Moore, Wallace (d. 1823)

Birthplace:

USA

Residences:

  • New Bern, North Carolina

Trades:

  • Brickmason

NC Work Locations:

Styles & Forms:

Federal

Wallace Moore (d. 1823) was a master brickmason in New Bern during the early national period when numerous fine brick buildings were erected. Little is known of his life or career except that he worked on two of the most prominent brick buildings of the period, both of which are documented: the John R. Donnell House and Christ Episcopal Church. When attorney Donnell erected his house in 1816-1818, his accounts showed that Moore was the principal brickmason. The account of the cornerstone laying for Christ Church, held on July 5, 1821, cited Wallace Moore and Bennett Flanner as the “master masons.” Besides practicing his craft, Moore operated Moore’s Hotel on Broad Street.

  • Lynda Vestal Herzog, “The Early Architecture of New Bern, 1750-1850,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of California (1977).
  • Peter B. Sandbeck, The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina (1988).
Sort Building List by:
  • 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.


  • John R. Donnell House

    Contributors:
    William Charlotte, painter; Bennett Flanner, plasterer; Asa King, carpenter; Joshua Mitchell, brickmason; Donum Montford, brickmaker; Wallace Moore, brickmason; Peter Shepherd, brickmason
    Dates:

    1816-1818

    Location:
    New Bern, Craven County
    Street Address:

    Craven St., New Bern, NC

    Status:

    No longer standing

    Type:

    Residential

    Images Published In:

    Frances Benjamin Johnston and Thomas Tileston Waterman, The Early Architecture of North Carolina (1941).
    Peter B. Sandbeck, The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina (1988).

    Note:

    Through the records kept by John R. Donnell, known as “Judge Donnell,” the construction history documentation for this house is unusually complete. (See John Donnell Letter Book and Account Book, Bryan Family Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.) One of New Bern’s finest Federal style buildings, it was a 2-story house of brick laid in Flemish bond and followed a side-passage plan. It featured an unusually early local example of bullseye cornerblocks flanking the window lintels. The house was destroyed by fire in 1972. The adjoining office was moved to a suburban site, and some elements of the elegant woodwork were also salvaged. Because this house was similar to other Federal period houses in town, as discussed in Peter B. Sandbeck, The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina (1988), Donnell’s records provide clues to the artisans involved in other buildings.


    image/svg+xml Durham Greenville Raleigh ChapelHill Fayetteville Wilmington Winston-Salem Charlotte Asheville Goldsboro Greens-boro Edenton New Bern Salisbury Warren-ton ElizabethCity