St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (St. Stephen, South Carolina)

Last updated

St. Stephens Episcopal Church
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Berkeley County, South Carolina).jpg
1978 HABS photo
USA South Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location196 Brick Church Circle, St. Stephen, SC
Coordinates 33°24′19″N79°55′00″W / 33.4054°N 79.9166°W / 33.4054; -79.9166
Area4.6 acres (1.9 ha)
Built1767
Architect Francis Villepontoux; Et al.
Architectural style Georgian [1]
NRHP reference No. 70000570 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 15, 1970 [2]
Designated NHLApril 15, 1970 [1]

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a historic church located at 196 Brick Church Circle in St. Stephen, South Carolina. Built in the 1760s, it is one of a handful of surviving 18th-century brick parish churches in the state, with a number of architectural features not found on any other of the period. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. [1] [3] [4]

Contents

Description and history

St. Stephen's Church is located on the east side of St. Stephen, on the south side of Church Road (South Carolina Highway 45). It is set on a parcel of about 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) that includes the churchyard and cemetery, and is surrounded on three sides by Brick Church Circle. The church is a single-story brick structure, 46 feet (14 m) long and 36 feet (11 m) wide. It is topped by a gambrel roof with curvilinear roof sections and Jacobean gable ends. There are three entrances, two on the long sides and one on the short western side. The doors and windows are set in round-arch openings with fanlight windows above, and the bays on each side are articulated by Doric brick pilasters. The interior is divided roughly into four sections by two crossing aisles, with the pulpit located at the eastern end, in front of a small Palladian window. The ceiling is of ornamented metal. The building's walls are stabilized by iron rods (placed after an 1886 earthquake), that run down and across the interior of the structure. [3] it is built in Georgian style. [1] | added = April 15, 1970 [2]

The St. Stephen's parish was set off from the parish of St. James, Santee in 1754. This church was built between 1767 and 1769, replacing an earlier wood frame structure. It is one of South Carolina's well-preserved small brick country parish churches, its unique features including the gambrel roof and pilastered exterior, and the interior ceiling. It was built and designed by Francis Villepontoux and A. Howard who provided the bricks. William Axson was the master mason. There were no regular services in the church between 1808 and 1932, but the building was not neglected. Needed repairs were done twice during the 19th century. [5]

Current use

St. Stephen's is still an active church in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. [6] The Rev. Jeffrey Richardson is the current rector. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanover House (Clemson)</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Hanover House is a colonial house built by a French Huguenot family in 1714–1716, on the upper Cooper River in present-day Berkeley County of the South Carolina Low Country. The house is also known as the St. Julien-Ravenel House after its early owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Holy Cross (Stateburg, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

The Church of the Holy Cross is a historic Anglican church at 335 North Kings Highway in Stateburg, South Carolina. Built in 1850-52 to a design by noted South Carolina architect Edward C. Jones, it is a notable example of rammed earth construction with relatively high style Gothic Revival styling. It was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethesda Presbyterian Church (Camden, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Bethesda Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 502 DeKalb Street in Camden, South Carolina. A National Historic Landmark, the main church building was built in 1822 and is one of few surviving churches designed by 19th-century American architect Robert Mills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James Episcopal Church (Santee, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

St. James Church, Santee, also known as St. James Episcopal Church, Santee, is a historic church located in a remote portion of Francis Marion National Forest in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. Built in 1768, it is a remarkably sophisticated expression of fashionable Georgian architecture in a remote area, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 for its architectural significance. It is located on the west side of the Old Georgetown Road, several miles north of South Carolina Highway 46 and McClellanville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James Church (Goose Creek, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

St. James' Church, Goose Creek, also known as the Goose Creek Church, is an Episcopal church at 100 Vestry Lane in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Built in the 1710s, it is one of South Carolina's oldest surviving buildings, and one of a small number of surviving early Georgian chapels in the nation. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pompion Hill Chapel</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

PompionHill Chapel is small "back parish" church near Huger, South Carolina. Built in 1763, it is a virtually unaltered example of a brick Georgian parish church, retaining interior and exterior finishes. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Michael's Anglican Church (Charleston, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

St. Michael's AnglicanChurch is a historic church and the oldest surviving religious structure in Charleston, South Carolina. It is located at Broad and Meeting streets on one of the Four Corners of Law, and represents ecclesiastical law. It was built in the 1750s by order of the South Carolina Assembly. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

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, 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." On November 7, 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeocomico Church</span> Historic church in Virginia, United States

