22
WBM december 2013
The arcaded breezeway reiterates the
Gothic detail found in St. James’ Church
windows. The covered walkway connects
various structures on the church campus
which occupies an entire city block between
Third and Fourth streets and Market and
Dock streets.
ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH F 25 South Third Street
The entry of St. James Episcopal Church is embellished with
white decorative paint against a stucco exterior. Crenulated parapet
walls add height and loft where the sanctuary intersects the square
Gothic Revival steeple. St. James’ Gothic arch windows are not
unlike many found throughout downtown Wilmington, North
Carolina in churches of all denominations also built in the 1800s
but this was the city’s first Gothic Revival church. The church
building was dedicated in 1840, and its architect, Thomas Walter,
also designed the U.S. Capitol dome.
St. James Episcopal parish’s early history is a dramatic tale
including occupation by invading troops in two national conflicts.
Its original building was completed in 1751 and financed through
state taxation before the separation of church and state. St. James
was seized by British troops 30 years later and converted into a
stable and riding school for Tarleton’s dragoons, a regiment of cav-alrymen
led by Loyalist Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton.
More than 100 years later, near the end of the Civil War, tragedy
struck the church again. Its keys and furnishings were taken by
Union troops. The church rebounded and added on over the years,
covering an entire city block and becoming one of the largest
churches in the Diocese of East Carolina.
The church’s sanctuary looks much brighter today than it has
in the last 20 years, because of a major renovation in the summer
of 2012. All of the walls were repainted and the ceiling thoroughly
cleaned of soot from previously used oil lamps. Some of the casings
around the stained glass windows were also replaced, repairing
damage from water-intrusion into its main tower.
But St. James’ signature square tower has a practical use for its
congregation during the holiest day of the Christian calendar: Easter.
Each Easter morning since 1866, the St. James congregation has
climbed an interior stair from the choir loft to celebrate Jesus Christ’s
resurrection during an Easter sunrise service at the top of the church’s
tower. According to Susan Taylor Block’s church history “Temple of
Our Fathers,” children sing Easter carols including one composed by a
church member titled, “Waken Children of the King.”
In addition to its sanctuary, a $1.26 million renovation of
St. James’ adjacent McRae House, which houses the church offices,
received a Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit from Preservation
North Carolina in October as well as a 2012 Preservation Award
from the Historic Wilmington Foundation.