Architecture

Architecture

Listed on both the National and New Jersey registers of historic places, the building for Christ Church was originally constructed in 1743 on land leased to the church by Philip French of New Brunswick. Mr. French’s “lease” was tantamount to a donation, however, as the lease term was for 2000 years and the “rent” was one peppercorn per year. The church received a charter from King George III in 1761. The church was located, as it remains today, between Church and Paterson Streets, with the building’s five-sided apse backing onto Neilson Street. Historic Sanborn insurance maps of the area and a “birds-eye” view of New Brunswick showing the approximate location of the church can be viewed here.

Christ Church in 1942

Christ Church as it Originally Appeared

The church building was the first in New Brunswick to adopt a longitudinal plan rather than the meeting house plan used by other Protestant denominations. The original building was 55 feet wide, 45 feet deep, and 20 feet high. Eighteenth century plans of the interior can be viewed here. A steeple, consisting of a tower and spire, was added in 1773. The steeple design was based on that of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. At the time it was constructed, the steeple was the highest point in town. Unfortunately, it seems that the original construction of the steeple was not altogether sound as the congregation began taking subscriptions for steeple repair in 1786! Following the first repair job, the steeple was struck by lighting in 1803 and it burned to the ground. It was rebuilt the same year through new subscriptions, and the tower portion of the steeple (as opposed to the spire) still stands. David James of Newark, New Jersey was the architect and master builder for the rebuilt steeple. The original building had a Georgian gambrel roof, one of the first in the area. The edifice was made of field stone with quarry stone used for the corner quoins. The original architect, designer, and builders of the church are unknown.

In 1812, the Dutch Reformed Church was built one block away from Christ Church. Possibly in response to this “competition,” Christ Church was completely remodeled in 1814. This resulted in, among other things, total rearrangement of the church interior, including the pews. Subscriptions were required for this rearrangement. The congregation’s satisfaction with the remodeling did not last long, however. In 1851, it was decided that a new building was needed and the church hired the New York architectural firm of Wills and Dudley as architects. Of the two architects, Frank Wills (1819-1857) was the most influential. He was a well known church architect, most noted for his Gothic Revival structures. As far as is known, the nave of Christ Church and a similar structure in Nashville, Tennessee are the only buildings of note designed and built during his brief partnership with Henry Dudley. Wills was also the architect and designer for both the House of Prayer and Christ Church in Newark, New Jersey.

Plan for Church Pews: 1813

Wills and Dudley's Plan for the Nave

With regard to Christ Church in New Brunswick, the congregation insisted on retaining the 1803 steeple, so only the nave was torn down and rebuilt. The architects were able to use the old stone to blend the old steeple and new nave into a one coherent structure. The new building was the first example of Gothic Revival architecture in New Brunswick and was based on the designs of Christ Church and Old Swede’s Church in Philadelphia. The most remarkable aspect of the new design was the five-sided apse, which was added to the nave’s east end. The new nave was constructed of regularly sized sandstone blocks, many of which were reused from the original edifice. The new nave was built by John Hall of Newark. A floor plan and a cross section of the newly designed nave, both drawn by Wills and Dudley, can be viewed here.

The choir house for the church was built in approximately 1874 using a combination of Italianate and Gothic Revival motifs. A parish house, designed by George Persell in a Romanesque Revival style, was added to the church grounds in 1897. In 1923, the choir house and the church were connected by a one-story cloister, which matches the church rather than the choir house in its construction and materials. In 1927, the spire again burned down and was replaced to match the original. There are several blueprints indicating proposals to remodel the church in the late 1940s and 1950s by the architectural firm of York & Sawyer, among others, but these changes apparently never took place.

York & Sawyer Blueprint for Proposed Renovations

The Christ Church Steeple Today

Today, Christ Church looks much as it did in the 1850s after the nave was rebuilt. Although later additions have incorporated disparate architectural styles, the old church and its outbuildings are united by the historic tower and steeple, which highlight this terrific example of classical and Gothic architecture.

Here is a 3-D "virtual reality" model of the Church, which lets you spin it around and see the design from various angles. Click on the image. Depending on your browser, you may well need a plugin for VRML; a free viewer is available from Parallel Graphics at http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona.