USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > History of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, N.Y. : 1817 to 1888 > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
The Choir is raised three steps above the body of the church, the steps being of red and white mottled Champlain marble. The marble mosaic floor between the choir stalls is in a geometrical design of three large quatrefoils, with borders of oak leaves and acorns ; and across the entire front of the choir, at the head of the steps, is a banded arabesque design of passion-flowers. At the foot of the sanctuary step
276
History of St. Paul's Church.
the mosaic flooring is in a design of Greek crosses in dull red on a white ground, with borders of oak leaves and acorns.
The Sacrarium or Sanctuary, to the east of the choir, is raised above it one step, and is separated from it by an altar rail of brown Scotch sandstone, supported by eighteen Gothic shafts, arranged in six groups of three each ; the rail is surmounted by a coping of Cham- plain marble. This altar rail was a part of the gift of the Shelton Society in memory of Dr. Shelton. The floor of the sanctuary, also of marble mosaic, is a beautiful design of the vine and grapes ; directly in front of the altar a quatrefoil is formed with symbols of the four Evangelists surrounding a Greek cross. The flooring of the entire chancel is of marble mosaic, laid in cement. It was made in Paris, and is said to consist of 324,000 tiny colored cubes. It was laid by Burke & Company of New York and Chicago.
The inner roof of the chancel is a cylindrical-pointed vault of wood, ceiled with narrow matched boards, paneled in squares, and divided into three bays or sections by broad transverse arches of masonry with moulded edges, which are carried on corbels and nook- shafts, the soffit of the arch being decorated with colored fresco-work. The use of arches of masonry to support a vaulted wooden ceiling,- of which the chancel roof is an example,- is, although unusual, more frequent in medieval Gothic work than is generally supposed.
A broad wall frieze, under the ceiling, surrounds the entire chan- cel, decorated with frescoed figures of angels. The chancel is twenty- five feet wide and forty-one feet deep; twelve feet of this depth being occupied by the sanctuary at the eastern end, inside of the altar rail, and twenty-nine feet by the choir. A door from the north side of the choir leads into the vestry room.
The organ, which is a three-manual instrument made by E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings of Boston, is placed in the organ chamber immediately to the north of the chancel. It is cased in antique oak to match the chancel furniture. There is a swinging choir- stall doorway to the organist's seat, which is directly behind the choir
277
The Restored St. Paul's.
stalls. The lofty arched openings from the organ chamber into the chancel, and into the transept at the end of the north aisle, are filled with speaking pipes, handsomely decorated in colors and gold.
The sanctuary is approached from the choir by one step, and the altar is raised three steps above the floor of the sanctuary, all of the steps being of mottled Champlain marble.
The fireproof features of the new edifice are the concrete floor, which is laid on brick arches supported by steel beams resting on stone piers, and the lathing, which is of corrugated iron.
The aisles and aisle spaces are floored with end-wood mosaic, made in Rochester, N. Y., composed of small blocks of variegated ash, with a border of darker wood, set on end, and joined by leaden tongues, the wood being highly polished and showing much beauty of grain and coloring.
The wall decorations are by Edward J. N. Stent of New York ; the dado is of blocked maroon, with a border of peacock blue and gold, above which is the terra-cotta tinted wall. Medallions and sym- bolic designs are painted at intervals on the walls, and the full, rich colors, with the light from the stained-glass windows, produce a very beautiful effect. With the exception of the memorial windows, which are described elsewhere, the stained glass of the church was furnished by J. & R. Lamb of New York.
The church is lighted by incandescent electric lights - clusters of lights with their pear-shaped globes encircling the capitals of the stone pillars ; in the chancel are convoluted clusters of lights on either side, resembling bunches of most brilliant fruit.
The edifice is heated by three hot-air furnaces. The pews and all the woodwork of the church are of antique oak. The pew ends are slightly pointed, and are moulded on the tops and sides. They are handsomely paneled, the design being a pointed arch, in the head of which is a large quatrefoil, bearing in the center a small metal plate with the number of the pew. Below are two small sub-arches resting
278
History of St. Paul's Church.
on semi-detached shafts. The fronts of the pews facing the chancel, and in the aisle passages, and also those in "the chapel " facing the main church, are panelled in an arcaded repetition of the design used for the pew ends.
