Newtown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Newtown Heritage Walk
Photographed by Pete Skillman, December 23, 2024
1. St. Luke's Episcopal Church Marker
Inscription.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located in the 100 block of Washington Avenue. St. Luke's was founded by Dr. Phineas Jenks, James Worth and William Paff in 1832. An effort was made to build an Episcopal Church in Newtown as early as 1766, but was instead started in Bristol. Church histories indicate that the brick church was constructed in 1832 and the frame bell tower (shown in top photo) was erected in 1835 and was replaced in 1904 by the present brick tower (shown in bottom photo). The parish house, to the left, was erected in 1893 and demolished in 1953, when it was replaced by St. Luke's House at the corner of Washington Avenue and Court Street. Visible at the back of the church in the top photo is the framed sexton's house, built in 1835 and replaced in 1929 by the present brick sacristy.
The present focal point of the sanctuary at St. Luke's is the 15th-century altarpiece, The Coronation of the Virgin, one of only two in the United States (the other is a different theme and is located in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art), cast from the original in Siena, Italy by the Florentine master Andrea di Marco de Simone della Robbia. This magnificent Reredos was given to St. Luke's for the Church's centennial celebration in 1932 by Ada B. Reeder in memory of her husband, Horace G. Reeder. In 1995, the church was renovated because it was necessary to replace the flooring and pews, but the style and "feel" was retained throughout.
In Loving Memory of our family members who were part of the St. Luke's Community: Walter and Bette Benedict, George and Jane Gore, C. Wilson and Elizabeth Roberts, Charles and Madelene Roberts, and Peter Bruce Warren From Mary Benedict Callahan and Mary Roberts Hunter Members of the vestry
Design and layout donated by Mike DiFiori, www.BuzzGraphicDesign.com, Newtown, PA.
[Captions]: St. Luke's Episcopal Church, circa 1895.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, circa 1930 (note new bell tower).
St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located in the 100 block of Washington Avenue. St. Luke's was founded by Dr. Phineas Jenks, James Worth and William Paff in 1832. An effort was made to build an Episcopal Church in Newtown as early as 1766, but was instead started in Bristol. Church histories indicate that the brick church was constructed in 1832 and the frame bell tower (shown in top photo) was erected in 1835 and was replaced in 1904 by the present brick tower (shown in bottom photo). The parish house, to the left, was erected in 1893 and demolished in 1953, when it was replaced by St. Luke's House at the corner of Washington Avenue and Court Street. Visible at the back of the church in the top photo is the framed sexton's house, built in 1835 and replaced in 1929 by the present brick sacristy.
The present focal point of the sanctuary at St. Luke's is the 15th-century altarpiece, The Coronation of the Virgin, one of only two in the United States (the other is a different theme and is located in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art), cast from the original in Siena, Italy by the Florentine master Andrea di Marco de
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Simone della Robbia. This magnificent Reredos was given to St. Luke's for the Church's centennial celebration in 1932 by Ada B. Reeder in memory of her husband, Horace G. Reeder. In 1995, the church was renovated because it was necessary to replace the flooring and pews, but the style and "feel" was retained throughout.
In Loving Memory of our family members who were part of the St. Luke's Community: Walter* and Bette Benedict, George* and Jane Gore, C. Wilson* and Elizabeth Roberts, Charles and Madelene Roberts, and Peter Bruce Warren
From Mary Benedict Callahan and Mary Roberts Hunter
*Members of the vestry
Design & layout donated by Mike DiFiori, www.BuzzGraphicDesign.com, Newtown, PA.
[Captions]: St. Luke's Episcopal Church, circa 1895.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, circa 1930 (note new bell tower).
Erected 2007 by Newtown Historic Association. (Marker Number 28.)
2. St. Luke's Episcopal Church Marker - wide view with church
74° 56.127′ W. Marker is in Newtown, Pennsylvania, in Bucks County. It is on Washington Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Washington Ave, Newtown PA 18940, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Greater Philadelphia. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 25, 2024, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. This page has been viewed 233 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 25, 2024, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.
