Unitarian Church

National Register Listing

Street Address:

6 Archdale St., Charleston, SC (Charleston County)

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817710073

Description and Narrative:

Begun in 1772, the church was gothicized by Francis D. Lee between 1852 and 1854. The building is a good statement of the emotional mood of the mid-nineteenth century when the romantic and picturesque were dominant not only in literature but also in building design. Of Gothic Revival design, the church has a crenellated four-story tower and lancet-arched windows. The main entrance is a Tudor arch, while the eighteen paned lancet arched main tower window has a crocketed hood mould. All windows in the west façade have hood moulds. The building is constructed of stuccoed brick and has false masonry buttresses. Lee designed the church’s interior to simulate that of the chapel of Henry VII at Westminster. The architect’s use of compound piers to “support” the ceiling and to divide the nave and the aisles is quite good and gives the arches an appearance of soaring to heights that they never reach physically. A great deal of Gothic tracery is used in balustrades and arches within the nave of the church. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1973; Designated a National Historic Landmark November 7, 1973.

Period of Significance:

1852 – 1854;19th century

Level of Significance:

National

Area of Significance:

Architecture

National Register Determination:

National Historic Landmark

Date of Certification:

November 7 1973

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