A DESCRIPTION BY THE ARCHITECTS, CRAM AND FERGUSON,
ON THE OCCASION OF THE DEDICATION OF
THE ADDITION, OCTOBER 31, 1926

 

         All Saints, Brookline, was one of the first churches of large size which was designed by the then firm of Cram, Wentworth and Goodhue, and it is therefore one of the structures which commands the most enduring interest and affection on the part of the successors of that firm. Laid out on the most ambitious and comprehensive lines as the result of the vision and forethought of Dr. Addison, it stood for very long in an incomplete condition, showing little of its architectural possibilities. Slowly additions were made: the West Transept (sic), the Parish House and the Rectory, but the church itself, apart from the first transept (sic), could not develop along the lines originally conceived, until recently, when, once more directed by the same vision and the enthusiasm that had marked Dr. Addison's inception of the project, the work has been continued, and at last the East Transept (sic), and above all the permanent choir, have been brought to a state of completion. In addition, much has been done in the Nave of the church in a way of various details of finish, so that now the interior at least, and in a measure the exterior, reveal in permanent and material form the conception of almost a generation ago.

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         It is not for the architects to express an opinion as to the nature of this new work, or the effect of the completed church, but at least they may say that an early ambition has reached its fulfillment, and their gratification is measurably satisfied.
Finished exterior-1926
The Finished Exterior From Dean Road
(Drawing - Cram and Ferguson - 1926)
The Finished exterior-1926
Interior View of Finished Chancel and East Transept
(Drawing - Cram and Ferguson - 1926)


        All Saints Church is not a copy of any existing medieval church, but in design it follows the precedent of the so-called "Perpendicular" churches of England. This term is used to describe the last phase of traditional Gothic style in England, which lasted roughly from the year 1400 until the Reformation. During this period there was a vast amount of building in England; the larger churches are characterized by the great space and openness of their interiors; the interior arcades are high; the columns are tall and widely spaced. These interiors depend for their effect not so much elaborate stonework as on their fine proportions and the extreme richness of their superb chancel furniture and rood screens. Outside, these churches have high walls and low pitched roofs; carved ornament is sparingly used except in features like porches, towers, and spires.
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        There are many things that still need to be accomplished. The great tower, which completes the exterior architectural effect, still remains a dream and a hope. Certain of the windows still lack their stone tracery, and therefore, of course, their permanent memorial glass, but these things will come, as have come the recent additions, and it is now possible for the architects to anticipate even during their lifetime the full fruition of one of their earliest visions which played so vital a part in forwarding the work of recreating worthy ecclesiastical architecture in a new land and under new conditions, but as an expression of an ancient religion which in its essentials can never change.

 

 

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