. The floors in the center and side aisle
s are laid in a polychrome
glass pattern, with carpet covering the area under the pews. There is a brass
dedication plaque
on the west wall.
Open stained pine
truss
es spring from corbel
s along the walls frame the ceiling. They are complemented by sandstone at the arches between the building sections and surrounding the windows and doors. The nave is lit by hanging lamps. In the chancel the bishop's throne, sedilia
, prayer desk and stalls are all oak like the pews. The font
is of Aubigny
stone on a sandstone shaft.
Below the church is its basement. It remains largely unfinished, as it was when the church was built, and unused.
was part of Withers' original design, and built along with the church. It is a likewise asymmetrical two-and-a-half-story structure of bluestone walls with brick trim, rebuilt to its original plan after a fire
. The south-facing front features a gable and tower; the east elevation has a double gable. The west elevation has a single gabled dormer window with half-timbering. The roof is shingled in asphalt
.
Inside, the house's decor reflects later Victorian stylings, due to the era in which it was rebuilt. The walls are plaster on lath
; the floorboards are thin oak. The woodwork
, particularly the mantel
s, use Eastlake decorative motifs. In the hallway next to the main staircase is the church's safe
. The basement is, like the church's, unfinished.
within it retains a cast-iron decorative plate from the rectory at the church's earlier location in downtown Beacon. Due to the additions, it is not considered a contributing property
to the church's overall historic character.
The only other building on the property is the garage
. It is a modern structure made of concrete blocks, and is also a non-contributing resource.
. Two notable examples are a brownstone
marker with a crocket
ed pinnacle
whose date and decedent cannot be determined, and the Neoclassical
monument of Isaac Van Nostrand, with a base, plinth
and fluted
Roman Doric
column.
and fellow English immigrant
Calvert Vaux
prior to the former's death had further strengthened his appreciation for the Picturesque mode of the Gothic Revival
Withers' design strongly reflects Downing's ideals of church design, of a building that harmonizes with the surrounding natural landscape. Several features, such as the broad nave, full transept, deep chancel, large south porch and frame bell cote, are exactly as prescribed by Ecclesiological writers. He involved himself in many of the church's minor details, even designing the altar cloth
himself. In his 1873 book Church Architecture, he devoted a great deal of text and an illustration to St. Luke's, suggesting he was very proud of how it turned out.
The Rectory likewise reflects Withers' less conservative visions of domestic architecture on a smaller scale than his usual work, with its irregular and asymmetrical roofline and alternation of brick and stone. Its original tower, destroyed and not rebuilt after a later fire, enhanced its Gothic qualities with a steeply pitched
roof.
Sargent's landscape was one of the rare times he and Withers worked together on a property. Its most notable Picturesque feature is the irregular placement of its trees apart from those that border the path from the church and the streets surrounding the plot.
Fishkill
's Trinity Church had been the only Episcopal house of worship in southeastern Dutchess County
. It was not easily accessible to residents of the hamlets of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing, today's Beacon. So, in 1832, three local sisters began offering religious instruction to children at their house, today's Madam Brett Homestead
. Their parents and other adults met in a dry goods
store, and by the end of the year the group had reached the size where it could form a parish
of its own. In 1833 it formally incorporated
as St. Anna's
, and the next year built a small brick church with columned portico at what is now the intersection of Main Street and Tioronda Avenue on donated land.
In the following decades, Tioronda became the railroad's right-of-way, making it a less desirable location. The church became neglected in turn. So the congregation decided in 1863 to build a new church elsewhere. One congregant, Charles Wolcott, gave six acres next to the church's then-cemetery. In 1866 he added the adjacent land of equal size then used as a cemetery by a local Presbyterian church.
The deed
stipulated that a religious edifice of at least $20,000 in value ($ inflation adjusted 1866 value) had to be built on the property within three years of its conveyance
to the church. To raise the money, the church sold both its old church and rectory.
Withers, who had already built the Reformed Dutch Church of Fishkill Landing in the future city and the Eustatia
home of John Monell, one of St. Anna's vestrymen
, was easily recruited to design the new church and rectory due to his devout Episcopalianism and relationships with members of the church. Sargent was, at the time of St. Luke's construction, also a vestryman.
Ground was broken in 1868, and the church officially became St. Luke's Church of Matteawan and the first service was held the following year. The other buildings included the rectory and a small frame schoolhouse where the Parish House now stands. The total construction cost came to $60,000 ($ in 2008 dollars). This debt took a while to retire, and as a result the church was not formally consecrated
until 1879.
