In 2005, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church completed construction on a new education and administration building. One of the benefits of the new building was the creation of a pleasant courtyard. But until recently, the potential of that space was never realized.
The original gothic architecture of St. Paul’s, 520 Summit St., was created by Ralph Adams Cram of the Cram and Ferguson architectural firm.
Cram, from Boston, was considered to be the leading church architect in the country when the church was built in 1928-29. He is credited with many magnificent structures, among them The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York.
Inside St. Paul’s, there are frescoes created by artist Roger Nelson and his team. Bret Dolbear of Creekstone Farms Woodworking created the wainscoting in the Calhoun Fellowship room from wood harvested from oak trees on the hill below.
There are stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and more recently by designer Rowan LeCompte, whose windows are in the Washington National Cathedral, and Mary Clerkin Higgins, a renowned stained-glass artist.
This tradition of craftsmanship extends to the gardens as well. And the new construction presented a unique cloistered area.
Janice Lewis and Nancy Spencer, members of the ecclesiastical arts committee, puzzled over the use of that space.
They knew they wanted to add garden space and were inspired by the acquisition of a jardinière, a large, gothic-style planter that resembles a baptismal font.
They envisioned the garden being centered on this feature, perhaps using it as a fountain. But it was not until one of the clergy identified the space as a perfect spot for a chapel that the garden focal point fell into place.
Lewis is a landscape architect and Spencer a renowned gardener. Lewis created a garden plan around an ironwork and stone altar she designed. Blacksmiths Frank Naples and Tim Crumley of AM Welding created the altar, which is permeated with Christian symbology. Three gothic window shapes carry the weight of the design. These echo windows found elsewhere in the historic church as well as represent the holy trinity. Three quatrefoils, three crosses and three doves further the theme in the ironwork that also has been pulled and twisted by hand. Quatrefoils are a common design element in gothic architecture, a stylized quartered leaf.
The descending doves are meant to represent the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost, while leaves on ascending vines symbolize the tongues of fire. Twelve scrolls at the base of the gothic windows represent the apostles. The altar is topped with a huge slab of stone.
The altar is crowned with a metalwork medallion that hangs above it on the wall of the church. The medallion, a gift from Spencer, has been embellished with sunbursts by the blacksmiths.
It is difficult to believe that the site – the Garden Chapel – has not always been the garden it is today. It fits naturally within the context of its surroundings.
New Garden Landscaping removed concrete from the area and also did the tree and shrub installation. Jeff Messick, the stonemason, also did the original grading. The Tennessee crab orchard stone is a beautiful tan color shot with milk-chocolate veining.
The large slabs of stone balance nicely with the weighty building and meld with the surrounding stone walls. Lewis said the central area of the lawn will accommodate 35 to 45 people for services. The area will be ideal for small weddings and memorials. Stone walls create planting beds and offer additional seating.
But the site was not without its difficulties, chief among them limited access.
To terrace the site, the slope had to be dug out and then leveled leaving the soil line far below its original point.
Bare foundation showed on the walls, and downspouts had to be extended because they now abruptly ended in the middle of the wall.
“We hauled a mineral clay out from behind the walls of the planting beds in wheelbarrows. One person was pulling and another pushing,” Lewis said.
She had the help of their sexton, John Lewis, a bodybuilder and former Wake Forest football player, for much of the heavy lifting. All material, from stone, to trees, to lawnmowers, had to be carried down steps to reach the garden. It took six men to carry the stone that caps the altar.
“It’s also about 5 to 10 degrees warmer down here,” Lewis said.
The plantings are discreet. There are multiple varieties of boxwood, including a dwarf edging kind called Morris Midget.
“We used Green Mountain and green beauty boxwood because they are hardier than English box,” Spencer said.
A dwarf Japanese dissectum maple will eventually drape over and soften one corner of the stone wall. Bloodgood Japanese maple and kousa dogwood occupy the corners. There is an embellishment of annuals throughout. Lewis and Spencer are the gardeners on the site.
“We wanted to use things that are relatively low-maintenance since we are the ones doing it. We would like to recruit some more help,” Lewis said.
“We would like the gardens surrounding the church to be as beautiful as the inside,” said Spencer, noting that the West End community enjoys using the grounds and they encourage responsible neighborly use.
“After 9/11, people flocked to the gardens at St. John the Divine in New York.”
These gardens are sources of refuge and contemplation; they extend the sacred beyond the church walls and into the world.
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