Above, a postcard of the Unitarian Church depicts the building as it appeared in the early twentieth century. Presently, much of the church is hidden behind trees that are a more recent landscaping addition. As indicated by the church records, size and height of the windows and doors have been altered, but still reflect the orginal design. The steeple appears to be the same as the original, but it is, in fact, a replication. The first steeple was struck by lighting in 1955 exposing deteriorating beams. (1) It was reconstructed to look like the original and remains a beacon to the street. Seen only slightly in the bottom left corner of the current photograph the end of Church Street remains cobbled, as it was in the postcard, until it intersects with Pearl Street. In spite of numerous renovations and rear additions, the Unitarian Church appears much the same today as it did one hundred years ago.
Standing at the head of Church Street, the Unitarian Church has long remained a prominent fixture of the streetscape. Its ninty foot steeple can be seen rising over Church Street from blocks away. Built in 1816, exstensive records were kept by the Church documenting the details of its construction. On April 30, 1810 Daniel Haskell signed over "one Acre of Land consisting of four Lots of a quarter of an Acre each & Numbered 188- 189- 212 & 213 adjoining together- and the equal undivided half of the second division, being lot No 179…" (2)
In November 1815 E.J. Englesby began the project when he purchased, on behalf of the Church, 40,000 bricks from Seth Pomeroy at a price of $226.67. (3) A building contract signed on December 18, 1815 outlines the building materials and contracted work to be provided by Seth Pomeroy and names E.J. Englesby as project manager, it specificies:
"Englesby shall direct the work to be done in the best manner by the best of workmen, and with the best of materials and in such a style and order as the said Englesby shall direct according to the plan drawn by Mr. Banner… to be Completed by said Pomeroy to the turning of the key… And the said Eben T. Englesby shall pay to the said Seth Pomeroy for the job aforesaid, the sum of Three Thousand seven Hundred Dollars in money… the whole to be completed by the 30th Day of Novermber next." (4)
On March 7, 1816 'An Agreement of Ebenezer T. Englesby with --- Sinclear and Allen' contracted Sinclear and Allen to provide all of the timber, and to construct and raise the frame which "is to be made according to the plan prepared for said building by Mr. Banner except the oak Timber, which is to be pine." (5) The contract goes on to explain that $150 would be paid for the frame and $7 for every hundred feet of timber; up to $300 was to be paid in cash and the rest in merchandise from Englesby's store, or in "Beef Cattle." (6) Notably, the two contracts both attribute the Church's design to a Mr. Banner. An October 1816 bill for lumber, pictured below, recycles an elevation of the Church's truss roof. (7) Finally, a receipt for work on the spire including the errection of the weathervane, issued on December 10, 1816, indicates that the building form was complete. (8)
A record from the 1845 Proprietors Book outlines extensive repairs and rennovations made to the Church. (9) Repairs included "straightening of the spire by moving the centre shaft 2 ft. north," and reshingling all the roofs. The upper windows were lowered 3 ft. and an entablature was added around the whole building. (10) The image above (on right) shows the massing of the Unitarian Church with the original 1816 structure and two rear additions the first of which is attributed to 1869, and the second to 1993. (11)
Although the architect is clearly named in multiple records durning the Church's construction, this information appears to have been misplaced and forgotten by the early 1900s. A November 10, 1916 response to an inquiry by Reverend Staples, prepared by Roger Greeley from Kilham & Hopkins architectural firm about the origin of the design reiterates the information found in early Church records. He replies "I find that Peter Banner, who probably carried out the plans of Charles Bulfinch when your church was built, was the architect of the Park Street Church in Boston and was one of the very best architects of the period. His work in this particular instance is of the best order…" (12) Another letter sent to Rev. Staples from Roger Greeley on November 20, 1916 further clarifies rumors the Church had been designed by renowned Boston architect Charles Bulfinch. "The Burlington Church is not mentioned in Mr. Bulfinch's own list of his works nor can I find any reference to it in the library or in fact in Boston. I feel that it is likely that Mr. Bulfinch made preliminary sketches determining the general character of the edifice and that he recommended Peter Banner to Mr. Engelsby as Architect to assume complete charge and responsibility of the problem." (13)
1. "The One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Dedication of the Meeting House of the First Unitarian Church", (Burlington, VT: January 21, 1967).
2. Daniel Haskell's release of land to First Congregational Society, April 30, 1810, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
3. Receipt, Brick bought from Seth Pomeroy, November 1815, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
4. Building Contract, December 18, 1885, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection, (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
5. An Agreement of Ebenezer T. Englesby with Sinclear and Allen, March 7, 1816, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
6. Ibid.
7. Receipt, October 1816, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
8. Receipt, December 10, 1816, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
9. Proprietors Book, 1845, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
10. Ibid.
11. City of Burlington, "Property Details," http://www.burlingtonvt.gov/ProperytDetails.aspx?a=5400#
12. Letter from Roger Greeley to Rev. Charles Staples, November 10, 1916, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
13. Letter from Roger Greeley to Rev. Charles Staples, November 20, 1916, Unitarian Church Manuscript Collection (University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections).
