History
Overview
After four years of planning and building, the Church held its first service on March 27, 1859. Scottish-born architect John Knotman designed and built the church in the Norman style. This style expressed the low-church tradition favored by the founders, avoiding Gothic influences.
Architecture
The Mercer tiles on the aisle and chancel floors, installed in the late 19th century, reflect the arts and crafts movement of the time.
The fine collection of altar silver is displayed each Trinity Sunday (eight weeks after Easter). On the occasion of the dedication of the church on Easter Day 1859, a matched set of sterling altar silver was presented. The set consists of two silver chalices, four footed patens and a bread knife, and all are used on special occasions throughout the year. We think ourselves very fortunate to have them today because there is an account on record of the whole set being sent out for auction. The minimum for a sale was not reached in the auction and so the set was withdrawn and returned to the church. What a narrow escape!
The magnificent carved pulpit in the church was commissioned to commemorate Bishop Brooks’ ministry here, and a measure of his fame as a preacher is indicated by the dedication carved into the base. It reads, “He Being Dead Yet Speaketh.” Carved into the side panels of the pulpit are the three overlapping circles that symbolize the Holy Trinity; this sign has been adopted by the church for its logo and appears on the glass doors at the entrance as well as in other locations. Featuring the four Evangelists, the pulpit was installed in 1897 as a memorial to Bishop Brooks.
The church owns a set of four altar frontals (white, green, red, and purple) heavily embroidered in the Victorian style that were made by J. Wippell and Company, Church Furnishers, in around 1920. The same company restored all four recently and they are now in use regularly as the liturgical season dictates. New hangings and Eucharistic vestments were made to match and are also used regularly.
Phillips Brooks
The parish’s second rector, the Rev. Phillips Brooks, was a noted preacher of the 19th century. His years in Philadelphia, and in particular at the Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square (1862-69), provided the basis for the development of his pastoral and theological style and saw his rise to national prominence (he went on to become the Rector of Holy Trinity, Boston and later the Bishop of Massachusetts). They were tumultuous and momentous years in the nation’s life, especially the Civil War years of 1861-65. Brooks is rightly remembered for the part he played in the Episcopal Church’s response to this national crisis. On a more peaceful note, these years saw the writing by Brooks of what has become one of the best-loved Christmas carols, the first written in English by a native-born American, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
He penned the words to the carol “0 Little Town of Bethlehem” while on a trip to the Holy Land. The triptych on the wall behind the altar, installed in 1942, pays homage to this event. Lewis Redner, the parish’s organist, composed the tune now known as St. Louis to which it is sung. This carol has become one of the favorite of all Christmas carols and is sung every year at Holy Trinity during the Christmas season.
Carillon
The carillon in the church tower was made by the Van Aerschodt foundry of Severin, Belgium, and has 25 chiming bells. It was the generous gift of Joseph Temple in memory of his wife Martha Anna Kirtley Temple. The carillon was installed and rung for the first time to welcome the General Convention of the Episcopal Church meeting at the church on October 3, 1883, and is the oldest manually operated carillon on the North American Continent. It plays a brief recital at 12:00 noon and 6:00 p.m. daily and in addition plays on Sundays at 10:45 a.m. and is rung by guest carrillonneurs monthly during the summer. The carillon was restored and a new mechanism installed in 1999 thanks chiefly to a generous gift by Emilie DeHellebranth RIP.
Organ
The Organ currently in the church is the fifth instrument to occupy the church gallery. The beautiful polished case with gold-leafed pipes that is visible in the gallery and much admired is actually the case from the Roosevelt instrument of 1881, of which only a few ranks of pipes survive. The major parts of the instrument were replaced in 1960 in a rebuild by the M. P. Moller Organ Company. The current instrument is not in good shape, and it is the intention of the church to address this matter as soon as funds permit.
Stained Glass Windows
The beautiful stained glass from English, French and American studios including five by Tiffany and one by Luc Olivier Merson. Brochures allow visitors to conduct a self-guided tour of our splendid works.
Holiday House
During the early 1890s, CHT was actively pursuing destinations to send sick and impoverished women and children for short summer vacations in the surrounding tri-state area. Holy Trinity’s Fresh Air Committee accepted contributions from parishioners on a regular basis in order to cover expenses for (and travel fares to) various retreat locations in the countryside. The women and children, who resided in different areas of Philadelphia, were either members of Holy Trinity, or one of several parish chapels located throughout the city. Those who lived in the most overrun portions of the city (especially near factories and refineries) were given precedence during the sweltering months of summer. Thus, many had to be turned away. Holiday House was built as a larger, more ideal facility.
