Architecture
The 1858
sanctuary of Greenwich Presbyterian Church is seen from the road nestled in
the church yard cemetery shaded by
centuries old oak trees. The
first thing that you come to from the parking lot is a
covered gate at the beginning of the
walk leading to the sanctuary. It is a small open structure with a shingled
and gabled roof supported by two rough hewn cedar logs. There is scroll work
along the edges of the roof, and the whole is painted white except the
wooden shingles on the roof. This is a more recent structure made to
resemble the original stiles, replacing a previous gate in the fence, first
of wood and then iron. Look around and at the end of the walk to the
Fellowship Hall you’ll see a similar structure that was originally a
stile, now with the platform and
steps removed to accommodate the sidewalk. Opposite this stile, on the other
side of the cemetery is another stile,
retaining the steps and platform. Originally these were incorporated in a
fence that surrounded the cemetery, and served the dual purpose of keeping
livestock out and permitting ladies to dismount from horses or carriages. The
two entries
into the sanctuary have the rough hewn cedar supports and porch roofs quite similar to the
stiles.
Next turn your
attention to the brick
sanctuary itself. It is American Gothic Revival in style, a form that
was popular in America from about 1830 to 1860. Note the pointed gothic
windows, the brick buttresses at intervals on all sides, and the
tall steeple or spire atop a cupola.
The scroll work on the wooden gates and
porches is suggestive of the carpenter gothic style that eventually led into
Victorian, but the characteristics of the brick structure itself is
decidedly gothic revival.
Each of the two
entrances leads into a small entryway with a tight
spiral staircase on the left side leading to
the balcony. Small country churches in
the south prior to the civil war often had such balconies where servants
could be seated for the service. The
interior of the sanctuary is quite plain. There are several marble
plaques on the walls honoring
early
contributors to the facility, one with a
list of the pastors with years they served, and two marble plaques
behind the communion table listing the
Ten
Commandments. The plain pews have been enhanced by cushions and hymnal
racks added in addition to the pew Bible racks. There is a
large clock on the front of the
balcony that is readably
visible to the pastor as he delivers his sermon. Notice above and behind it
is an even larger clock in the top of the window. It was the original clock
on the balcony, but was recently replaced because of the quite readily heard
audible sound as the hands advanced second by second.
The rest of the story...
|