Trinity Church on the Green

This two-story masonry Gothic Revival Episcopal church, located right on the New Haven Green in the heart of downtown New Haven, is a historic city landmark. Designed by Ithiel Town, one of New Haven’s most important architects, in the early 19^th century, Trinity Church was one of the first Gothic Revival buildings in the United States. Just as its Episcopal parish constituted a departure from New Haven’s founding Puritan Congregationalist tradition, its architecture represented a departure from the norm at the time, and its design was influential in the design of many later churches around the country. Trinity remains an active center of spiritual life and community in the city of New Haven today.

Trinity Church ongoing

Trinity Church is built on the New Haven Green. In its early years, the Green featured an assortment of buildings including the meetinghouse, courthouse, and later a state house, as well as the town graveyard. (1) After the Revolutionary War, the Green was legally designated a public space and was cleared of old buildings. (2) Trinity and its neighboring churches, Center Church on the Green and United Church on the Green, were constructed in the early 19^th century as part of the transformation of the Green into the civic center of New Haven. (2) Specifically, in 1812, the Episcopal Church petitioned the town of New Haven for permission to build a new church building on the Green, and its application was approved by the town. (3)

1.    Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 101.

2.    Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 102.

3.    Historic Resources Inventory, “Item Number 910 – Trinity Church,” (New Haven: The New Haven Preservation Trust, 1981).

Trinity Church has played a prominent role in the social history of the Episcopal Church within the city of New Haven. Around 1723 Dr. Samuel Johnson organized the first Episcopal parish in New Haven. (1) The formation of the parish challenged the established Puritan Congregationalist structure of New Haven, causing some controversy. (1) For this reason, the parish struggled to find someone willing to sell them land to build a church, so it was not until 1752 that the first Episcopal church in New Haven was built, a small wooden building on the southeast corner of modern Church and Chapel Street. (1)

The subject of building a new church to replace the old one first arose at a vestry meeting in 1810. (2) In December 1812, the parish applied to the town for permission to build on the Green. (3) The application was approved, likely an unimaginable occurrence for the original Congregationalist founders of New Haven who so resisted the establishment of an Episcopal church in their town. (3) The cornerstone of the newly constructed Trinity Church was laid on May 17, 1814, and the church was consecrated on February 21, 1816. (4)

For over 200 years, Trinity Church has served as a center of community life and spiritual activity in New Haven. (4) Trinity is known for its a strong sacred music program, centered on its choirs, and for its ministry to the homeless community through Chapel on the Green weekly outdoor services. (5)

1.    “The First Years: from Missions to Revolution,” Trinity On The Green, accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/historic-trinity/the-first-years-from-missions-to-revolution/.

2.    Trinity On The Green, “The Gothic Church,” accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/historic-trinity/the-gothic-church/.

3.    Edward E. Atwater, History of the Colony of New Haven to Its Absorption Into Connecticut (Boston: Rand, Avery, and Company, 1881), 131-134.

4.    “200 Years on the Green,” Trinity On The Green, accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/200-years/.

5.    “Profile,” Trinity On The Green, accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/a2a-overview/. 

Trinity Church is located on the New Haven Green, in the heart of downtown New Haven. Trinity shares the stretch of Temple Street through the Green with two other churches, Center Church on the Green and United Church on the Green, also constructed in the early 19^th century. (1) With this central setting, Trinity sits at the center of life in New Haven, and the parish aims to engage with the broader New Haven community and play the central role suggested by its physical location. (2)

1.    Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 102.

2.    Trinity On The Green, “Trinity Parish,” accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/about-trinity/. 

This two-story masonry Gothic Revival church features a gable roof and a square tower in the center of the eastern façade, rising above the lancet arch entrance. The rough-faced stone blocks of the church are a deep red-brown color. The stone is locally quarried trap-rock diabase from Eli Whitney’s East Rock Quarry. (1) Ithiel Town described his choice of this material, “These natural faces present various shades of born and iron-rust; and when damp, especially, different shades appear very deep and rich; at the same time conveying to the mind an idea of durability and antiquity, which may be very suitably associated with this style of architecture.” (1)

The body of the tower features lancet arch openings, and the parapet has pinnacles at each corner and small crosses at the center of each side. The sides of the building feature lancet arches with stained glass windows. The upper part of the tower was originally made of wood, which was removed in 1870 and replaced with the current stone; the stone replacement also featured a short red pyramid topper, later removed in 1930. (2)

The rear of the building features an apse, added in 1884, also with a gable roof and a lancet arch opening in the back wall that includes five lancet windows and a small rose window. (4) The flat-roofed wings at the sides of the apse were added in 1965. (4)

The interior nave has a center aisle and aisles at either side, as well as a balcony. Large clustered columns support ceiling vaults, highlighted with golden detailing. An Aeolian-Skinner organ, installed in 1935, sits above the entrance. (4) The recessed chancel was added in 1884, and the carved white marble altar was placed in 1895. (4)

Trinity’s original windows were clear glass but have since been replaced with stained glass. (4) The current stained glass windows include four windows by the L.C. Tiffany Company (Tiffany & Co.) installed in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, two windows by Philadelphia firm D’Ascenzo installed in the 1920s, a Grisaille window installed in 1871, and a window by Charles J. Connick Associates of Boston installed in 1968. (4)

1.    Trinity On The Green, “The Gothic Church,” accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/historic-trinity/the-gothic-church/.

2.    Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 108.

3.    Historic Resources Inventory, “Item Number 910 – Trinity Church,” (New Haven: The New Haven Preservation Trust, 1981).

4.    Joe Dzeda, “Trinity Walk Through,” Trinity On The Green, 2002, accessed February 21, 2018, http://trinitynewhaven.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Trinity-Walk-through.pdf.  

1.    Historic Resources Inventory. “Item Number 910 – Trinity Church.” New Haven: The New Haven Preservation Trust, 1981.

2.    Brown, Elizabeth Mills. New Haven: A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976.

3.    Atwater, Edward E. History of the Colony of New Haven to Its Absorption Into Connecticut. Boston: Rand, Avery, and Company, 1881.

4.    Trinity On The Green. “The First Years: from Missions to Revolution.” Accessed February 21, 2018. http://trinitynewhaven.org/historic-trinity/the-first-years-from-missions-to-revolution/.

5.    Trinity On The Green. “200 Years on the Green.” Accessed February 21, 2018. http://trinitynewhaven.org/200-years/.

6.    Trinity On The Green. “Profile.” Accessed February 21, 2018. http://trinitynewhaven.org/a2a-overview/.

7.    Dzeda, Joe. “Trinity Walk Through.” Trinity On The Green. 2002. Accessed February 21, 2018. http://trinitynewhaven.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Trinity-Walk-through.pdf.

8.    Trinity On The Green. “The Gothic Church.” Accessed February 21, 2018. http://trinitynewhaven.org/historic-trinity/the-gothic-church/.

9.    Trinity On The Green. “Trinity Parish.” Accessed February 21, 2018. http://trinitynewhaven.org/about-trinity/.