St. Peter's Church is a historic Episcopal church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened for worship on September 4, 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. The church remains an active parish; the current priest-in-charge is the Rev. Dr. Clarke French.
By the mid-1750s, Philadelphia's Christ Church was becoming overcrowded. About 60 parishioners organized themselves into a committee, headed by Colonel Jacob Duché Sr., to build a new church.
St. Peter's was founded in 1758 in newly settled Society Hill with the first service held on September 4, 1761. The land used was donated in 1757 by Governor Thomas and Richard Penn, sons of William Penn. The Penn family coat of arms can be seen above the wine-glass pulpit and sounding board.
St. Peter's was designed by Scottish architect/builder Robert Smith, who designed other noted buildings of the day, among them Carpenters' Hall and the tower of Christ Church in Philadelphia, and Nassau Hall at Princeton University. Much of the £5,000 expense needed to build St. Peter's was raised by lottery.
Early history and architectureedit
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "St. Peter's Episcopal Church" Philadelphia – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(November 2022)
St. Peter's and Christ Church were run jointly until 1832. William White, rector of both churches from 1779 until his death in 1836, was chaplain to the U.S. Congress during the Revolution, founder of the Episcopal Church of the United States in 1784, its first presiding bishop and first bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.
Most of the church remains as it was in the eighteenth century. Smith designed it in the mid-Georgian auditory style, with the classical lines and clear glass windows of the Age of Reason. The pulpit and lectern are set at the opposite end of the aisle from the altar, projecting into the congregation, in order to focus attention on the Word of God, a reflection of the religious thought of the day. The original high-backed box pews, including Mayor Samuel Powel's box which George and Martha Washington often frequented,[2] were designed to retain heat in winter. With the advent of central heating, many churches removed their box pews, but since St. Peter's services are conducted at both ends of the church, the original arrangement has been kept.
Slaves and servants of members sat on hard benches at the west end of the gallery. One of these slaves, Absalom Jones, became a highly respected leader of the free black community of Philadelphia. Together with Richard Allen, he founded the Free African Society, a non-denominational group. Later he founded the first African-American Episcopal Church, the African Church of St. Thomas, in 1794. He was ordained as the first black Episcopal priest in 1804.
The tower and steeple, designed by renowned Philadelphia architect William Strickland, were added in 1842 to house a chime of eight bells, donated by Benjamin Chew Wilcocks and cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London (which cast the Liberty Bell).
Notable intermentsedit
Some of the notable people interred in St. Peter's churchyard include:
Dr. Edward Hudson (1772-1833), dentist, Irish patriot, and nephew of Edward Hudson (dentist)
peter, episcopal, church, philadelphia, peter, church, historic, episcopal, church, located, corner, third, pine, streets, philadelphia, pennsylvania, opened, worship, september, 1761, served, place, worship, many, united, states, founding, fathers, during, pe. St Peter s Church is a historic Episcopal church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia Pennsylvania It opened for worship on September 4 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996 The church remains an active parish the current priest in charge is the Rev Dr Clarke French St Peter s ChurchU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S National Historic LandmarkSt Peter s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia 2014Show map of PhiladelphiaShow map of PennsylvaniaShow map of the United StatesLocation3rd and Pine Streets Philadelphia Pennsylvania U S Coordinates39 56 35 3 N 75 8 51 7 W 39 943139 N 75 147694 W 39 943139 75 147694Built1758ArchitectRobert Smith William StricklandArchitectural styleGeorgianNRHP reference No 96000969 1 Significant datesAdded to NRHPJune 18 1996Designated NHLJune 18 1996 Contents 1 Founding and erection 2 Early history and architecture 3 Notable interments 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksFounding and erection editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message By the mid 1750s Philadelphia s Christ Church was becoming overcrowded About 60 parishioners organized themselves into a committee headed by Colonel Jacob Duche Sr to build a new church St Peter s was founded in 1758 in newly settled Society Hill with the first service held on September 4 1761 The land used was donated in 1757 by Governor Thomas and Richard Penn sons of William Penn The Penn family coat of arms can be seen above the wine glass pulpit and sounding board St Peter s was designed by Scottish architect builder Robert Smith who designed other noted buildings of the day among them Carpenters Hall and the tower of Christ Church in Philadelphia and Nassau Hall at Princeton University Much of the 5 000 expense needed to build St Peter s was raised by lottery Early history and architecture editThis section relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources St Peter s Episcopal Church Philadelphia news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 St Peter s and Christ Church were run jointly until 1832 William White rector