In 1887, fire
severely damaged the rectory. The outside was salvaged, but the interior had to be rebuilt. The original floor plan was recreated, but some more contemporary decor was added.
Five years later, in 1892, the church decided to demolish the original schoolhouse and replace it with the Parish House. The building was supposed to be cross-shaped, but that design could not be completed as there was not enough money to complete its construction. The addition of the Great Hall in the 1950s finally completed the original design. During that period, the church building itself also got a new heating system, carpet for the floor under the pews, and the current roof tiles.
and choir
. It also hosts a local Alcoholics Anonymous
chapter, and is a charter sponsor of a local Boy Scout
troop
. The church also has strong ties to The Children's Villa, a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Amistad, Bolivia.
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
, New York, United States. The church complex of four buildings and a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
takes up a 12 acres (4.9 ha) parcel between Wolcott (NY 9D
New York State Route 9D
New York State Route 9D , also known as the Bear Mountain – Beacon Highway, is a north–south state highway that runs along the eastern shore of the Hudson River in New York in the United States. It starts at the eastern end of the Bear Mountain Bridge at U.S...
), Rector, Phillips and Union Streets. It was founded in 1832 as a religious school that soon became St. Anna's Church of Fishkill Landing.
The church and rectory were built in 1869 from a design by Frederick Clarke Withers
Frederick Clarke Withers
Frederick Clarke Withers was an successful English architect in America, especially renowned for his Gothic Revival church designs.-Biography:...
, who later on considered the former one of his best buildings. The Gothic Revival-styled
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
building strongly reflects contemporary Ecclesiological
Cambridge Camden Society
The Cambridge Camden Society, later known as the Ecclesiological Society from 1845 when it moved to London, was a learned architectural society founded in 1839 by undergraduates at Cambridge University to promote "the study of Gothic Architecture, and of Ecclesiastical Antiques." Its activities...
theories of appropriate church architecture. Despite some modifications and restoration, the buildings and grounds have remained largely as they were when first built. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2008 as "St. Luke's Episcopal Church Complex".
Church complex
Withers' original design included the church and its rectoryRectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
, on the corner of Wolcott and Rector. A Parish House was added near the end of the 19th century. It was added to, and a garage built, in the mid-20th. The church buildings and cemetery were laid out by Henry Winthrop Sargent
Henry Winthrop Sargent
Henry Winthrop Sargent , American horticulturist and landscape gardener.-Biography:He was born in Boston, the first child of Hannah Sargent and artist Henry Sargent...
.
Church
St. Luke's is a one-and-half-story asymmetrical cruciformCruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
building faced in Schenectady
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
in an ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
pattern with Ohio sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
trim. It is over a hundred feet (30 m) in length and 60 feet (20 m) wide. Two porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
es extend from the south profile, a main entrance in the middle of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and a secondary one in the transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
. There is another porch, pent-roofed, on the north transept. An organ and robing room is attached to the north side of the chancel.
The gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof is covered in a variety of materials, mostly cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
-asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
shingles
Roof shingle
Roof shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat rectangular shapes laid in rows from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive higher row overlapping the joints in the row below...
, with some areas of slate
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. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and metal. A frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
bell cote topped with cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
rises from the west end. The roofline is further pierced by a stone chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
on the north transept and several English Decorated Gothic stone crosses at junctions on the east end. All windows are either lancet
Lancet window
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 motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
or round-arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
ed, with some having additional trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
s. The stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
was done by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany 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 Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
's firm and the British glaziers Bell & Almond. Above the main entrance is a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
lamp with a stone medallion of a bull, the symbol of St. Luke.
The interior walls are plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
applied over an interior brick face, with vertical beadboard and molded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
chair rail complemented by a similar cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
at the joint between the walls and ceiling. The slip pews are made of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
with tre- and quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
carvings at the ends. The floors in the center and side aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s are laid in a polychrome
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
glass pattern, with carpet covering the area under the pews. There is a brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
dedication plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
on the west wall.
