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Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia

Architects
G. W. & W. D. Hewitt John Notman
Year
1857
Style
Romanesque Revival
City
Philadelphia, PA
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The Church of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal church on Rittenhouse Square, designed by Scottish architect John Notman and first used for services on March 27, 1859; its corner tower was added in 1867 by George W. Hewitt of the firm Fraser, Furness & Hewitt. Notman designed it in a simpler 'low church' style, a deliberate contrast to the fancier high-church, Anglo-Catholic design of his nearby St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Its rector from 1862 to 1869 was Phillips Brooks, who wrote the lyrics to 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and delivered a eulogy for Abraham Lincoln here on April 23, 1865.

the building

Low church by design. Notman built Holy Trinity in the plainer 'low church' mode on purpose, a direct counterpoint to the ornate high-church, Anglo-Catholic style of his other Rittenhouse-area commission, St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

Phillips Brooks's pulpit. Rector from 1862 to 1869, Phillips Brooks preached his ebullient homilies here and delivered a eulogy for Abraham Lincoln on April 23, 1865, nine days after the president's assassination; he went on to write the lyrics to 'O Little Town of Bethlehem.'

A tower added later. The corner tower wasn't part of Notman's original 1859 building; it was added in 1867, designed by George W. Hewitt of Fraser, Furness & Hewitt.

the style

Holy Trinity is Romanesque Revival, built in Notman's 'low church' register rather than the more elaborate high-church idiom he used elsewhere, a style choice reflecting the congregation's Episcopal, non-Anglo-Catholic identity.

More on Romanesque Revival

the architect

John Notman, the Scottish-born architect who designed the original 1859 church, was one of Philadelphia's most prominent nineteenth-century architects, also responsible for the nearby St. Mark's Episcopal Church. The 1867 tower was added later by George W. Hewitt of Fraser, Furness & Hewitt.

significance

The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It reported 471 members in 2023, with plate and pledge income of $246,001 in 2024, while average Sunday attendance fell from 163 in 2015 to 75 in 2024.

nearby

All 127 buildings in Philadelphia