St. John's Episcopal Church - Brownwood, TX - Anglican and Episcopal Churches on Waymarking.com

Inspired by the Early English Gothic cathedral form, the original edifice of Saint John's Church consists of a rectangular nave with narthex projecting from the north corner, sacristy projecting from the south corner, and sanctuary extended from the southeast wall. The nave features a high, steep-pitched roof with intersecting gables implying a transept. The structure is roofed with sheet metal, pressed to emulate shingles. The walls are constructed of load-bearing stone, both cut and pitch faced. Simple buttresses, also of stone, were incorporated to disperse the weight of the walls and allow for the large, imported stained glass windows which are a prominent design element on both the interior and exterior of the building.

Tie narthex, originally conceived as a lofty spire, is a truncated tower, terminated with crenellations just above the transition from square to octagonal form. The sanctuary and sacristy repeat the high-pitched roof form on a smaller scale and extend from and intersect the nave, respectively. Additional elements which reinforce the Gothic influence are tall, narrow lancet door and window openings and stone gable crosses. The Gothic theme is carried further in the interior which features white plaster walls offset with dark wood trim, large stained glass windows set in deep reveals, and an exposed, vaulted ceiling supported by structural and decorative trusses. The furnishings of the church strengthen the theme.

When services were first held in the structure, the congregation worshipped in a church that was heated with wood stoves, illuminated with kerosene lamps, furnished with pine planks, and weatherproofed with heavy ducking stretched across the window openings. Stained glass windows were designed, assembled, and shipped from Belgium in 1894. The windows are a pleasing blend of abstract geometric and floral forms combined with religious symbols, and reflect the religious and artistic climate of Europe at the turn of the century.