Circular Congregational Church & Graveyard - Charleston, SC
N 32° 46.725 W 079° 55.872
17S E 600093 N 3627265
The Circular Congregational Church and Graveyard is located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Waymark Code: WM4GKX
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 08/22/2008
Views: 88
The Circular Congregational Church and Graveyard is located at 150 Meeting Street in Charleston, South Carolina (Charleston County). According to a sign at the site, the Circular Church Graveyard was established in 1681. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Charleston.
The following information about the Circular Congregational Church is from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History website:
"Built circa 1892 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the Circular Congregational Church is not truly circular as its name implies, but a more complex form like a clover leaf or “club” in a deck of cards. This form has four parts, three of which are semi-circular and the fourth rectangular. The clover leaf form contains the high, main auditorium. The rectangular “stem” is divided horizontally into two stories. The lower part is a rectangular meeting room and the upper part is a balcony overlooking the auditorium. The balcony is reached by a winding stair in an octagonal tower which is expressed on the exterior of the building. This is the third church to be built on these grounds. The word “circular” in the name of the church comes from an earlier building on the site by Robert Mills. The Parish House is a good example of a Greek Revival Temple form with one high story over a lower open arcade. Tetrastyle Tuscan columns support the Doric style entablature and pediment. Church services were held in the Parish House during the interim between the building of the first and second church. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1973; Designated a National Historic Landmark November 7, 1973.
We estimate there are approximately 100-200 graves in this old cemetery.