In 1876, in January and February, the Sunday School room in the basement of the church was renovated and refitted, and an altar and platform were built against the north wall. (See page 118.)
Further alterations and improvements were completed in 1883. (See pages 134, 359.)
This part of the church is sometimes spoken of as the "crypt chapel." The altar is now placed against the east wall. The reading- desk, of carved black walnut, and the heavy walnut seats at either side formed at one time part of the chancel furniture of the church. They were in the "crypt chapel " at the time of the fire, and were not de- stroyed, and thus form a link between the old church and the present one. The altar rail in this chapel is similar to that in the old church. After the fire, enough of the original altar rail of the church was found to make one small section ; the remainder of the rail is modern and was made similar to the section saved. The spiral uprights of gilded metal supporting the rail were nearly all taken from the old chancel after the fire ; most of them were damaged and had to be restored in part, and one or two of them are new, and made to match the others. Near the altar rail is a black walnut font, placed there in 1884 in memory of Mrs. Shelton ; this also passed through the fire unharmed.
(See Memorials, page 296.)
The Memorials.
The chancel, with its altar, reredos and windows, is designed as a memorial of the Rev. Dr. William Shelton, and of his long and faith- ful ministry in St. Paul's. (See page 183.)
THE RESTORED ST. PAUL'S. Interior, looking west from the chancel. (See pages 265 to 298. )
Photograph by G. H. B., September, 1902. Copyright. 1002. hv G Hunter Rorflatt
279
The Memorials.
The altar and the reredos were the gift to the church, in 1889, of Mrs. Agnes Ethel Tracy, widow of Francis W. Tracy who died April 15, 1886. They were designed by Robert W. Gibson, the archi- tect. (See page 395.)
The Altar is of Mexican onyx from the quarry of La Sorpresa, the quality of the onyx used being of unusual beauty. The work was executed in Buffalo by Lautz & Company. The front is an arcaded design of seven trefoil arches, supported on circular semi-detached shafts, with carved capitals ; very little other carving is employed, the beauty of the whole being due to the exquisite finish and delicate coloring and markings of the material used, and the severely simple lines. The retable, formed of plain slabs of onyx and extending across the altar, is fifteen inches high and nine and one-half Inches deep, with a back-piece twelve inches high. Above the center of the retable is a second step,- or gradation,- also of onyx, fifteen inches high, and two feet nine inches long, with a deep moulded edge. This forms the platform upon which stands the altar cross.
The Altar Cross is of elaborately-wrought polished brass. In the center is a quartrefoil containing a bas-relief representation of the Agnus Dei, and upon each of the arms are similar quartrefoils, bear- ing symbols of the Four Evangelists. Three of these quartrefoils form the terminations of the three upper arms of the cross. The fourth, upon the lower arm, is placed slightly farther away from the center than the others, and the arm itself extends beyond the quartrefoil and rises from a moulded pedestal of brass. Upon each arm is the word " Holy." The whole is supported as a "Calvary Cross " upon three brass steps, typifying Faith, Hope and Charity. The brass base, seven inches deep, below these steps was added after the fire to raise the cross sufficiently to correspond with the present reredos. The entire height, including the steps and extra base, is five feet six inches. The cross was made in England and was placed on the altar of the church about the year 1878. It was the gift of Mrs. Gertrude Squire Talcott and Miss Tillinghast, now Mrs. Peter P. Burtis. This cross was on
280
History of St. Paul's Church.
the altar at the time the church was burned, in 1888. It was melted from its base by the heat, and fell between the ruined altar and the stone wall, thus being preserved from entire destruction. When found, after the ruins had cooled, it was carried to the Guild House, and later was renovated and restored to its present condition by Miss Agnes Squier.
The Reredos is of brown Scotch sandstone, and extends the full width across the end of the chancel, against the wall under the large east window.
The upper part is divided into three sections in arcaded design. In the center rises a pediment, under which is a broad panel filled with finely-executed glass mosaic work in colors on a gold ground, repre- senting angels in adoration on either side of the cross, which appears in a burst of glory.
The trefoil arch-heads above the figures, and the three quatrefoils immediately under the pediment, are filled with mosaic in convention- alized lily patterns. The narrow mosaic panels on either side of this center panel represent a vine, and the trefoil tops are filled with designs of the lily. The two side sections of the reredos are similar in design, and are each divided into a broad center panel with two narrow side panels ; in the center of each are angel figures adoring, and on either side are designs of pomegranates, emblems of immor- tality ; immediately above is a narrow frieze of lilies running across the three panels; the trefoil points above the frieze are filled with flower forms. At the bottom of all the panels, across the entire width of the reredos, runs a narrow band of arabesque design.
