Old Trinity Church

Old Trinity Church
Old Trinity Church from the Historic American Buildings Survey Old Trinity Church from the Historic American Buildings Survey
Location	6900-6902 Oxford Ave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Old Trinity Church, also known as Trinity Church, Oxford, is a historic Episcopal church founded around the turn of the 18th century in Oxford Township, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Philadelphia.

Building history

A marble stone in the wall of the church bears an inscription that Church of England services were first held on the site in 1698 in a Quaker meeting house of log construction. The present building was erected in 1711 of red and black brick believed to have been brought from England.

In 1759, the pews were installed. In 1807, the flooring was completed, and the entrance was moved from the north side to the west end. In 1833, the transepts were added, and in 1839, the tower was built. In 1875, according to a design by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, the tower was shortened to one story, and the present corner tower and belfry were added. Minor additions were made in 1932.

Congregation and pastors

A log meetinghouse on the site was used by the followers of George Keith, who from 1691 separated from the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), some joining the Church of England and others becoming Baptists and Seventh-Day Baptists. Church of England services were held at the site as early as 1698.

The church was founded with the help of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The church's first pastor, the Rev. John Clubb, who served from about 1705 to 1715, and later the Rev. Robert Weyman, who served during the 1720s, were paid by the Society and shared duties between Oxford and St. David's Church in Radnor, about 20 miles to the west.

In 1713, Queen Anne presented several silver utensils, including a chalice, to the church.

Among the church's rectors were Rev. Aeneas Ross, 1742–1758, brother of George Ross, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and father-in-law of Betsy Ross; the Rev. Dr. William Smith, 1766–1779 and 1791–1798, who went on to found, and serve as the first Provost of, the College of Philadelphia (afterward the University of Pennsylvania); the Rev. John Henry Hobart, 1798–1801, who became Bishop of New York and founded Hobart College; and Edward Young Buchanan, 1854–1882, brother of President James Buchanan.

The church was admitted to the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1786.

References

File:Trinity Church Oxford PA.jpg

Architectural drawing by HABS

Further reading

• Historical Sketch of the Parish of Trinity Church, Oxford, Philadelphia: Read in the Church on Sunday, Aug. 2d, 1857, by Edward Young Buchanan, Trinity Church, Oxford (Philadelphia, Pa.) Published by Lindsay & Blakiston, 1857.

External links

• Listing, drawings, and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey
• Trinity Oxford Episcopal Churchyard at Find A Grave
• Listing at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings