Trinity Church on the Green facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Trinity Church on the Green
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U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property |
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| Location | 230 Temple Street, New Haven, Connecticut |
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| Built | 1814-1816 |
| Architect | Ithiel Town |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Part of | New Haven Green Historic District (ID70000838) |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1970 |
Trinity Church on the Green, also known as Trinity on the Green, is a historic church in New Haven, Connecticut. It is an Episcopal Church parish, part of the Anglican Communion. It stands as one of three important churches on the New Haven Green.
This famous building was designed by Ithiel Town in 1813. It was built between 1814 and 1815 and officially opened in 1816. People at the time called its style "Gothick." It was the first church in North America built completely in the Gothic style. This happened more than 20 years before the Gothic Revival style became popular in England.
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What Makes Trinity Church Special?
Trinity Church is famous for its old and unique design. Its outside walls are made from a local stone called New Haven trap rock. This stone is red, brown, and orange, and its color changes with the light and when it's wet.
Inside, the church has burgundy walls and dark green ceilings. The wooden pews have doors that close. There are also shiny gold arches and organ pipes. The church has eight stained glass windows on its north and south sides. Four of these are beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows. There is also a special nine-petal Trinity Rose Window at the back of the church. This window was added in 1884.
The church also has a stone reredos (a screen behind the altar) from 1912. It features statues carved by Lee Lawrie. These statues show a mix of old Gothic and early Art Deco styles. In 2009, a columbarium (a place for urns of ashes) was added inside the church.
Trinity Church, along with the two other churches on the Green, is part of the New Haven Green Historic District. This area was named a National Historic Landmark District in 1970.
Music and Community at Trinity
Trinity Church calls itself "a historic church in the heart of a city." It is well-known for its music. The church has a Choir of Men and Boys, started in 1885. This choir has performed at the White House and toured in England. There is also a Choir of Men and Girls and an adult choir. All choirs are joined by a large Aeolian-Skinner organ. Trinity also has a drama group called the Trinity Players. They perform plays and special sermon dramas.
Trinity Parish also runs the Chapel on the Green. This is an "outdoor church" that offers services and lunch for people experiencing homelessness. They meet every Sunday, no matter the weather. Their drumming circle can be heard from blocks away. The church spends almost a quarter of its money on local community programs.
Trinity on the Green is also a cultural hub. It often hosts concerts, plays, and events for Yale University, Hopkins School, and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.
A Look at Trinity Church's History
Trinity Episcopal Church was started in November 1723. It was founded by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson. He had recently become an Anglican and was a missionary priest. He had just returned from England. In January 1724, he began baptizing people in the parish. For many years, the church was supported by missionaries from England. After the Revolutionary War, it became a self-funded church around 1780.
Connecticut was founded as a Congregationalist church colony in 1638. There was only one Anglican parish in Stratford, Connecticut, which started in 1707. Dr. Johnson wanted to use New Haven as a base to encourage Yale students to become Episcopal priests. He was very successful. Trinity Church was the last of 25 churches he personally founded. His followers built 18 more churches in Connecticut by 1772. For many years, services were held in private homes.
The First Wooden Church (1752-1753)
In 1728, people promised money to build a church. But the town opposed it for over 20 years. Finally, in 1752, the church got permission to build. A wooden church was built between 1752 and 1753. This was a big deal because it took nearly 30 years to get the permission. The second church, made of stone, was built in 1814-1816. That is the building still used today.
Trinity's first church was built from July 1752 to summer 1753. It was on Chapel Street, near what is now Church Street (named after the church). It was considered the first church in town. The Congregational places of worship were called meetinghouses. The first church was small, measuring 58 by 38 feet, and could seat only 150 people.
The town's Puritans did not want the church built. So, workers had to be brought in from outside New Haven. To show its connection to the British Empire, a gold crown was placed on top of the steeple. This was the only steeple in town, as Puritan meetinghouses did not have them. The crown quietly disappeared during the American Revolution.
In 1785, Trinity got a pipe organ from London. This was another item not found in Puritan churches. In 1807, the top of the steeple was changed to a cupola. The church was also made bigger for a choir.
The small wooden altar from the first church is still used today. It is in the north side chapel of the current building. In the old wooden church, it was next to two Gothic arch-shaped tablets. These tablets listed the Ten Commandments. They are now in Trinity's entrance area.
