Trinity Episcopal Church is an

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

Litchfield, Minnesota Litchfield is a city in and the county seat of Meeker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,624 at the 2020 census. History Immigration to the county was slow until the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad, later cal ...

, United States, built in 1871 in

Carpenter Gothic Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massin ...

style. It has been attributed to the noted New York architect

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-American architect who immigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to popula ...

. It 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 1975 for having local significance in the theme of architecture. It was nominated as a superlative example of Carpenter Gothic design from the mid-19th century.

Description

As originally constructed in 1871, Trinity Episcopal Church consisted of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, plus a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

on the north. Immediately to the east was a freestanding

church hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the church, while on more restricted urban sites ...

used for the parish school. Both buildings were constructed at the same time, along with a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

a block and a half to the west. The gap between the church and hall was later filled in, creating a single structure. The three-story

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

and south transept are also later additions. The building's

board and batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

walls were a signature of Episcopal churches from the 1850s to the 1870s. On the Trinity Episcopal Church, though, the exterior walls are highly embellished with

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity t ...

below a horizontal band at the height of the window sills. Directly below each window is a decorative panel of crossed boards. These elements are not found on the parish hall, indicating it was not designed by the same architect. The church's

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s and door and side-entry bell tower are typical of Carpenter Gothic architecture. The church's original pine furnishings were replaced in the 1950s. However very similar furnishings can be seen in the contemporaneous St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel near

Annandale, Minnesota Annandale ( ) is a city in Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,228 at the 2010 census. Annandale has been dubbed "The Heart of the Lakes" because it has 26 lakes within a 10-mile radius. History Annandale was platte ...

Architect

Historical documents do not record who the architect was for the church building. It is believed to have been designed by prominent architect Richard Upjohn of New York City, famous for his

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 ...

churches. Upjohn had a plausible connection to the project, given that the construction funds were largely donated by Upjohn's famous Trinity Church in Manhattan and he had designed the Brooklyn home of the family after whom Litchfield was named. The building's grace and sophistication indicate that Trinity Episcopal Church was indeed one of Upjohn's last works. Additionally, the original rectory resembles the architect's own home in

Garrison, New York Garrison is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in Putnam County, New York, Putnam County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown, New York, Philipstown, on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the U ...

, though perhaps coincidentally.

Current use

Trinity Episcopal Church is still an active parish in the

Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota 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 ...

. As of 2021, the parish is served by several diocesan priests and a local priest-in-charge. The original rectory a short distance away has since become a private residence.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Buildings and structures in Meeker County, Minnesota Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Minnesota Churches completed in 1871 Episcopal church buildings in Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Meeker County, Minnesota Richard Upjohn church buildings

Description

Architect

Current use

See also

References

External links