Trinity Episcopal Church is a historic church in Mobile,

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. It was the first large

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 ...

church built in Alabama. The building was designed by architects Frank Wills and Henry Dudley.

History

Trinity Episcopal Church was established in 1845, as the second

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 ...

congregation in Mobile. Christ Church Cathedral was the first. The cornerstone for the building was placed on April 8, 1853. A yellow fever outbreak swept through the city in that year and the church's register shows that the rector conducted 49 funerals in September 1853. This appears to have delayed construction, but the building was finally completed in 1857. It was located at the corner of St. Anthony and Jackson Streets until it was moved to Dauphin Street in 1945.

Hurricane Frederic Hurricane Frederic, known in Latin America as Federico, was an intense and damaging tropical cyclone that carved a path of destruction from the Lesser Antilles to Quebec, in particular devastating areas of the United States Gulf Coast. Though ...

damaged the building in 1979. It removed a portion of the roofing, broke windows, and damaged the spire. All of this damage was repaired, with steel reinforcement added to the rebuilt spire. 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 1990. It was nominated for

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

designation, but did not obtain this status due to the building having been moved. The church building was renovated in 2010. On Christmas Day 2012 it suffered major damage from an

EF2 Elongation factors are a set of proteins that function at the ribosome, during protein synthesis, to facilitate translational elongation from the formation of the first to the last peptide bond of a growing polypeptide. Most common elongation ...

tornado that took a path through the city. The main sanctuary lost over a third of its roof, the front gable-end wall of the parish hall collapsed, and other structural damage was caused by the storm.

Architecture

Trinity Episcopal Church is Gothic Revival, in a

Middle Pointed English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

style inspired by 14th century

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

architecture. The church is built in brick and is an aisled

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 ...

structure with a monumental bell tower. This church served to inspire the rector of the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

to hire Frank Wills to design a sanctuary for his congregation. The designs for both churches are very similar. and

References

External links

* {{NRHP in Mobile, Alabama Churches completed in 1857 Towers completed in 1857 National Register of Historic Places in Mobile, Alabama Churches in Mobile, Alabama Episcopal church buildings in Alabama Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Gothic Revival church buildings in Alabama Towers in Alabama Bell towers in the United States Religious organizations established in 1845 1845 establishments in the United States 19th-century Episcopal church buildings