The Second Stone Church (1814–1816)
By the early 1800s, the first church was too small for the growing number of members. In 1810, plans for a new church began. A spot on the south side of the town Green was chosen in 1812. It was a sign of growing tolerance that an Anglican church was allowed on the Green with the established Congregationalist churches.
Ithiel Town was chosen as the architect in 1813. His design for Trinity Church came before St Luke's Church, Chelsea, which is often called the first Gothic-revival church in London. In 1814, the church advertised for builders. They wanted a church built in the "Gothic stile" using local "Common rock stone" (New Haven Trap Rock). Money was raised by selling five-year pew leases. This helped fund the church's programs. The special numbered box pews with doors in the nave show this early way of raising money.
The cornerstone for the new building was laid on May 17, 1814. The United States was fighting the War of 1812 with Great Britain. The church had to get permission from British Commander Hardy to bring its large wooden roof beams down the Connecticut River. Commander Hardy reportedly said, "If there is any place on earth that needs religion, it is this New Haven. Let the rafts go through!"
The Gothic design was chosen to make Trinity different from the two Congregationalist churches on the Green. Those churches were built in the more common Federalist style. The Gothic design also showed its connection to the Anglican tradition. A Yale historian called it "the first attempt at Gothic in church building in New England."
Work on the church finished in 1815. It was officially opened on February 21, 1816. About 3,000 people attended the ceremonies, even though the building could only seat 1,400. Ithiel Town wrote that the Gothic style was chosen because it was "more appropriate, and better suited to the solemn purposes of religious worship." The Rev. Harry Croswell believed the church's beautiful design helped the parish grow.
Original Gothic Building Details
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The reddish stone on Trinity's outside came from Eli Whitney's East Rock Quarry in Hamden, Connecticut. This stone is called "trap rock" or diabase. It has natural faces that show different shades of brown and rust. When wet, the colors look very deep and rich. This gives the church a feeling of strength and age.
Diabase is a dark, strong volcanic rock. Its iron content turns rusty orange-brown when exposed to air. This gives Trinity Church its special reddish look with hints of orange and brown. Artists say the church changes color with the time of day, season, and weather. About 50,000 cubic feet of stone were used to build the walls. They are five feet thick at the bottom and three feet thick at the top.
The original church was 103 feet long and 74 feet wide. The stone and wood tower at the front was 25 feet square and stuck out, making the total length 115.5 feet. The tower was 100 feet tall to its roof. It had four corner spires, each 30 feet tall. There were also four other spires, 20 feet high. The church had five windows on each side, and one on each back corner. All 12 windows were 26 feet high. The large altar window at the back had five tall, narrow windows topped by a big round Rose Window. This window had 1400 panes of glass and was the largest of its kind in the United States at the time.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy, New York, looks a lot like Trinity Church. It was built using Ithiel Town's design for Trinity. The main difference is the stone. Trinity uses dark red trap rock from Hamden, Connecticut. St. Paul's uses blue-gray limestone from Amsterdam, New York. St. Paul's was started in 1826 and finished in 1828. Some people think St. Paul's shows what Trinity originally looked like better. This is because Trinity's wooden tower top was replaced with stone in 1871. Also, Trinity added a chancel in 1884 and two exit towers in the 1960s.
Changes Over Time: 19th Century
Trinity Church's inside was greatly changed between 1846 and 1849. The ceiling was redesigned, and wooden columns were replaced with stone ones. Henry Austin, a New Haven architect, led these changes. He was influenced by his studies of Gothic architecture. Gaslights were added in 1849.
In 1871, the wooden top of Ithiel Town's tower was replaced with stone. The wooden decorations along the roof were also removed because they were rotting. Stained glass windows were added from 1871 to 1915. These replaced the original clear diamond-shaped panes. Some of these new windows were designed by Tiffany Studios. From 1893 to 1915, a copper roof was added to the stone tower.
In 1884, a chancel (a special area near the altar) was added at the back of the church. This area was raised five steps from the main floor. In 1893, a brass, tile, and marble pulpit was added. In 1895, a beautiful marble high altar with kneeling angels was given to the church. In December 1886, ten bells were installed in the entry tower.
