Circular Congregational Church

Circular Congregational Church
front

This week, our class looked at the different Churches in the historic district of Charleston. Among all of these, the Circular Congregational Church on 150 Meeting Street stood out to me and my group the most because of its unique look. 

It resembles a castle and stands out with its exposed, brick walls. It was also nice to have a path in the graveyard, which made it easier to walk through and to look at the tombstones. The tombstones, also attracted our attention being mainly made out of slate stones. The slightly blue color gave the cemetery almost a little more life, as odd as it may sound. The tombstones are also beautifully decorated and nice to look at! 

Another distinguishing feature is the white parish house. It creates an interesting counterpart to the rustic looking church. Furthermore, it is the only monument remaining from the 17th century, as we later found out. Additionally, it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973! 

Let's have an even closer look on the history of the church!

The Circular Congregational Church was founded in 1681 by the English Congregationalists, Scots Presbyterians, and French Huguenots of the original settlement. The first church on this site was a meeting house and is how Meeting Street got its name. 

Circular Congregational Church
backside

At this time church welcomed everyone, including slaves and poor people. Furthermore, governors, senators, and the editor of the Courier were part of the congregation, giving the church an extended influence also beyond its walls. In 1787, the congregation became so large that a second meeting house was built and in 1804, a larger church was built to replace the meeting house.

Martha Laurens Ramsay proposed to build the church in a circular form and the architect Robert Mills put these ideas into practice. Mills also designed the Parish House in Greek Revival style. With this building he showed his abilities to create those temples also in small proportions. First people made fun of its unique appearance since it did not have a steeple in the beginning. The New England-style steeple only got added in 1838 and made the church 182 feet high.

The fire of 1861 and following Civil War damaged not only the church but also the religious community. The black community withdrew and remaining congregation members started rebuilding the sanctuary in 1890. The new church was designed by Stephenson and Greene of New York City and inspired by Henry Hobart Richardson. The Romanesque style again was unique for their time. The new church remained the circular exterior form (remembering the former church and as a symbol for wholeness and eternity) and combined it with the Greek cross in its interior (Christian symbol of death and resurrection).

Graveyard of the Church

The church’s cemetery can be said to be the oldest English cemetery in Charleston. Many graves were unfortunately lost throughout the Great Fire, hurricanes, and other disasters. Currently, there are over 500 graves and another 620 names written in the church’s records. The majority of the graves are of people who were born before 1800. The earliest is Henry Simonds’s unmarked tomb from 1695! 

Walking through the cemetery, you can see the evolution of the skull and crossbone art on headstones and how it changed over time. It began as simple and anatomically incorrect but artists began adding detail over time such as wings, brows, noses, lips, and more. You can also find many portraits of those who are buried on their headstones. These are called “portraitures.” The largest tomb in the cemetery is a standing 10'x10'x10' box containing the remains of at least 18 people. Charleston’s first mayor, Richard Hutson, is buried here as well. The list goes on of the kind of people, graves, and history you could learn from the Circular Congregational Church’s cemetery!