The Bell Tower @ Trinity Church, Oxford - Philadelphia. PA
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
N 40° 03.262 W 075° 05.180
18T E 492636 N 4433795
The bell tower, magnificent and huge, was added 164 years after the original church was built in 1711. A white, rectangular date stone set inside the brick can be seen in the front center of the bell tower bears the construction date
Waymark Code: WMA74C
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 11/26/2010
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member scrambler390
Views: 4

The tower is made of brick and is four-sided. It has huge windows all around half way up and at the top in the belfry are two sets of long windows, louvered, all sides around. Small gable are also on all sides. 3/4 of the way up is a cornice which wraps around the entire thing. At the top of the louvered windows are circular windows, also louvered. It is all topped off by a huge, steep, octagonal steeple finished with a large cross.

From my previous waymark:

The  church  building,  which  seats  approximately  250  people,  was  recorded  in  the  Historic American  Buildings  Survey  sometime  after  1933. It is also on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. The  oldest  section  of  the  Church,  erected  in 1711,  is  a  beautiful  example  of  Georgian  architecture.    Subsequent  generations  expanded  and added original  pew  boxes,  an  elaborately  carved,  Victorian-era  reredos  in  the  chancel,  and  a  Louis  Comfort Tiffany stained glass window. Before the church was here there was a log cabin here built in 1698 for the Church of England services, then cleared for the present day church in 1711.

There is a gigantic cemetery all around the church which is over three centuries old. I saw stones from the early 18th century all the way up to the present day. There were a few Civil War KIA soldiers buried here, as well as veterans from many other wars. Some of the stones are very elaborate, detailed with sculptures and ornate designs. Some are huge and tall, shafts, obelisks and tall sculptures abound throughout the yard. Most of the inscriptions are still legible but many are hard to read as they are worn with weather and time. The oldest tombstone in the yard is date 1697. This LINK lists some of the interments, some extremely famous or prominent.
I found the following on Wikipedia:

A stone in the wall of the church bears an inscription that Church of England services were first held on the site in 1698 in a Quaker meeting house of log construction. The present building was erected in 1711 of red and black brick believed to have been brought from England.

The church was founded with the help of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The church's first pastor, the Rev. John Clubb, who served from about 1705 to 1715, and later the Rev. Robert Weyman, who served during the 1720s, were paid by the Society and shared duties between Oxford and St. David's Church in Radnor, about 20 miles to the west.

In 1713, Queen Anne presented several silver utensils, including a chalice, to the church. In 1759, the pews were installed. In 1807, the flooring was completed, and the entrance was moved from the north side to the west end. In 1833, the transepts were added, and in 1839, the tower was built. In 1875, according to a design by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, the tower was shortened to one story, and the present corner tower and belfry were added. Minor additions were made in 1932.

Among the church's rectors were Rev. Aeneas Ross, 1742–1758, father-in-law of Betsy Ross and brother of George Ross, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Dr. William Smith, 1766–1779 and 1791–1798, who went on to found, and serve as the first Provost of, the College of Philadelphia (afterward the University of Pennsylvania); the Rev. John Henry Hobart, 1798–1801, who became Bishop of New York and founded Hobart College; and Edward Young Buchanan, 1854–1882, brother of President James Buchanan. SOURCE

Another good source for the church can be found HERE

Historic documents can be found HERE

Address of Tower:
Oxford Avenue at Longshore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA USA
19111


Still Operational: yes

Number of bells in tower?: 1

Relevant website?: [Web Link]

Rate tower:

Tours or visits allowed in tower?: Yes

Visit Instructions:
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mars888 visited The Bell Tower @ Trinity Church, Oxford - Philadelphia. PA 07/09/2013 mars888 visited it