St. James Chapel (Hyde Park, New York) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. James Chapel
North elevation and west profile, 2008
Religion
Affiliation	Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Leadership	The Rev. Chuck Kramer
Year consecrated	1856
Status	chapel
Location
Location	Hyde Park, New York, US
Architecture
Architectural type	School building, chapel
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Carpenter Gothic
Completed	1832 (school), 1856 (chapel)
Specifications
Direction of façade	west
Materials	wood
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Added to NRHP	August 19, 1993
NRHP Reference no.	93000848
Website
St. James' Church Hyde Park

St. James' Chapel is a special building in Hyde Park, New York, USA. It is located on East Market Street, not far from US 9. This chapel is part of the St. James Episcopal Church, whose main church building is about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) north.

Even though it looks like one building today, it's actually two different buildings joined together. They were built about 25 years apart. The older part is a school building, designed in the Greek Revival style. It is the oldest building still standing that belongs to the church. This part was later used as the town's library and is still called the Reading Room.

The other part is the chapel. It was built in the Carpenter Gothic style, which has some influences from Swedish architecture. For about 100 years, this chapel was used for church services during the cold winter months. In 1993, both buildings together were added to the National Register of Historic Places. They are known as the Bard Infant School and St. James Chapel.

Exploring the Chapel's Design

The St. James Chapel building is quite unique. It combines two different architectural styles. Let's take a closer look at each part.

The School Building

The school building was built first. It sticks out towards the street, just southeast of the post office. This part is a single-story, rectangular building. It is made of wood and covered with clapboard siding. The roof is sloped (called a gabled roof) and covered with asphalt shingles. There's a stone chimney on the east side.

Around the roof, there's a decorative trim called a cornice with small tooth-like blocks (dentils). The front of the building has a projecting section with a triangular top (a pediment). This forms a small porch (a portico) supported by four square pillars. In the center of the pediment, there's a round-arched opening with louvers. A small addition with a sloped roof is on the east side.

The Chapel Section

The chapel is attached to the south side of the school building. It is also a single-story wooden building. However, unlike the school, it is covered with board-and-batten siding. This means wide boards are placed vertically, with thin strips (battens) covering the gaps. It also has decorative scalloped patterns every 2.4 meters (8 feet).

The chapel's roof is very steeply sloped and covered with asphalt shingles. It has a decorative edge board (rakeboard) on the east side. At the west end, above the main entrance, there's an open belfry with a pointed steeple. This is where the bell would be.

On the east side of the chapel, there's a beautiful stained glass window. It has three pointed Gothic arches and a three-leaf design (a trefoil) at the top of the arch. A small roof-like cover (window hood) protects it. The chapel also has a basement entrance on its south side, covered by a small sloped roof.

Inside the Buildings

Both the chapel and the school building still have many of their original features and decorations inside. The chapel has fancy carved designs (tracery) that separate the main seating area (the nave) from the altar area (the sanctuary). In the school's main room, there's a stone fireplace and mantelpiece. These were built in the Arts and Crafts style, which was popular for its handcrafted look.

A Look Back: History of St. James Chapel

Early Beginnings

The St. James church community officially started in 1811. It was founded by Samuel Bard, whose father, John Bard, was an early settler and landowner in the area. The new church built its first building on the current site soon after, near where Bard and other early settlers were buried.

The School's Construction

In 1832, the church's pastor, Samuel Roosevelt Johnson, had the school building constructed on his property. This was the very first school built in Hyde Park. The Greek Revival style was popular in the Hudson Valley at that time. The school originally had Doric columns on its front, which made the small building look more important. The next year, Pastor Johnson retired and gave the school and the land to the church. It then became known as the Bard Infant School, named after the church's founder.

Changes and New Uses

By 1839, the main church building was found to have serious problems. It was taken down, and a new church building, similar in look, was built in its place in 1844. Around this time, the school building started to be used for more than just teaching. It became a public library where people could borrow books. Because of this, it became known throughout Hyde Park as the Reading Room.

Building the Chapel

Construction on the chapel began in 1856. We don't know who the architect was, but its design is similar to patterns found in a book by a famous architect named Richard Upjohn. The chapel was used for daily church services. It was also used for Sunday services during the winter because it could be heated, while the main church could not at that time.

Updates and Renovations

In 1869, a new school was built on nearby Albertson Street. This meant the original school building could continue to be used only as a library. In the early 1900s, the building was updated. The original round columns were replaced with the square ones you see today. In 1913, the stone fireplace and chimney were added in the popular Arts and Crafts style.

Modern Times

The main church finally got heating in 1955. This meant the chapel was no longer needed for winter services. However, it continued to host early Sunday morning services until 1998. That year, a big project began to fix up and restore the building. No major changes were made to either the school or the chapel during this restoration.