Open stained pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es spring from corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s along the walls frame the ceiling. They are complemented by sandstone at the arches between the building sections and surrounding the windows and doors. The nave is lit by hanging lamps. In the chancel the bishop's throne, sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
, prayer desk and stalls are all oak like the pews. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is of Aubigny
Aubigny
Aubigny may refer to several communes in France:*Aubigny, Allier*Aubigny, Calvados*Aubigny, Deux-Sèvres*Aubigny, Somme*Aubigny, Vendée*Aubigny-au-Bac, Nord*Aubigny-aux-Kaisnes, Aisne*Aubigny-en-Artois, Pas-de-Calais*Aubigny-en-Laonnois, Aisne...
stone on a sandstone shaft.
Below the church is its basement. It remains largely unfinished, as it was when the church was built, and unused.
Rectory
The rectoryRectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
was part of Withers' original design, and built along with the church. It is a likewise asymmetrical two-and-a-half-story structure of bluestone walls with brick trim, rebuilt to its original plan after a fire
Structure fire
A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various residential buildings ranging from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments and tower blocks, or various commercial buildings ranging from offices to shopping malls...
. The south-facing front features a gable and tower; the east elevation has a double gable. The west elevation has a single gabled dormer window with half-timbering. The roof is shingled in asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
.
Inside, the house's decor reflects later Victorian stylings, due to the era in which it was rebuilt. The walls are plaster on lath
Lath and plaster
Lath and plaster is a building process used mainly for interior walls in Canada and the United States until the late 1950s. After the 1950s, drywall began to replace the lath and plaster process in the United States. In the United Kingdom, lath and plaster was used for some interior partition...
; the floorboards are thin oak. The woodwork
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
, particularly the mantel
Mantel
Mantel is a municipality in the district of Neustadt in Bavaria in Germany....
s, use Eastlake decorative motifs. In the hallway next to the main staircase is the church's safe
Safe
A safe is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or damage. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face removable or hinged to form a door. The body and door may be cast from metal or formed out of plastic through blow molding...
. The basement is, like the church's, unfinished.
Other outbuildings
The Parish House on Rector Street is a Romanesque Revival building with a large modern frame addition. A fireplaceFireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
within it retains a cast-iron decorative plate from the rectory at the church's earlier location in downtown Beacon. Due to the additions, it is not considered a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the church's overall historic character.
The only other building on the property is the garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
. It is a modern structure made of concrete blocks, and is also a non-contributing resource.
Cemetery and landscaping
While it is level at the southeast corner where the church buildings are, the grounds become gently undulating to the north. Sargent planted specimen trees along the edges, many of which survive. They mostly follow an irregular pattern, except for those that border a path to the church's north porch. The gravestones date from the mid-19th century to the present and include a variety of styles of funerary artFunerary art
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. Tomb is a general term for the repository, while grave goods are objects—other than the primary human remains—which have been placed inside...
. Two notable examples are a brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
marker with a crocket
Crocket
A crocket is a hook-shaped decorative element common in Gothic architecture. It is in the form of a stylised carving of curled leaves, buds or flowers which is used at regular intervals to decorate the sloping edges of spires, finials, pinnacles, and wimpergs....
ed pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
whose date and decedent cannot be determined, and the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
monument of Isaac Van Nostrand, with a base, plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
and fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
Roman Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
column.
Aesthetics
Sargent and Withers were both devout Episcopalians, and followers of the contemporary Ecclesiological movement in church design that advocated the Gothic Revival style of rural English parish churches, similar to the work of A.W. Pugin, as the best form for an Anglican or Episcopal church. Withers, already having been exposed to this in his native England, had professed his allegiance to Ecclesiological principles in an 1858 essay, "A Few Hints on Church Building". His brief work with Andrew Jackson DowningAndrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing was an American landscape designer, horticulturalist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival style in the United States, and editor of The Horticulturist magazine...
and fellow English immigrant
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux , was an architect and landscape designer. He is best remembered as the co-designer , of New York's Central Park....
prior to the former's death had further strengthened his appreciation for the Picturesque mode of the Gothic Revival
Withers' design strongly reflects Downing's ideals of church design, of a building that harmonizes with the surrounding natural landscape. Several features, such as the broad nave, full transept, deep chancel, large south porch and frame bell cote, are exactly as prescribed by Ecclesiological writers. He involved himself in many of the church's minor details, even designing the altar cloth
Altar cloth
An ' is used by various religious groups to cover an altar. Christianity, ancient Judaism, and Buddhism are among the world religions that use altar cloths....
himself. In his 1873 book Church Architecture, he devoted a great deal of text and an illustration to St. Luke's, suggesting he was very proud of how it turned out.
