Church of St. James the Less

About this property

The Church of St. James the Less is a historic Episcopal church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, that was architecturally influential. As St. James-the-Less Episcopal Church, it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its Gothic Revival architecture, which influenced a generation of subsequent churches. Philanthropist and merchant Robert Ralston wanted to found a church near his land on Ridge Road, but died shortly before this church's founding. His friend Samuel Jarvis had helped found the General Theological Seminary in New York and knew about the Cambridge Camden Society. On May 22, 1846, the congregation was admitted to the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and on September 26th, took the corporate name of "Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James the Less." The new congregation acquired land from nearby Laurel Hill Cemetery to build a church that could serve not only the wealthy families with mansions overlooking the Schuylkill River or on Hunting Park Avenue, but also the working-class people of the nearby industrial neighborhood, now known as Allegheny West. The parish was traditionally Tractarian or High Church in churchmanship orientation. It chose to not install gas lighting when the opportunity was presented in 1869, but did allow oil lamps to replace the original candles circa 1885. Further modernization occurred in the early 20th century, including not only the tower and chimes, which were dedicated in 1910, but also electric lighting and central heat around 1913. Documents exist concerning its Anglo-Catholic practices in the early 20th century. The Gothic architecture was nearly accidental. The congregation applied to the Cambridge Camden Society, which in 1841 and 1844 had published a widely circulated pamphlet on modern church design, for a set of approved plans. Originally an organization formed by Cambridge University students interested in gothic architecture, the group advocated combining the piety of gothic architecture with church reform associated with the Oxford Movement. It was inadvertently sent measured drawings prepared by English architect George Gordon Place for St. Michael's Church in Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, built circa 1230, which were then followed in every detail under the supervision of architect John E. Carver. The building was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985. The National Park Service called it "the first example of the pure English Parish church style in America, and one of the best examples of a 19th-century American Gothic church for its coherence and authenticity of design. Its influence on the major architects of the Gothic Revival in the United States was profound." Later American churches, also on the National Register of Historic Places, influenced by St. James' design include All Saints Memorial Church (Navesink, New Jersey) designed by Richard Upjohn first President of the American Institute of Architects, and St. Peter's Episcopal Church Neligh, Nebraska.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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