Merryall Union Evangelical Society Chapel

Last updated
Merryall Union Evangelical Society Chapel
NewMilfordCT MerryallChapel.jpg
USA Connecticut location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationChapel Hill Rd., New Milford, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°38′50″N73°25′11″W / 41.64722°N 73.41972°W / 41.64722; -73.41972 Coordinates: 41°38′50″N73°25′11″W / 41.64722°N 73.41972°W / 41.64722; -73.41972
Area0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built1890 (1890)
Built bySoule, Tourney & Co.; Et al.
Architectural styleGothic
NRHP reference # 86001240 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 5, 1986

The Merryall Union Evangelical Society Chapel (also known as Merryall Union Chapel) is a historic church building on Chapel Hill Road in New Milford, Connecticut. Built in 1890, it is the town's best example of Carpenter Gothic architecture. It is used in the summertime for services by visiting ministers of diverse denominations, and hosts weddings and other private functions. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [1]

New Milford, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, 14 miles (23 km) north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River. It is the largest town in the state in terms of land area at nearly 62 square miles (161 km2). The population was 28,142 according to the 2010 census, up from 27,121 at the 2000 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP). The northern portion of the town is part of the region of northwestern Connecticut, and the far eastern portions are part of the Litchfield Hills region.

Carpenter Gothic architectural style

Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters. The abundance of North American timber and the carpenter-built vernacular architectures based upon it made a picturesque improvisation upon Gothic a natural evolution. Carpenter Gothic improvises upon features that were carved in stone in authentic Gothic architecture, whether original or in more scholarly revival styles; however, in the absence of the restraining influence of genuine Gothic structures, the style was freed to improvise and emphasize charm and quaintness rather than fidelity to received models. The genre received its impetus from the publication by Alexander Jackson Davis of Rural Residences and from detailed plans and elevations in publications by Andrew Jackson Downing.

National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

The Merryall Chapel stands in a rural setting about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the center of New Milford, on the west side of Chapel Hill Road. It is a single-story wood frame structure, with a steeply pitched gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. A square tower projects from the center of the street-facing front facade, rising to a pyramidal roof and fleur-du-lis finial. The entrance is in the base of the tower, topped by a lancet-arched panel. Lancet-arch windows line the side walls. The interior is decorated in a Victorian style, with spindle-backed chairs for seating of the congregation, and a raised platform at the rear serves as the altar, furnished with velvet armchairs and couch. [2]

The Merryall Union Evangelical Association was founded in 1884 as a vehicle to provide Sunday School education to children in the area. The present chapel was an outgrowth of that organization, which expanded to offer regular services to local residents, who would otherwise have to make the sometimes difficult journey to the town center for services. Services were typically provided by traveling ministers or ministers from other area churches, and were usually non-denominational. About 1900, care of the building fell to a local sewing club, and services were regularly offered during the summer, bringing in summer residents of the area. A new nonprofit was established in the 1970s to oversee maintenance of the building. [2]

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut.

Related Research Articles

St. Lukes Episcopal Church (Lanesborough, Massachusetts) United States historic place

St. Luke's Episcopal Church is a historic church on United States Route 7 in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. It is an early example of a stone Gothic Revival church, and only one of two surviving 19th century Gothic Revival church buildings in Berkshire County. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is today used primarily for occasional summer services.

First Baptist Church (Stoneham, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The First Baptist Church is a historic church building at 457 Main Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts, housing an evangelical congregation. The church was built in 1892 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is one central Stoneham's three 19th-century churches, and is a fine local example of Queen Anne architecture.

Dovedale Baptist Church, Liverpool Church in Merseyside, England

Dovedale Baptist Church, is in Dovedale Road, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was an active Baptist church until 2018, and the church building is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Gray Memorial United Methodist Church and Parsonage United States historic place

The Gray Memorial United Methodist Church and Parsonage is a historic church complex at 8 Prospect Street in Caribou, Maine. The Gothic Revival wood frame church, built in 1912-14 for a Methodist congregation founded in 1860, is the most architecturally sophisticated church in Caribou. It was built on the lot of the Colonial Revival parsonage house, which was moved to make way for the church. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The current pastor is Rev. Timothy Wilcox.

Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church United States historic place

The Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church is a historic church at 29 Capitol Hill Road in New Sweden, Maine. The congregation was established by Swedish immigrants to the area in 1871, and the Gothic Revival sanctuary was built in 1879-80. In 1896 the church was named in honor of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The church congregation was in 2003 subjected to one of the nation's largest cases of arsenic poisoning, apparently perpetrated by one of its parishioners.