The different panels of the reredos are separated from each other by slender, semi-detached shafts with carved capitals, supporting nar- row, pointed trefoil-headed, arches, all carved of the sandstone. These narrow trefoil arches extend across the entire upper part of the rere- dos, terminating in carved pendants where the shafts are omitted to form the broader panels. The panel under the center pediment is
28I
The Memorials.
slightly recessed, the slender stone shafts on each side are coupled, and the open stone work above, under the pediment, is especially elaborate, a pointed cinquefoil arch with fleur-de-lis cuspings being superimposed upon a tracery of three quatrefoils, while below these are three narrow, pointed trefoil arches. A broad panel for the mosaic work underneath is formed by omitting in the design the two nar- row center shafts of stone and putting carved pendants in their places, thus throwing the three narrow panels into one broad panel. In the two side sections of the reredos, broad panels for the mosaic are formed by throwing two of the narrow panels into one, in a similar manner.
The center pediment is surmounted by a finial, and up each side of the pediment are square-leaf crockets carved in stone. These are con- tinued horizontally as a cresting along the top of the cornice of the entire reredos.
At each end of the reredos, and separating the middle and side sec- tions, are buttresses of stone work, with gabled heads, surmounted by tall crocketed pinnacles elaborately carved. The faces of these but- tresses have narrow sunken panels with trefoil heads springing from long slender shafts.
Immediately under the arcade work and mosaic panels of the rere- dos, and separated by a moulded string-course of stone (which inter- sects with the onyx shelf upon which the brass altar cross stands), is a plain band of stone work running across the reredos, on each side of the altar, opposite to the second step of the retable, bearing the carved inscription :
" Glory be to Thee @ Lord Most bbigb,"
in old English letters, inlaid in gold; below this text, and joining the retable on either side of the altar, is a banded design of pointed trefoils, seven on each side, carved in low relief in the stone, repre- senting vines, flower and leaf forms. Below this, on the south side of
282
History of St. Paul's Church.
the altar, is the inscription, cut in the stone of the reredos, and inlaid in gold:
"REV. WM. SHELTON, D. D. BORN SEPTEMBER IITH, 1798. ORDERED DEACON, 1823. ORDAINED PRIEST, 1826. RECTOR OF THIS CHURCH FROM 1829. DIED OCTOBER II, 1883. MAY LIGHT PERPETUAL SHINE UPON HIM. AMEN."
And opposite, to the north of the altar, is the inscription :
" TO THE GLORY OF GOD, AND IN MEMORY OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON, D. D.,
AND OF HIS LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP TO THE FAMILY OF MY HUSBAND, FRANCIS W. TRACY, THIS ALTAR IS ERECTED BY AGNES E. TRACY."
At the bottom of the reredos, on either side of the altar, is a deep moulded base.
The glass mosaic work of the reredos was executed abroad, and was furnished and put in place by Burke & Company of New York and Chicago, and the stone work was furnished by W. D. Collingwood of Buffalo.
The entire mosaic work of the reredos is of great beauty and high artistic merit, the faces of the kneeling angel figures being especially fine. The work is all in delicate colors on a dull gold ground, and, being made of tiny cubes of glass fitted together, has a peculiar lumi- nous appearance, which is rendered more striking and beautiful by the dull brown of the stone work surrounding and framing it.
The large East Window, which in the old church was a lancet- triplet, is now in the enlarged chancel a single, broad, pointed-arched opening with geometric stone tracery. The stained glass in this win- dow, which is also a memorial to the Reverend Dr. Shelton, was
-
283
The Memorials.
