St. Thomas's Episcopal Church (New Haven, Connecticut)

St. Thomas's Episcopal Church is a parish church of the Episcopal Church located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1848, the original English Gothic church was completed in 1855 on Elm Street, on the site of a temporary chapel the parish built in 1849. St. Thomas moved to its present site on Whitney Avenue in 1939.

St. Thomas's Episcopal Church
Map
41°19′55″N 72°54′48″W / 41.33194°N 72.91333°W / 41.33194; -72.91333
LocationNew Haven, Connecticut
DenominationEpiscopal Church
Websitewww.stthomasnewhaven.org
History
Founded1848 (1848)
ConsecratedOctober 8, 1939
Administration
DioceseDiocese of Connecticut

History

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On February 24, 1848, a meeting was held by sixteen lay Episcopalians in New Haven, Connecticut, to discuss the opening of a third Episcopal church in the city.[1] The first services were held in a room that belonged to Center Church on April 23, 1848, where they remained until 1849.[2] The rector purchased a lot on Elm Street that year,[3] and began construction of a temporary chapel. Five months later, the first services were held in the chapel on August 12, 1849.[4] The congregation decided that a new, larger church would be built on the site of the existing chapel, and the last services in the chapel were held on March 12, 1854.[5] One month later, the cornerstone of the new church was laid, with Bishop John Williams in attendance. In the meantime, services were held in Brewster Hall.[6] The completed church was consecrated on April 19, 1855.[7] It was constructed in the English Gothic Revival style out of Portland stone.[8] A parish house was not built until 1888. The cornerstone was laid on May 21, and the building was dedicated on February 3, 1889.[9]

In 1923, the rector proposed that the church relocate to another part of New Haven, as since the founding of the church, Elm Street had become entirely commercial.[10] The congregation purchased a lot on Whitney Avenue, between Odgen and Cliff Streets in 1923.[11] There, a new parish house was constructed in 1931.[12] A new church was constructed there, and consecrated on October 8, 1939.[13]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 2
  2. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 23
  3. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 26
  4. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 27
  5. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 32
  6. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 33
  7. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 39
  8. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 43
  9. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 62
  10. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 87
  11. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 88
  12. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 89
  13. ^ Beardsley 1941, p. 98

Sources

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  • Beardsley, William A. (1941). History of St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, New Haven, Connecticut, 1848–1941 (PDF). New Haven, Connecticut: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. OCLC 10610775. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019 – via Project Canterbury.
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