St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina)

St. Philip's Church is an historic church at 142 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Its National Historic Landmark description states: "Built in 1836 (spire completed in 1850), this stuccoed brick church features an imposing tower designed in the Wren-Gibbs tradition. Three Tuscan pedimented porticoes contribute to this design to make a building of the highest quality and sophistication."[2] On November 7, 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark. [3][4]

St. Philip's Church
St. Philip's Church
St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina) is located in South Carolina
St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina)
St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina) is located in the United States
St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina)
Location142 Church Street, Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates32°46′45″N 79°55′45″W
Built1835-1836, building; steeple, 1848-1850
ArchitectJoseph Hyde, building; Edward Brickell White, steeple
Part ofCharleston Historic District (ID66000964)
NRHP reference No.73001695
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 7, 1973[1]
Designated NHLNovember 7, 1973[2]
Designated NHLDCPOctober 9, 1960

History

Established in 1680, St. Philip's is the oldest European-American religious congregation in South Carolina. The first St. Philip's Church, a wooden building, was built between 1680 and 1681 at the corner of Broad and Meeting streets on the present day site of St. Michael's Episcopal Church. It was damaged in a hurricane in 1710 and a new St. Phillip's Church was begun a few blocks away on Church Street. After being delayed it was finished in 1723. It burned to the ground in 1835.[5] Work on the present church was begun that same year and completed the next. The steeple was added between 1848 and 1850.[6][7]

A prominent early rector of St. Philip's was Rev. Thomas Frost, a fellow of Caius College, Cambridge,[8] who became rector of St. Philip's in 1785.[9] Leading the church in the post-Revolutionary War period, he had to create a new role after Anglicanism was disestablished in the United States. Rev. Frost died in 1804 at 46 years of age.[10] Rev. Thomas Downes Frost, son of the first rector Frost, was chosen as assistant minister of St. Philip's on March 12, 1815.[11] The second Rev. Frost died an early death at age 26 in 1819.

Henrietta Johnston, the wife of another early rector, Gideon Johnston, became the first recorded female artist in the American colonies. Mary Roberts, the first female American miniaturist, was connected to the church and buried here in 1761, as recorded in the register.[12]

The tower of St. Philip's served for many years as the rear tower of a set of range lighthouses serving to guide mariners into Charleston's harbor; the front tower of the range was located on Fort Sumter.[13] The light was used from 1893 to 1915.[14] The use was restored temporarily in 1921 when the normal light needed repairs.[15]

The church was the site of a convention on November 17, 2012, which sought to legitimize the disassociation of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina from The Episcopal Church, and to amend the diocesan constitution and canons to remove all references to the Episcopal Church.[16] As a result, the title to the building was disputed between the Anglican Diocese and the Episcopal Diocese.

On 17 August 2022, the South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the property rights of six parishes, including St. Philip's Church, of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, who will be able to keep them because of this decision.[17]

  • The Alexander Christie House (ca. 1805) has served as the rectory of church since 1908
    The Alexander Christie House (ca. 1805) has served as the rectory of church since 1908
  • The building's steeple is adorned with clocks
    The building's steeple is adorned with clocks
  • The interior of the church
    The interior of the church
  • A photograph showing a view of the West Graveyard of St. Philip's Church
    The West Graveyard of St. Philip's Church

Notable burials

Notable burials in the church graveyard include:

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "St. Philip's Church". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  3. "SCDAH". www.nationalregister.sc.gov.
  4. Tray Stephenson and Bernard Kearse (April 23, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: St. Philip's Church" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying two photos, exterior, from 1960 (32 KB)
  5. "Destructive Fire and Conflagration of St. Philip's Church". The Southern Patriot. Charleston, South Carolina. February 16, 1835. p. 2.
  6. "Welcome to St. Michael's Church - St. Michaels Church - Downtown Charleston, SC - Anglican". St. Michaels Church - Downtown Charleston, SC - Anglican. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
  7. "St. Philip's Church history". Archived from the original on May 19, 2006.
  8. "Frost, Thomas (FRST775T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  9. Hemphill, James Calvin (1908). Men of Mark in South Carolina: Ideals of American Life: a Collection of Biographies of Leading Men of the State. Men of Mark Publishing Company. p. 157 – via Internet Archive. charleston south carolina st. philips church frost.
  10. Frost, Thomas Gold; Frost, Edward Lysander (June 16, 2017). "Frost Family in England and America, with Special Reference to Edmund Frost and Some of His Descendants". Russell Print. Company – via Google Books.
  11. Dexter, Franklin Bowditch (1912). Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College: With Annals of the College History. Holt. p. 571 – via Internet Archive. charleston south carolina st. philips church frost.
  12. Saunders, Richard H. and Ellen G. Miles. American Colonial Portraits · 1700-1776. Washington, D.C.; Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987. pp. 94-97, p. 163
  13. "St. Philip's to Keep the Light". Evening Post. Charleston, South Carolina. July 25, 1910. p. 7.
  14. "St. Philip's Light to Be Abolished". Evening Post. Charleston, South Carolina. May 27, 1915. p. 7.
  15. "Steeple Light Shines Again". Evening Post. Charleston, South Carolina. February 2, 1921. p. 9.
  16. "Special Convention Approves Canonical and Constitutional Amendments Regarding Disassociation" Archived 2012-12-01 at the Wayback Machine (November 17, 2012). Diocese of South Carolina.
  17. "SC Supreme Court Approves Petition for Rehearing Sought by Six Parishes of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina". /virtueonline.org. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  18. "Captain John Christie Historical Marker".

Further reading
  • Edward McCrady (1901), An historic church, the Westminster Abbey of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C: Walker, Evans & Cogswell Co., printers, OL 25400019M
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