St. James Episcopal Church (Batavia, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. James Episcopal Church |
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South elevation of bell tower, 2009
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Episcopal Church |
| Leadership | The Rev. Bonnie F. Morris |
| Year consecrated | 1908 |
| Location | |
| Location | Batavia, NY, USA |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Robert North |
| Architectural style | Neo-Gothic |
| Completed | 1908 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | South |
| Materials | Stone |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | September 24, 2004 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 04001062 |
| Website | |
| St. James Episcopal Church | |
St. James Episcopal Church is a beautiful stone church located on East Main Street in Batavia, USA. It was built in the early 1900s in a style called Neo-Gothic. This style looks like old European churches but uses some newer building ideas.
The church was designed by Robert North, who used to be a choirboy there. He traveled to England to get ideas for the design. A kind woman who helped pay for the church wanted it to feel like the "quiet spirit of the English countryside." Robert North also used new materials like reinforced concrete and cast stone in his design.
This is the third building for the St. James church community, which started over 100 years before this building was even built! In 2004, the church building, its rectory (the pastor's house), and a stone wall were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites. The church has also worked hard to raise money to fix up its old bell tower.
Contents
Exploring the Church Grounds
The church sits on a large piece of land, about 2.8 acres, on the north side of East Main Street. It's located just east of downtown Batavia. Nearby are older houses, other businesses, and even a baseball field. The Richmond Memorial Library, another historic building, is also close by. The church property is on a small hill, which makes it stand out.
There are three main buildings on the property. The church itself is in the middle. To its northeast, you'll find the rectory, where the pastor lives. There's also a smaller storage building. A stone wall with steps in the middle faces East Main Street, creating a nice front lawn. All the buildings, except for the storage building, are considered important parts of the historic listing.
The Church Building
The church building has three main parts. The biggest part, where the main worship area (called the sanctuary) is, is a rectangular stone structure. It's made of sandstone and has a steep roof covered in blue and gray slate. The most noticeable part is the tall, square bell tower at the front (south side).
Along the sides of the church, you'll see stone supports called buttresses. All the arched doors and stained glass windows have smooth stone frames. The large windows on the north and south have fancy stone designs called mullions, which are typical of Decorated Gothic style. Smaller windows are higher up in the walls, in an area called the clerestory.
At the bottom of the bell tower is the main wooden entrance. Above it is a large window. Higher up, the tower has vents with copper covers and an empty space for a statue. A carved Celtic cross reaches up to the roofline.
On the west side of the church is the office area. This part looks like a Tudor Revival house, with stone on the bottom and half-timbered walls on the top. It has a decorative roof and many-paned windows. A newer section, made of concrete block, extends from the north, used for education.
Inside the Church
When you enter the church through the tower, you step into a high-arched space called the narthex. A glass screen separates this area from the main seating area, called the nave. The white marble baptismal font is in the middle aisle. The floor is made of terra cotta tiles. The walls are made of stone and plaster that looks like stone. Dark stained oak panels and matching pews give the inside a warm feel.
On the west side, an aisle leads to a small altar and a special cupboard called an aumbry. Behind it is where the organ is located. On the east side, a wooden screen separates a small chapel.
At the north end of the church is the chancel, a special area for the altar and clergy. A stone wall with brass gates separates it from the nave. A white marble pulpit (for sermons) and a lectern with brass eagle motif (for reading) stand on either side of the steps. In the center is the white marble altar. Behind it is a carved wooden screen called a reredos with three spaces. The middle space has a statue of Christ blessing, and the smaller spaces on either side have figures of St. James and St. John. On both sides of the chancel are choir stalls, where the choir sits.
The office wing inside is simpler, with plain walls and wooden doors. The education wing has painted concrete block walls. The fellowship hall has a large ceiling with laminated Tudor arched trusses.
Other Buildings: Rectory and Storage
The rectory is a two-story house built in the same Tudor Revival style as the church's office wing. It has a garage attached to its north side. Its walls are made of stucco with wooden beams, and it has many windows. The storage building is a simple wooden building with a sloped roof. It has a large rolling door on its south side, protected by a deep roof overhang.
A Look Back in Time
The St. James church community started in 1815. This was very early in Batavia's history, even before it became a village. For many years, the church used two different buildings on Ellicott Street, but those buildings are no longer standing.
The money for the current church was given by Adelaide Richmond Kenny. She was the daughter of Dean Richmond, a local railroad leader. She gave money for many good causes in Batavia, including the Batavia Hospital.
In the early 1900s, she gave Robert North, the architect, money to travel to the United Kingdom. She told him to "design a church in the quiet spirit of the English countryside." He received the official job offer just three days after she passed away.
Robert North had studied architecture at Cornell. His trip to England helped him see the types of churches that were considered perfect examples of architecture. These old English country churches had inspired many Gothic Revival architects before him. Other architects of his time, like Ralph Adams Cram, were also designing churches based on these old models. They believed the Gothic style could be made even better. Their churches, which focused on clear design and usefulness, were called Neo-Gothic.
North's church was a very good example of this Neo-Gothic style. It looks like medieval churches with its simple decoration and buttresses on the outside. The inside also seems to follow old medieval ideas at first. However, the high arch in the lower part of the tower, which makes the nave feel longer, was a new idea for the time. North also used new building materials like strong reinforced concrete for the floor and cast stone for the window designs. He went on to design 65 more churches in Western New York using a similar style.
The rectory was built in 1929. In 1953, the education wing was added to the north side of the office wing. Inside the sanctuary, the altar has been moved away from the north wall. This change was made to fit modern worship practices. Other than these changes, the church building and grounds have mostly stayed the same since they were built.
As the church's 100th birthday approached, it faced some challenges. The costs of keeping the old building in good shape were very high. Also, the church's money faced challenges, making it harder to pay for repairs. Utility bills were very expensive. The church even wondered if it could continue to use the building. However, under a new leader, Stephen Metcalfe, who started in 2010, the church has been working to raise money to fix up the aging bell tower.
See also