Yeocomico Church is a historic Episcopal church in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The original wooden structure was built in 1655, but replaced in 1706 by a structure built of locally fired bricks. It is now the main church of historic Cople parish, which also includes the older Nomini Church, and St. James Church in Tidwells, Virginia The parish hall is in Hague, Virginia. Yeocomico Church, the fourth oldest in the state, was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church (Greenville, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Christ Church (Episcopal) is an Episcopal church in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. which was consecrated in 1854. The church and its courtyard are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Christ Church (Episcopal) and Churchyard. It is the oldest organized religious body and the oldest church building remaining in Greenville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince George Winyah Parish Church</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Prince George Winyah Parish Church is an Anglican church in Georgetown, South Carolina. Prince George Winyah is one of the oldest continuous congregations in South Carolina, and the church building is one of the oldest churches in continuous service in South Carolina. Prince George Winyah (Anglican) and Churchyard was named to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Ridgeway, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal church building located northeast of Ridgeway, South Carolina, on County Road 106. Built of wood in 1854 in the Carpenter Gothic style, it was designed by the Rev. John Dewitt McCollough, who later became its rector. The exterior was painted a maroon color. In 1920, its exterior wood was covered by brick veneer, so that it appears today as a brick Gothic Revival style building on the outside while the interior retains its Carpenter Gothic features. A wing was added in the 1940s to create space for a parish hall and Sunday school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strawberry Chapel and Childsbury Town Site</span> Archaeological site in South Carolina, United States

Strawberry Chapel is a parochial chapel of ease in the lower part of St. John's, Berkeley Parish in Berkeley County, South Carolina that was built in 1725. It is on Strawberry Chapel Road between South Carolina State Highway 8-44 and the West Branch of the Cooper River. Bordering Strawberry's property is the South Carolina State owned historic site of the “Town of Childsbury.” It was a planned community that was settled in 1707. The town no longer exists. They were named to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biggin Church Ruins</span> Historic ruins in South Carolina, United States

The Biggin Church Ruins are the ruins of a church in Berkeley County, South Carolina. Biggin Church is its name in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. The ruins are about 2 mi (3 km) from Moncks Corner, South Carolina, near the intersection of South Carolina Highway 402 and State Highway 8-376. The church has been burned three times since it was first constructed in about 1711. It was the church of the parish of St. John's, Berkeley The ruins are from the church built in 1761 and its reconstruction in 1781. It was included in the National Register of Historic Places on December 13, 1977. UPDATE 11/2019: Biggin Church Ruins remain part of Strawberry Chapel’s land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Plantation House (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina)</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

The Oakland Plantation House which is also known as Youghall or Youghal Plantation House, was built about 1750 in Charleston County, South Carolina about 7 mi (11 km) east of Mount Pleasant. It is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of U.S. Route 17 on Stratton Place. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Dhu</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Loch Dhu is a house in northwestern Berkeley County, South Carolina about 7 mi (11 km) east of Eutawville, South Carolina. It was built around 1812–1816. It is located close to Lake Marion about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of South Carolina Route 6 on Loch Dhu Lane. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on July 13, 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Denis Catholic Church</span> Historic church in Maine, United States

St. Denis Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church at 298 Grand Army Road in North Whitefield, Maine. Built 1833–38, it is the third oldest Catholic church in New England. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It remains in use as an active community of the Parish of St. Michael in the Diocese of Portland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Church (Chuckatuck, Virginia)</span> Historic church in Virginia, United States

St. John's Church, also known as Chuckatuck Church is a historic Episcopal church located near Chuckatuck. Constructed in 1755, St. John's is the third church to occupy the site in a parish which was established in 1642. St. John's Church preserves an important role in the religious history of seventeenth century Virginia and as an architectural example of the evolving preferences of the Episcopal Church in the nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Christ Episcopal Church is a church located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattaponi Church</span> Historic church in Virginia, United States

Mattaponi Church is a historic Baptist Church located near Cumnor, King and Queen County, Virginia. As English settlement advanced through present-day King and Queen County, the original Anglican parish, Stratton Major, was divided in 1674, forming St. Stephen's Parish to the northwest. In 1730, construction commenced on a new "Lower Church" for St. Stephen's Parish which was completed around 1734. The structure is designed in a cruciform plan executed in Georgian style. Of particular note are the church's three entrances, which have rubbed brick pilasters and pediments, two achieved in triangular form and one in semicircular form. The entire church is built of bricks laid in Flemish bond. St. Stephen's Church was used for Anglican worship until the American Revolution when it was abandoned. In 1803, the church was occupied by a Baptist congregation which continues to worship in the historic church today. When the Baptists assumed ownership of the church, it was renamed Mattaponi. Fire gutted the interior of the church in 1922, but it was restored and remains well preserved. Today, historic Mattaponi Baptist Church houses the original wall tablets displaying the Decalogue, Creed, and Lord's Prayer, as well as a Bible dated 1753.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "St. Stephen's Episcopal Church". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. 1 2 Staff (December 31, 1969). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: St. Stephen's Episcopal Church" (pdf). National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "St. Stephens Episcopal Church" (pdf). Photographs. National Park Service . Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  5. "St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Berkeley County (S.C. Hwy. 45, St. Stephens)". National Register Properties in South Carolina listing. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  6. "Parishes, missions and worship communities listed by location". The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.
  7. Vicar's Welcome, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church