St. Thomas's Episcopal Church is a parish church of the Episcopal Church located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1848, the original English Gothic church was completed in 1855 on Elm Street, on the site of a temporary chapel the parish built in 1849. St. Thomas moved to its present site on Whitney Avenue in 1939.

History

On February 24, 1848, a meeting was held by sixteen lay Episcopalians in New Haven, Connecticut, to discuss the opening of a third Episcopal church in the city.^[1] The first services were held in a room that belonged to Center Church on April 23, 1848, where they remained until 1849.^[2] The rector purchased a lot on Elm Street that year,^[3] and began construction of a temporary chapel. Five months later, the first services were held in the chapel on August 12, 1849.^[4] The congregation decided that a new, larger church would be built on the site of the existing chapel, and the last services in the chapel were held on March 12, 1854.^[5] One month later, the cornerstone of the new church was laid, with Bishop John Williams in attendance. In the meantime, services were held in Brewster Hall.^[6] The completed church was consecrated on April 19, 1855.^[7] It was constructed in the English Gothic Revival style out of Portland stone.^[8] A parish house was not built until 1888. The cornerstone was laid on May 21, and the building was dedicated on February 3, 1889.^[9]

In 1923, the rector proposed that the church relocate to another part of New Haven, as since the founding of the church, Elm Street had become entirely commercial.^[10] The congregation purchased a lot on Whitney Avenue, between Odgen and Cliff Streets in 1923.^[11] There, a new parish house was constructed in 1931.^[12] A new church was constructed there, and consecrated on October 8, 1939.^[13]

References

External links

• Official website