of both churches from 1779 until his death in 1836 was chaplain to the U S Congress during the Revolution founder of the Episcopal Church of the United States in 1784 its first presiding bishop and first bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania Most of the church remains as it was in the eighteenth century Smith designed it in the mid Georgian auditory style with the classical lines and clear glass windows of the Age of Reason The pulpit and lectern are set at the opposite end of the aisle from the altar projecting into the congregation in order to focus attention on the Word of God a reflection of the religious thought of the day The original high backed box pews including Mayor Samuel Powel s box which George and Martha Washington often frequented 2 were designed to retain heat in winter With the advent of central heating many churches removed their box pews but since St Peter s services are conducted at both ends of the church the original arrangement has been kept Slaves and servants of members sat on hard benches at the west end of the gallery One of these slaves Absalom Jones became a highly respected leader of the free black community of Philadelphia Together with Richard Allen he founded the Free African Society a non denominational group Later he founded the first African American Episcopal Church the African Church of St Thomas in 1794 He was ordained as the first black Episcopal priest in 1804 The tower and steeple designed by renowned Philadelphia architect William Strickland were added in 1842 to house a chime of eight bells donated by Benjamin Chew Wilcocks and cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London which cast the Liberty Bell Notable interments editSome of the notable people interred in St Peter s churchyard include Dr Edward Hudson 1772 1833 dentist Irish patriot and nephew of Edward Hudson dentist Charles John Biddle 1819 1873 American soldier lawyer congressman and newspaper editor son of Nicholas Biddle Nicholas Biddle 1786 1844 American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States Samuel Breck 1771 1862 served as a member of the U S House of Representatives for Pennsylvania s 1st congressional district from 1823 to 1825 Gustavus Conyngham 1747 1819 officer in Continental Navy and privateer Alexander James Dallas 1759 1817 American statesman who served as the 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1814 to 1816 under President James Madison George M Dallas 1792 1864 American politician 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849 Stephen Decatur 1779 1820 American naval officer and Commodore killed in duel Reverend Jacob Duche 1737 1798 rector of Christ Church Philadelphia first chaplain to the Continental Congress Samuel Fraunces 1722 23 1795 restaurateur and owner operator of Fraunces Tavern in New York City Robert Graham 1841 1919 Medal of Honor recipient for heroism in action while serving aboard the USS Tacony John Hazelwood 1726 1800 Commodore in the Pennsylvania Navy and Continental Navy Joseph Reed Ingersoll 1786 1868 American lawyer and statesman William Jones 1760 1831 Secretary of the Navy during the War of 1812 Robert Tait McKenzie 1867 1938 Canadian physician educator sculptor athlete soldier and Scouter pioneer in Physical Therapy John Nixon 1733 1808 made the first public proclamation of the Declaration of Independence and read it from the steps of the Pennsylvania State House now known as Independence Hall Charles Willson Peale 1741 1827 American painter soldier scientist inventor politician and naturalist Raphael Peale 1774 1825 first professional American painter of still life Richard Peters 1743 1828 Pennsylvania lawyer Continental Army soldier Federalist politician author and United States Federal Judge Eliza Lucas Pinckney 1722 1793 plantation owner who developed indigo as a cash crop Isaac Roach 1786 1848 fought in War of 1812 mayor of Philadelphia 1838 39 John Rutledge Jr 1766 1819 United States Representative from South Carolina Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States James Searle 1730 1797 American merchant Patriot and delegate to the Continental Congress Raynor Taylor 1747 1825 English organist music teacher composer and singer Thomas Wignell 1753 1803 English born actor and theatre manager The chiefs of eight American Indian tribes who died from Yellow fever while visiting Philadelphia in 1793 to meet with President George Washington including Barkskin Chief of the Penkishow Nation La Gese Chief of the Pottawatomie Nation Apuatapea Piankashaw War Chief Bigigh Weautons Wabash Nation War Chief Toma War Chief of the Pawaunia Grand Joseph Chief of the Veattonns Nation Wapeteet War Chief of Payagheya Little ElkSee also edit nbsp Philadelphia portalList of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia National Register of Historic Places listings in Center City PhiladelphiaReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service January 23 2007 George and Martha Washington occupied the house next to the Powels from November 1781 to March 1782 Saint Peter s Church at PhillyRingers comExternal links editDigitized historical records from St Peter s Episcopal Church Philadelphia nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Peter s Episcopal Church Society Hill Philadelphia Official website Famous interments at Find A Grave Historic American Buildings Survey HABS No PA 1118 St Peter s Protestant Episcopal Church 11 photos 1 color transparency 18 measured drawings 2 photo caption pages Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Peter 27s Episcopal Church Philadelphia amp oldid 1184969964, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