designed and made by Holliday & Company of London, and cost about $3,000. The glass is rich in color and the design is elaborate and beau- tiful and well suited to the intricate stone work of the tracery. The upper part of the stone tracery forms four quatrefoils enclosed in a circle, with stained glass in symbols of the Four Evangelists ; and angel faces and figures interwoven with flower forms fill in the smaller spaces of the stone work. Below this, the window is divided by the tracery, into five long, pointed-arched panels, the design representing the Ascension, the figure of Our Lord being in the center panel. This panel is taller than the side panels and has a cinquefoil head, in which is the descending Dove, and the text from St. John, xvi., 7 : " If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you." In the upper part of the side panels are the adoring figures of angels, and the trefoil heads of these panels are filled with flower forms. In the two quatrefoils of the tracery, immediately above the side panels, are angel figures. Below, grouped across the base of the entire window, and filling the lower part of the five panels, are the figures of the Blessed Virgin and the Eleven Apostles in attitudes of wonder and adoration. The repre- sentation of the Virgin Mother, which is especially lovely, is in the center one of the lower five panels, immediately below the figure of Our Lord. It is almost hidden by the pediment of the reredos. The robes are in rich, subdued tones, and the coloring of the entire window is most beautiful and harmonious.
Worked into the design across the window are the words, from Acts i., 9 :
"While they beheld, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight."
On the slanting sill of the window, immediately below the glass, are two brass tablets, one on either side of the pediment of the reredos. They are inscribed as follows :
IN MEMORY OF REV. WILLIAM SHELTON, D. D.
THIS WINDOW IS
ERECTED BY LOVING FRIENDS.
284
History of St. Paul's Church.
Owing partly to their slanting position and partly to the glow of light from the window, these tablets, although in plain sight, would hardly be noticed from the floor of the chancel or church.
This window replaces the original Shelton Memorial East Window, which, in the old church, was a lancet-triplet, a tall center lancet between two smaller ones, and which was paid for by the voluntary contributions of the many friends of Dr. Shelton, and put in place in 1887, being unveiled at Easter in that year. The window is described on page 156, and is shown in one of the illustrations in this volume.
This original window was destroyed with the church in the fire of 1888, and the present window was paid for with the insurance money received.
The Chancel Furniture is all of antique oak, and designed by the architect, Mr. Gibson. The rows of stalls on either side of the chancel, against the north and south walls, have elaborately carved canopies, or tabernacles, the fronts of which are pointed cinquefoil arches, flanked by pendants, with finely carved lofty pinnacles above ; the can- opies are supported by slender Gothic shafts, and the backs of the stalls are filled with fluted panel-work, in a design giving the idea of an open book. The woodwork which frames these panels forms a double row of plain crosses ; the upper row, under the canopies, are Greek, and the lower row are of the Latin form. In front of the stalls, on either side, are the seats and prayer-desks for the vested choir, which are finished with handsomely paneled, high-pointed ends, terminating in carved poppy-heads. The fronts of the prayer-desks facing the aisle of the chancel are made in an arcaded design of open-work trefoil arches, resting on small Gothic shafts. The seats face each other on either side of the aisle of the chancel, and rise slightly towards the walls
The Sedilia, or seats, in the sanctuary are of similar design, with paneled and high-pointed ends, terminating in carved poppy- heads.
285
The Memorials.
The Bishop's Chair is similar to the stalls, but more elaborate in design, the gabled canopy being supported upon slender, clustered shafts at each of the four corners, and having single shafts between these upon each side. At each corner of the canopy are slender pin- nacles, and the front and side gables are ornamented with crockets and finials. In front of the chair and connected with it is a prayer-desk, handsomely carved, the front being in an arcaded design of trefoil arches. The chair is placed against the wall upon the south side of the choir portion of the chancel, between the stalls and the altar rail. This position - while perhaps according to usage in the great choirs of some of the English cathedrals, in which the congregation occupy seats during the service - is a somewhat secluded one here in St. Paul's, where the conditions are different. In the church before the fire the bishop's chair was placed against the north side of the chancel arch, and faced the nave diagonally. (See illustrations opposite pages 154, 156.)
The Credence Table is of brown Scotch sandstone beautifully carved, and stands against the south wall of the sanctuary. The gabled canopy is crocketed and topped with a finial, and flanked on either side with crocketed pinnacles, and the line of the coping termi- nates in foliated carvings. The cinquefoil arch under the gable is en- riched with foliated cusps, and springs from small circular shafts. Half- way down, in the niche, a plain stone shelf is placed. The bottom of the niche is moulded and projects in a half-circle, and the rounded, bowl-shaped surface below is richly carved in relief with representa- tions of the symbolic wheat and grapes. This rests upon a cluster of three small, semi-detached shafts, and angle-shafts ornament the lower corners of the table on either side. Although the rounded portion is not hollowed out as a basin, but is used as a simple shelf for the temporary reception of the sacramental vessels, the credence table is otherwise of the same general design as the ancient piscine or water- drains, which, in the medieval churches, were used by the priests for the rinsing of the sacred vessels, the bowl being drilled at the bottom and a small channel or drain for the water formed through the stone-
286
History of St. Paul's Church.
work of the wall to the outside of the church. The credence table was the gift to the church of Mrs. Josephine B. Dickson, and was de- signed by the architect, Mr. Gibson.
