Behind the Scenes at Christ Church Cathedral

copyright-st-louis-patina-4

The Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Mike Kinman, generously invited me for a tour of the cathedral, pointing out many of the interesting aspects of the church.  First of all, while it’s a Gothic Revival church, the nave’s ceiling does not have a groin vault, but rather an intricate wood frame design.

copyright-st-louis-patina-11

The apse, however, does have the more traditional groin vaulting, which is hidden in shadows most of the time.

copyright-st-louis-patina-8

Much to my delight, Dean Kinman also took me on a tour of the bell tower, which was only built in the Twentieth Century.  And despite the claims of Compton and Dry, this was the first bell tower; if you look closely, you can see a pointed arch that was once on the exterior of the church (as most people know, the building is faced with sandstone and limestone.  If you look closely, there is a thick layer of coal dust on this arch; most likely, it was exposed to the elements for decades before the bell tower was built.

copyright-st-louis-patina-9

The basement was equally fascinating; deep under the nave of the church, this massive inverted Roman arch, and others like it, provided structural support for the walls above.  I must admit that I have never seen this construction technique–the inverted arch–in any structure in America or Europe.  I recently found a written reference to such construction in another St. Louis building, but for the most part, this seems to be a rare type of structural element.  It was really a pleasant surprise to see it.

copyright-st-louis-patina-10

Thanks again to Dean Kinman and Christ Church Cathredal for allowing me to see these normally private spaces.

3 Comments Add yours

  1. Ann says:

    What a fabulous opportunity! Thanks for sharing it with us!

  2. Tom Maher-Kirkwood says:

    WOW – Thanks, Chris and esp. Dean Kinman!
    As a kid and teen and Catholic of the ’40s and ’50s, we were forbidden to enter non-Catholic places of worship; I think we would go to Hell or Limbo or perhaps Coventry – I forget which.

  3. Linda says:

    Thanks for the behind the scenes look at Christ Church! I was baptised there more years ago than I like to remember.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.