The Rectory likewise reflects Withers' less conservative visions of domestic architecture on a smaller scale than his usual work, with its irregular and asymmetrical roofline and alternation of brick and stone. Its original tower, destroyed and not rebuilt after a later fire, enhanced its Gothic qualities with a steeply pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
roof.
Sargent's landscape was one of the rare times he and Withers worked together on a property. Its most notable Picturesque feature is the irregular placement of its trees apart from those that border the path from the church and the streets surrounding the plot.
History
Since before the RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
Fishkill
Fishkill, New York
Fishkill is an upscale village within the much larger town, Town of Fishkill, one of the fastest growing towns in the region, in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The village population was 1,735 at the 2000 census...
's Trinity Church had been the only Episcopal house of worship in southeastern Dutchess County
Dutchess County, New York
Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...
. It was not easily accessible to residents of the hamlets of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing, today's Beacon. So, in 1832, three local sisters began offering religious instruction to children at their house, today's Madam Brett Homestead
Madam Brett Homestead
The Madame Brett Homestead is an early 18th-century home located in the city of Beacon, New York, USA. It is the oldest standing building in its part of Dutchess County and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1976.-History:...
. Their parents and other adults met in a dry goods
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
store, and by the end of the year the group had reached the size where it could form a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of its own. In 1833 it formally incorporated
Incorporation
Incorporation may refer to:* Incorporation , the creation of a corporation* Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county...
as St. Anna's
Saint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
, and the next year built a small brick church with columned portico at what is now the intersection of Main Street and Tioronda Avenue on donated land.
In the following decades, Tioronda became the railroad's right-of-way, making it a less desirable location. The church became neglected in turn. So the congregation decided in 1863 to build a new church elsewhere. One congregant, Charles Wolcott, gave six acres next to the church's then-cemetery. In 1866 he added the adjacent land of equal size then used as a cemetery by a local Presbyterian church.
The deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
stipulated that a religious edifice of at least $20,000 in value ($ inflation adjusted 1866 value) had to be built on the property within three years of its conveyance
Conveyancing
In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien....
to the church. To raise the money, the church sold both its old church and rectory.
Withers, who had already built the Reformed Dutch Church of Fishkill Landing in the future city and the Eustatia
Eustatia
Eustatia is a brick house overlooking the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, USA. Located on Monell Place in the northwestern corner of the city, it is a rare survival in Beacon of a cottage in the Victorian Gothic style....
home of John Monell, one of St. Anna's vestrymen
Vestryman
A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body. He is not a member of the clergy.In England especially, but also in other parts of The United Kingdom, Parish Councils have long been a level of local government rather than being solely ecclesiastical in nature...
, was easily recruited to design the new church and rectory due to his devout Episcopalianism and relationships with members of the church. Sargent was, at the time of St. Luke's construction, also a vestryman.
Ground was broken in 1868, and the church officially became St. Luke's Church of Matteawan and the first service was held the following year. The other buildings included the rectory and a small frame schoolhouse where the Parish House now stands. The total construction cost came to $60,000 ($ in 2008 dollars). This debt took a while to retire, and as a result the church was not formally consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
until 1879.
In 1887, fire
Structure fire
A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various residential buildings ranging from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments and tower blocks, or various commercial buildings ranging from offices to shopping malls...
severely damaged the rectory. The outside was salvaged, but the interior had to be rebuilt. The original floor plan was recreated, but some more contemporary decor was added.
Five years later, in 1892, the church decided to demolish the original schoolhouse and replace it with the Parish House. The building was supposed to be cross-shaped, but that design could not be completed as there was not enough money to complete its construction. The addition of the Great Hall in the 1950s finally completed the original design. During that period, the church building itself also got a new heating system, carpet for the floor under the pews, and the current roof tiles.
The church today
Per its roots, St. Luke's maintains an active youth ministryYouth ministry
Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as Youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry and is the way in which a faith group, or other religious organization involves and engages with the young people who attend its place of worship, or live in its community...
and choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. It also hosts a local Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
chapter, and is a charter sponsor of a local Boy Scout
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
troop
Scout troop
The Scout troop is a unit of Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts that usually meet weekly. Girl Guides often use Unit or Company instead. The troop is the fundamental unit, which a Scout joins and via which he or she participates in Scouting activities, such as camping, backpacking, and...
. The church also has strong ties to The Children's Villa, a home for orphaned and abandoned children in Amistad, Bolivia.