Cousins Island Chapel United States historic place

Cousins Island Chapel is an historic non-denominational chapel at 414 Cousins Street on Cousins Island, an island in Casco Bay off the coast of Yarmouth, Maine. Built in 1894 by local year-round residents, it is the most architecturally notable building on the island, and is representative of a late 19th-century trend of building summer chapels in coastal Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

East Raymond Union Chapel United States historic place

The East Raymond Union Chapel is a historic chapel at 394 Webbs Mills Road in East Raymond, Maine. Built in 1890, it is a modest wood-frame building with Queen Anne and Gothic Revival styling. It has served as a non-denominational religious meeting place for much of its time; it is now affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Casco Village Church in Casco. It has scheduled services during the summer. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Union Church (Naples, Maine) United States historic place

Union Church is a historic church on United States Route 302 in Naples, Maine. Built in 1857, it is an excellent local example of Greek Revival architecture with Gothic features. Built for use by three different church groups, it now serves as a summer church and community hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Union Church (North Harpswell, Maine) United States historic place

Union Church is a historic church on Harpswell Neck Road in North Harpswell, Maine. Built in 1841, it is architecturally a distinctive and well-preserved combination of Greek Revival and Gothic Revival styles. It was used over the years by a variety of religious groups, and is now maintained by the Harpswell Garden Club. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Union Evangelical Church United States historic place

The Union Evangelical Church is a historic church on Ridge Road in Addison, Maine. Built about 1860, it is a well-preserved example of a transitional Greek Revival-Gothic Revival church building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

New Sharon Congregational Church United States historic place

The New Sharon Congregational Church is a historic church at 21 Cape Cod Hill Road in New Sharon, Maine. Built in 1845, this brick structure is an example of Greek Revival architecture, and stands as a focal point of the rural town's center. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.

St. Patricks Catholic Church (Newcastle, Maine) United States historic place

St. Patrick's Catholic Church is a historic church at 380 Academy Hill Road in Newcastle, Maine. Built in 1807, it is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church building in New England. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Winterport Congregational Church United States historic place

Winterport Congregational Church, originally and once again the Winterport Union Meeting House, is a historic church at 177 Main Street in Winterport, Maine. Built in 1831, it is a prominent little-altered example of Gothic Revival architecture, designed and built by Calvin Ryder, a well-known regional architect and builder. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Grafton Congregational Church and Chapel United States historic place

The Grafton Congregational Church, known locally as The Brick Church, is a historic church on Main Street in Grafton, Vermont. Built in 1833, it is a fine local example of vernacular Greek Revival and Gothic Revival religious architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Grafton's current Congregationalist congregation now meets primarily in the "White Church" at 55 Main Street.

Guilford Center Meeting House United States historic place

The Guilford Center Meeting House, formerly the Guilford Center Universalist Church, is a historic building on Guilford Center Road in Guilford, Vermont. Built in 1837, it is a well-preserved example of transitional Greek Revival architecture. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is now owned by the local historical society as a community meeting and event space.

St. Marys-By-The-Sea (Northeast Harbor, Maine) United States historic place

St. Mary's-By-The-Sea is a historic Gothic Revival church at 20 South Shore Road in Northeast Harbor, Maine. One a few known designs of Maine architect Harry Vaughn and built in 1902, it is one of a number of architect-designed summer chapels built around the turn of the 20th century with funding from wealthy summer residents. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Its parish is also responsible for services at Saint Jude's Episcopal Church, another National Register-listed chapel in Seal Harbor.

Gethsemane Lutheran Church Historic structure in Austin, Texas

Gethsemane Lutheran Church is a historic Lutheran church in downtown Austin, Texas. Designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building currently holds offices of the Texas Historical Commission.

Godalming Congregational Church Church in Surrey , United Kingdom

The building formerly known as Godalming Congregational Church was the Congregational chapel serving the ancient town of Godalming,in the English county of Surrey, between 1868 and 1977. It superseded an earlier chapel, which became Godalming's Salvation Army hall, and served a congregation which could trace its origins to the early 18th century. The "imposing suite of buildings", on a major corner site next to the Town Bridge over the River Wey, included a schoolroom and a manse, and the chapel had a landmark spire until just before its closure in 1977. At that time the congregation transferred to the nearby Methodist chapel, which became a joint Methodist and United Reformed church with the name Godalming United Church. The former chapel then became an auction gallery before being converted into a restaurant; then in 2018 the premises were let to the Cotswold Company to be converted into a furniture and home accessories showroom. In 1991 the former chapel was listed at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

Troy Meeting House United States historic place

The Troy Meeting House, also known as the Troy Union Church, is a historic church at 514 Bangor Road in Troy, Maine. Built in 1840, it is a fine example of transitional vernacular Greek Revival-Gothic Revival architecture, and an enduring symbol of the religious life of the community. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Merryal Union Evangelical Society Chapel". National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-02-17.