St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey

St. Mary's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal parish in Burlington, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. The original church was built in 1703. It was supplemented with a new church on adjacent land in 1854. On May 31, 1972, the new church was added to the National Register of Historic Places and on June 24, 1986, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. It is within the Burlington Historic District.

New St. Mary's Episcopal Church
New St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey is located in Burlington County, New Jersey
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey is located in New Jersey
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey is located in the United States
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey
Location145 West Broad Street
Burlington, New Jersey
Coordinates40°4′37″N 74°51′43″W
Area6.2 acres (2.5 ha)
Built1846-1854
ArchitectRichard Upjohn et al.
Architectural styleGothic Revival
Part ofBurlington Historic District (ID75001124)
NRHP reference No.72000770[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 31, 1972
Designated NHLJune 24, 1986[2]
Designated CPMarch 13, 1975

Old church

In 1695 settlers acquired land for a cemetery at West Broad and Wood streets. In 1702 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts sent Anglican missionaries from England to New Jersey. One of them, John Talbot, became rector of St. Mary's Church (built in 1703) in 1705.[3][4] It is the first and oldest Episcopal congregation in New Jersey.

As the congregation grew, parishioners decided to build a new, larger church. They commissioned Richard Upjohn to design it. In 1846, construction began on adjoining land at 145 West Broad Street. It was consecrated in 1854.

New church

New St. Mary's Church was constructed between 1846 and 1854. It is one of the earliest attempts in the United States to "follow a specific English medieval church model for which measured drawings existed." This Gothic Revival-style church was designed by Richard Upjohn, who modeled it after St. John's Church in Shottesbrooke, England. It helped to firmly establish Upjohn as a practitioner of Gothic design.[1][5] It is a massive brownstone church with a long nave. The crossing is topped by a tall stone spire that has eight bells cast in England in 1865 by Thomas Mears II at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.[6] It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Fire

In 1976 while renovations were being done to the church a mistake made by one of the workers led to a fire which caused extreme roof and interior damage.[7] The fire was discovered in the early AM hours of April 15, 1976, Holy Thursday. Eventually, a general alarm fire was declared bringing hundreds of firemen from Burlington City, Burlington Township, Beverly-Edgewater Park, and Willingboro in New Jersey as well as Bristol across the bridge in Pennsylvania.[8]

  • Old St. Mary's Church
    Old St. Mary's Church
  • New St. Mary's Church
    New St. Mary's Church
  • Church in Shottesbrooke
    Church in Shottesbrooke

Notable burials

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "New St. Mary's Episcopal Church". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012.
  3. James Thayer Addison, The Episcopal Church in the United States 1789-1931, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1951, p. 47
  4. Robert Wm. Duncan, Jr., "A Study of the Ministry of John Talbot in New Jersey, 1702-1727: On "Great Ripeness" Much Dedication, and Regrettable Failure", Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Sept. 1973), pp. 233-256
  5. Churches of England
  6. Intensive Level Architectural Survey, McCabe & Associates, 2002
  7. "St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington". NJ Historic Trust. State of New Jersey. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  8. "Fire in Burlington destroys historic St. Mary's Church". Courier-Post. April 15, 1976. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  9. New Jersey Governor Joseph Bloomfield Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, National Governors Association. Accessed August 21, 2007.
  10. Elias Boudinot, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 21, 2007.
  11. George Washington Doane Archived 2008-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, Saint Mary's Episcopal Churchyard. Accessed August 21, 2007.
  12. E. Burd Grubb Archived 2008-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, St. Mary's Churchyard. Accessed August 21, 2007.
  13. James Kinsey, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 21, 2007.
  14. Joseph McIlvaine, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 21, 2007.
  15. William Milnor, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 15, 2007.
  16. Cox, Stephen (2004). The Woman and the Dynamo: Isabel Paterson and the Idea of America. New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7658-0241-5.
  17. John Howard Pugh, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 15, 2007.
  18. Garret Dorset Wall, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 15, 2007.
  19. James Walter Wall, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 15, 2007.
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