After the St. Peter's, tour we walked across the street to St. Paul's Episcopal Church to photograph some amazing Tiffany stained glass windows.
Yes… you read that right, Tiffany stained glass.
It was beautiful. Much more ornate than St Peter’s, and about 50 years newer. The church itself is also one of Richmond's premier historic sites, listed in both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The parish came into being as an outgrowth of Monumental Church, the Robert Mills-designed structure erected 1812-14 as a memorial to 72 prominent Richmonders who perished in a theater fire on that site in 1811.
By 1843, Monumental’s congregation began to outgrow its building. Its assistant rector, the Rev. William Norwood, led an effort to found a new Episcopal church to accommodate the expanding membership. The resulting building, consecrated in 1845, is a masterpiece of the Greek Revival style, and a stately complement to Thomas Jefferson's temple-form capitol across the street.
This church has an interesting history, it is deeply associated with the Confederacy. It was the church of Gen. Robert E. Lee. One of the Tiffany windows was donated to the church by Lee’s family (can you find it below?), and his family has a pew dedicated to them. His name is on the donated window and apparently the church it trying to decide what to do about it. We will see what happens, but regardless, the church was clearly important to those in Richmond with wealth and power, and is mentioned in many writings and references throughout history. Here are a few interesting stories and history.
More history of St. Paul’s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1DfcjlSTxc
https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/blog/fantasizing-lee-as-a-civil-rights-pioneer
http://www.stpaulsrva.org/about/history/
http://www.richmond.com/life/faith-values/st-paul-s-episcopal-church-to-remove-images-of-confederate/article_c63ecfcc-b7ae-589b-aac5-e9142ac7475f.html
Enjoy the photos!
Yes… you read that right, Tiffany stained glass.
It was beautiful. Much more ornate than St Peter’s, and about 50 years newer. The church itself is also one of Richmond's premier historic sites, listed in both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The parish came into being as an outgrowth of Monumental Church, the Robert Mills-designed structure erected 1812-14 as a memorial to 72 prominent Richmonders who perished in a theater fire on that site in 1811.
By 1843, Monumental’s congregation began to outgrow its building. Its assistant rector, the Rev. William Norwood, led an effort to found a new Episcopal church to accommodate the expanding membership. The resulting building, consecrated in 1845, is a masterpiece of the Greek Revival style, and a stately complement to Thomas Jefferson's temple-form capitol across the street.
This church has an interesting history, it is deeply associated with the Confederacy. It was the church of Gen. Robert E. Lee. One of the Tiffany windows was donated to the church by Lee’s family (can you find it below?), and his family has a pew dedicated to them. His name is on the donated window and apparently the church it trying to decide what to do about it. We will see what happens, but regardless, the church was clearly important to those in Richmond with wealth and power, and is mentioned in many writings and references throughout history. Here are a few interesting stories and history.
More history of St. Paul’s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1DfcjlSTxc
https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/blog/fantasizing-lee-as-a-civil-rights-pioneer
http://www.stpaulsrva.org/about/history/
http://www.richmond.com/life/faith-values/st-paul-s-episcopal-church-to-remove-images-of-confederate/article_c63ecfcc-b7ae-589b-aac5-e9142ac7475f.html
Enjoy the photos!