Changes Over Time: 20th Century
In 1906, the church had structural problems because the galleries were used so much. Steel columns with limestone surrounds replaced the original wooden columns in the nave. A steel frame was put in to support the gallery and roof. A new organ was installed. This work meant removing the old ceiling. New gilt plaster arches were added to the nave ceiling, making it look like a grand Gothic cathedral.
On March 24, 1912, a new limestone reredos was dedicated in the chancel. It has statues of Jesus, Mary, and other religious figures. Lee Lawrie, a famous Yale sculpture teacher, carved the 17 statues. The lower statues are in the High Gothic style. The six tall, winged angels above are early Art Deco. This reredos shows how styles changed from Gothic to modern.
In the late 1920s, two more stained glass windows were added. These were made by D’Asenzo Studios and looked like French Gothic windows from Chartres Cathedral. They replaced more of the older windows.
Trinity parish built a parish house three blocks from the church. It was finished in 1925. It had a mix of Tudor and Ivy League Gothic styles to fit in with Yale buildings. It had apartments, a gym, kitchen, dining room, offices, and an auditorium. In 1980, it was sold to Yale University and is now Yale's Whitney Humanities Center.
In 1930, the pyramid roof on the tower was removed. In 1961-1962, two-story wings were added on both sides of the chancel. These were for fire exits and to make communion easier. They used trap rock from an old house being torn down. Also, an "undercroft" (a basement area) was dug out. This created a choir room, kitchen, and classrooms. This allowed Sunday School and other events to be held at the church.
The church's organ was replaced in 1935 with the current one. It was built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. This organ is considered one of the best examples of American organ building from that time. It has 78 ranks, 66 stops, and 4,648 pipes. It is played from a 3-manual console. Trinity's organ is special because it has not been changed much. It still uses its original technology, keeping an important link to the history of American organ-building.
Trinity Church is limited in how much it can expand. This is because it was built on the New Haven Green. In 1961 and 1962, during "The Big Dig," the church was made much larger. They dug out under the church floor to create an undercroft with choir rooms, classrooms, and a meeting hall. Two-story towers were also added for exits. Two more bells were added to the tower in 1957.
Changes Over Time: 21st Century
In 2002, a new stained glass window called Trinity's History and Vision was installed. It was designed by Val Sigstedt. It shows the church's nearly 300-year history in nine medallions. In 2003, a display cabinet called "The Croswell" was built in the entrance. A columbarium was dedicated in 2010. Also in 2010, an accessible elevator and a side entry porch were added. The undercroft was updated. All these recent projects were designed to match the Gothic style of the building.
Important People Connected to Trinity Church
Trinity Church has had many important people involved in its history. Here are a few:
- Henry Austin (1804–1891): A famous American architect who learned from Ithiel Town. He designed many buildings in different styles, including the Egyptian Revival style gateway of Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. He was known as the "Father of Architects."
- Walter Chauncey Camp (1859–1925): Known as the "Father of American Football." He was married at Trinity Church in 1888.
- James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851): A famous American novelist. He likely attended Trinity Church when he was a student at Yale from 1802 to 1805.
- Abel Buell (1742–1822): A silversmith, engraver, and inventor. He is known for making the first map of the new United States created and printed by an American in 1784.
- Amos Doolittle (1754–1832): A copper engraver, silversmith, and mapmaker. He is called "The Paul Revere of Connecticut." He fought in the Revolutionary War and engraved famous pictures of the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
- Isaac Doolittle (1721–1800): New Haven's first "Ingenious Mechanic." He built the first printing press in America in 1769. He was a founding member of Trinity Church and helped build the first wooden church. He also built gunpowder mills during the Revolutionary War.
- Lee Oscar Lawrie (1877–1963): One of the United States' top architectural sculptors. He carved the 17 statues in the 1912 reredos at Trinity Church.
- Ithiel Town (1784–1844): The architect who designed the 1815 Trinity Church building. He was a very important and influential American architect.
Images for kids
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The Rev. Samuel Johnson
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First Wooden Trinity Church 1752-3
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The Rev. Dr. Harry Croswell
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Trinity Church around 1865, showing its original look
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St. Paul's Troy, New York, 2009
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Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, between 1900 and 1915
