Christ Episcopal Church

Contributors:
George Bishop, contractor (1871-1885); Bennett Flanner, brickmason (1821-1824); Thomas S. Gooding, builder and architect (1821-1824); Hardy B. Lane, Sr., carpenter/joiner (1821-1824); Wallace Moore, brickmason (1821-1824); Martin Stevenson, builder and architect (1821-1824)
Dates:

1821-1824; 1871-1885 [rebuilt]

Location:
New Bern, Craven County
Street Address:

320 Pollock St., New Bern, NC

Status:

Standing

Type:

Religious

Images Published In:

Catherine W. Bishir, North Carolina Architecture (1990).
Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina (1996).
Peter B. Sandbeck, The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina (1988).

Note:

Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern, built in 1821-1824, was one of the first Gothic Revival churches in North Carolina. Although the local newspaper cited Martin Stevenson and Thomas S. Gooding, local artisans, as “architects,” in 1820 the parish already had a plan for a church to be 70 by 55 feet, of brick, and with “high arched windows” before letting the contract. It was built of Flemish bond brickwork with pointed arched windows and a blending of Gothic Revival, Federal, and Greek Revival details. It is tempting to attribute some role in design to architect William Nichols, who had been in New Bern earlier, but there is no documentation of his role. Only the walls of this first period survive: after a fire in 1871 the church was rebuilt by George Bishop using the old walls. The image here shows the church after it was rebuilt following the fire. See Sandbeck, New Bern, and Bishir, North Carolina Architecture, for drawings of the 1820s church before the fire.