New St. Mary’s Church – St. Mary's Church

New St. Mary’s Church has been described as architect Richard Upjohn’s “masterpiece in stone.” The graceful rise of the spire, soaring 175 feet into the air above the streets of Burlington, is certainly one of the building’s great features. But the overall appearance of the structure and its elegant, stately implicity is St. Mary’s true strength.

BISHOP DOANE

The construction and appearance of St. Mary’s is due in large part to one man: George Washington Doane, Second Bishop of New Jersey. Born in Trenton on May 27, 1799, G. W. Doane graduated from Union College in Schenectady in 1818. Originally intending a career in law, he soon abandoned this pursuit to embrace a calling to the priesthood. Doane was ordained to the priesthood in 1823, and in 1832 the Diocese of New Jersey elected him to the episcopate. He accepted the rectorship of St. Mary’s on October 1, 1833.

RICHARD UPJOHN

After having greatly enlarged Old St. Mary’s (built 1703), giving it its present cruciform shape in 1834, Bishop Doane decided that the only alternative to further accommodate the growing parish was to build a new church. A follower of the Oxford Movement, which advocated that the Anglican Church return to a traditional “catholic” expression of the Christian faith, Doane turned to Richard Upjohn for the church commission. Upjohn was a leader in the revival of Gothic architecture, whose earlier commissions included Christ Church, Brooklyn (1841-45); and Grace Church, Brooklyn (1847-58) among other works in Maine, Massachusetts and New York. Perhaps his most famous structure is Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York City, begun in 1839 and completed in 1846.

“Gothic architecture is, in the highest sense, the only Christian architecture; that during the period in which it flourished, our Country churches are, in their way, as perfect models as our Cathedrals,” wrote Messrs. Neale and Webb, English church critics. With St. Mary’s and a few other churches constructed contemporaneously, the English Gothic Revival was introduced into the United States. Gothic and Renaissance Gothic architecture quickly became the preferred architectural style for churches and colleges. Doane and Upjohn were at the forefront of this movement. The fact that “Country churches” were considered “in a way” equal to cathedrals was not forgotten by Doane in contemplating the design for St. Mary’s — while it was a “parish” church; it was also intended as Doane’s cathedral.

CONSTRUCTION

The building was consecrated by Bishop Doane on Thursday, August 10, 1854. St. Mary’s, when completed, was a cruciform church, “correctly” oriented with the chancel to the east. The tower and spire, of Upjohn’s own design, impart elegance to the exterior. The nave measures 95 feet deep by 23 feet wide. The chancel is 35 feet deep and the transepts measure 32 feet by 23 feet. Its architectural style is described as Early English First-Pointed Gothic. Doane, in his 1855 episcopal address, wrote of the church: “It does honour to the eminent architect, Mr. Richard Upjohn. For solidity and durableness, the building can hardly be surpassed. Its promise of perpetuity is as great as can be predicated, of any work of man.”

Only minor modifications were introduced to New St. Mary’s over the years from its consecration until 1976. Figurative stained glass windows were introduced, chancel rails were altered and additional interior appointments were added. On May 11, 1951, the roof was again struck by lightening and a small fire caused damage.

1976 FIRE

On April 15, 1976—Maundy Thursday of Holy Week—a tower floodlight, which had been redirected from its original position, heated the ancient and dry wood of the roof to the point of combustion. A fire smoldered for several hours before the glow was noticed by a passing patrolman about 4:30 a.m. By that time, the interior of the structure was engulfed in flames. The fire was not brought under control until almost four hours later. By that time, the only features remaining of Upjohn’s masterpiece were the walls, the magnificent spire, and elements of interior woodwork. Miraculously, the bells in the steeple remained in place and relatively unharmed by the blaze.

RESTORATION

Under the guidance of architect Richard Murphy and the Reverend Canon James J. Greene, St. Mary’s nineteenth Rector, the parish began to reconstruct the New Church. Although not an exact restoration of the church as it existed previous to the fire, St. Mary’s was restored sympathetically to its earlier appearance. Stone imported from Germany replaced the flooring stone originally quarried in New York. The wall sconces, now electrified, are the original gas-jet sconces that provided the only light in the nave and transepts for almost sixty years. The lectern, restored as a thank offering from the friends of the Rev. James Greene, dates to the nineteenth century and has carved figures of the four Evangelists–Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. The 1888 Litany Desk also survived the fire. The greatest changes occurred in the chancel. The pipe organ, destroyed in the fire, was not replaced, nor were the choir stalls. The altar rail is a recreation of Upjohn’s original design. Gone are the ornate polychrome painting and stenciling as is the bishop’s cathedra or throne. However, the wrought-iron rood screen, first placed at the chancel steps in 1893, survived the fire and was reinstalled. The gas-fired corona was recreated. The lower portion of the pulpit was restored. Some of the original English Minton encaustic tiles were cleaned and replaced. The top of the altar is the only surviving portion of the original, and bears scorch marks from the fire. Original stenciling is evident on the ceiling of the South Porch. The baptismal font, made of Caen stone, also survived the fire. Memorial tablets to the founders of St. Mary’s, the Rev. George Keith and John Talbot, and another to the Right Rev. William Henry Odenheimer, Third Bishop of New Jersey, were cleaned and reinstalled. New St. Mary’s was reconsecrated on June 11, 1979. The restoration of the structure exceeded one million dollars. In 1986, New St. Mary’s was named a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service.

THE ORATORY

The Altar and other furnishings of the Oratory in the North Transept are from the private chapel in “Merwick,” the Princeton home of Bishop Paul Matthews. The chapel was constructed in 1924; the furnishings were installed in St. Mary’s in 2012.