The Pulpit is of brown Scotch sandstone ; it is placed in the nave, immediately in front of the south wall of the chancel, from which it is reached by a winding flight of four stone steps.
The upper portion is a slightly elongated octagon in shape, the longer side being placed towards the nave ; three sides of the octagon, at the back of the pulpit, are omitted - one at the junction with the wall of the church, and two to form the entrance from the chancel. It springs, by a series of corbel mouldings, from a stem formed of clustered shafts, semi-detached, with richly-carved capitals and moulded bases, and alternating large and small around an octagonal center-block. The clustered shafts rest upon a stone plinth. The five sides of the upper portion of the pulpit are beautifully ornamented with cinquefoil- headed panels, ogee-pointed, and deeply carved in the stone, and moulded. The spandrels above the cinquefoils are filled with finely- carved flower, fruit and leaf forms. The front, or center panel of the five, is slightly broader than the others, and is more elaborately orna- mented, two narrow trefoil-headed panels ending in finials being intro- duced on either side of the cinquefoil panel. All of the panel work is very deeply recessed. At the outer angles of the octagon are semi- detached circular shafts with carved capitals in floriated forms, and with moulded bases. The hollow cornice moulding under the broad stone coping of the pulpit is enriched by leaf carvings placed at inter- vals. The flower and fruit carvings of the pulpit are treated in the naturalistic manner, characteristic of the Decorated period of Gothic, and the entire work is very admirably executed, from the designs of Mr. Gibson.
Around the pulpit, carved in relief upon the beveled top of the base moulding under the panels, is the inscription :
"In Loving Memory of Rev. William Shelton, D. D.,
+ A. D., 1889." +
287
The Memorials.
At the front of the pulpit, just above the floor, on the plinth, is carved :
" ERECTED BY THE SHELTON SOCIETY."
The pulpit, together with the brass sermon-rest thereon, and also the altar rail, which is of Scotch sandstone, capped with Champlain marble, and corresponds in design with the pulpit, were the gift of the "Shelton Society,"-an organization of the younger women of the parish.
The Eagle Lectern, of polished antique brass, is seven feet high, and stands in front of the chancel, on the north side, on a base six inches high, of the red and white Champlain marble,- this base being an extension of the first of the three steps leading from the floor of the church into the chancel. The reader stands upon a platform, also of the Champlain marble, two steps above the level of the chancel floor, and five steps above the floor of the nave.
The moulded metal base of the lectern is cruciform. From the center of the cross a large central shaft rises, octagonal in shape and richly moulded and paneled. From each of the four arms of the cruci- form base,- which are ornamented with floriated scrolls,- moulded octagonal buttresses rise, surmounted by crocketed finials. Connecting the buttresses with the central shaft are four medallion panels, each in the form of a floriated square, bearing symbols of the Four Evangelists. Above these panels - like flying buttresses - ornamental scroll-work connects the four buttresses with the central shaft. Surround- ing the central shaft, above the scroll-work, is an arcade of eight tre- foiled niches, the arches resting on moulded shafts. Above this is a band of quatrefoils, surmounted by the foliated, octagonal cap, bear- ing a crown formed of an interlacing design of crosses and fleurs-de- lis, in which rests the large globe representing the world. Upon this the eagle stands, with outstretched wings and uplifted head, as if ready for flight.
288
History of St. Paul's Church.
Encircling the globe is the inscription :
IN MEMORIAM + CHARLES WORTHINGTON EVANS, BORN, MARCH 13, 1812, DIED, FEBRUARY 8, 1889. FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ONE OF THE WARDENS OF THIS PARISH."
The lectern was designed and made by J. & R. Lamb, of New York City, and is a memorial to the late Charles W. Evans, the gift to the church of his wife and daughters. (See pages 172, 181.) . .
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.