The story of our notable church
Architecture
St. Luke's Church is a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. The building is considered by many authorities as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. Greek Revival did not become a national style in this country until after 1820, although the trend toward classic revival began shortly after 1790 when Thomas Jefferson introduced Roman forms in his early architecture. Two English architects, James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, obtained permission from the Turks to make drawings of prominent Greek temples in Athens. They published their drawings in 1762 as "The Antiquities of Athens" and these served as guides for the masterbuilders of this country who published their own books as builders' guides.
Benjamin Morgan and Minard Lafever were the architects who designed St. Luke's. Morgan utilized, as did many architects and builders at the time, Asher Benjamin's builder's handbooks,
The Practice of Architecture and
The Practical House Carpenter. Morgan must have worked from Lafever's handbooks as well. The proportions and molding profiles are those of Lafever, shown in his book,
The Modern Builder's Guide (1833).
Morgan was a Welshman who had studied and trained in England. He had worked on the early remodeling of Buckingham Palace in the early 1800's. Morgan was killed by falling timber in 1851 while working on the Ohio State Capitol. His funeral took place in St. Luke's, and he was buried in Granville's Maple Grove Cemetery.
The parish contacted Minard Lafever, a noted architect of New York, for the design of the interior. Lafever was well-known at the time, having designed in New York and New Orleans, and had written several handbooks on architecture. The interior measurements of the church as designed by Morgan were sent to New York; Lafever sent his specifications back to Granville.
St. Luke's follows the basic temple form — a rectangle measuring 43 by 65 feet. The structure is on a base of local sandstone. The lush wood siding, with slightly rounded edges, suggests the stone blocks of temples. The belfry, with its gold leaf dome, is typical Greek Revival in keeping with the bell tower trend set by Sir Christopher Wren in England. The belfry design is from Asher Benjamin's
The Practice of Architecture, as are the doors on the front portico which exhibit the Greek shouldered lintel. The belfry was fitted with a 1,000 pound bell by John Gallagher of Pittsburgh.
The church interior exists now almost as it was designed by Lafever. The plaster ceiling designs were placed in the hands of Orren Bryant, a farmer in nearby Alexandria, Ohio, who was a very capable plasterer. In 1838, he wrote his father, "I have taken a job lathing and plastering an Episcopalian meeting house in Granville. I have three hundred and twenty-five dollars for doing the job, all materials being furnished by me for the work and board myself — board being two dollars per week."
St. Luke's interior best illustrates the free use of Greek forms, the profiles of the altar, lectern, and pulpit are exaggerations of the Doric Order. These profiles are also evident in the door and window trim which is closer to the Greek original. Lafever's ceiling centerpiece of molded plaste, called the Lafever Rose, is one of his finest designs. His hand-hewn box pews seat three hundred. He planned an ornamental gallery in the rear supported by fine Doric columns in the center and richly designed consoles at the walls. The original chancel contained a high central pulpit approached by hidden stairs and with a small altar beneath.
A handsome bronze chandelier fitted with oil lamps, believed to be one of two left in existence, was suspended from the rose of the ceiling centerpiece. Made in Philadelphia and costing $100, it was shipped along with the original organ from New York to Granville by canal. Parts of the counter-balancing mechanism for lowering the chandelier still remain in place in the attic space. The wall lights were crafted in 1937.
St. Luke's Church was consecrated on July 15, 1838. The Reverend Dr. Sherlock Bronson, born in Waterbury, Connecticut and educated at Kenyon College 1833, was the rector. He accepted the church with the comment that it cost $7,200 with the furnishings — a great sum in those days. In 1976, St. Luke's was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Restoration work continues. In 1978, the exterior and interior underwent extensive repair and decoration. In 1983, serious structural deterioriation was discovered in the east wall, which again prompted a call for help from the parish and the community. In 1996, the addition of an elevator and the renovation of the Undercroft restrooms made the two main levels of the building accessable to all. In 2000, the east wall required both exterior and interior renovation. Deteriorating the sections of the supporting sill plateswere repaced and appear to be holding fast. In 2001, the parish entered into a least agreement with the Village of Granville to obtain the use of the Parish House, which, after renovation, provides space for our
Church School, meetings, and offices for the rector and staff. The Church stands today as it stood in 1838, a testimonial to the vision and generosity of its founders and the skill of its builders.
Social History
There were no Episcopalians among the New Englanders who came to Ohio in 1805 to settle Granville. They had formed their Congregational Church in Granville, Massachusetts, six months before their migration. Bishop Philander Chase (his portrait hangs at the back of the church) of the New Episcopal Diocese of Ohio had visited Granville in 1819 and 1825 and aroused some interest, but it might have passed had it not been for an incident that created a schism in the settlement church.
Lucius Mower was building a brick house for Ahab Jinks, pastor of the Congregational Church and it was late in the Fall of 1823 when there was danger of frost that would damage the mortar. Mower asked permission to lay bricks on Sunday, Nov. 22, and Pastor Jinks consented to this "work of necessity" in the scriptural sense. His churchmen were strict Sabbatarians, so there was a great outcry over the desecration of the Sabbath, and the church split into three factions. One stood in opposition to Jinks and formed a Presbyterian body. Another supported the Pastor and formed a second Presbyterian body, while the third was neutral and continued in the Congregational Church.
This was a wound that would not heal in four years, so forty-seven men met in the house of Ahab Jinks on April 14, 1827, to discuss the formation of an Episcopal parish, and on May 9, twenty-three men signed a legal notice of their intention to form "St. Luke's Church in Granville, Licking County".
Because of ill health, Lucius Mower moved to St. Augustine, Fla., where he became deeply religious. He died there in 1834. Soon after, his brother, Sherlock, became a communicant of St. Luke's and, in his brother's memory, gave two thousand dollars to the building fund and five hundred dollars for the purchase of an organ. Sherlock Mower died on July 13, 1837, one week after his first communion.
Dark times fell upon the church and by 1890 there were only 12 active members, but in 1894 a revival of interest took place. The old central pulpit had been taken down in 1870 and the interior had become shabby. The church was renovated and there was hope until 1899, when some "streetboys" broke into and vandalized the church, damaging the organ. Bishop Vincent advised that the building be sold and the parish declared defunct. But after the incident, church interest revived, and by 1908, the parish was able to support a full-time rector, the Reverend Abdiel Ramsey. He left in 1912, and, for 12 years, services were conducted by visiting clergymen. In 1925, Roger Rolt-Wheeler of Bexley took charge of the parish, and plans for the 1927 centennial were underway. Descendants of the original families gave generously. Electric lights were installed, new steps built, and the interior painted and carpeted. A false ceiling that had been installed in 1910 was removed to reveal the magnificent molding and ceiling. The original chandelier was found and rehung.
In 1933, Dr. William C. Seitz, professor at Bexley Hall, came to St. Luke's and served as visiting rector. St. Luke's was never closed again. After World War II, it ceased to be a dependent parish and it was able to support a full-time rector. Today, St. Luke's continues to be a significant historical site in Granville and the State of Ohio.
© 2007 St. Luke's Church
107 East Broadway, Granville OH 43023
