Grant will help preserve rare stained-glass windows
Christ Church gets $50K from N.J. Historic Trust

This stained-glass window is one of eight that will be preserved with grant funds.

SHREWSBURY - Christ Church Episcopal has been selected by the N.J. Historic Trust to receive a $50,000 matching grant to preserve a rare set of Gothic revival stained-glass windows that date from the middle of the 19th century.

The windows flank the nave of the historic 238-year-old church at the corner of Route 35 and Sycamore Avenue in the historic Four Corners district.

The project must be submitted to the Garden State Preservation Trust for its approval, and its recommendations will be included in appropriation bills submitted to the Legislature and the governor.

The grant will be used to preserve the eight double-lancet windows that grace the nave of the church. Preservation of the windows will also contribute significantly to the artistic and historic integrity of the sanctuary.

"The parish is thrilled to be selected by the New Jersey Historic Trust for this important effort," said Robert Kelly Jr., Christ Church historian and stained-glass preservation chairman.

"This will enable us to reserve these historic windows for many years to come. They shed wondrous light on the interior of our historic church and are a beautiful sight for the larger community."

The historic trust reported it received 148 grant applications, but was able to fund only 61 of them statewide, Kelly said.

"The selection of the Christ Church windows was based on the clear merits of the project and the demonstrated willingness of the parish to share its impressive historical heritage with the citizens of New Jersey."

Christ Church, which was established Christmas Day 1702, is one of the oldest Episcopal parishes in New Jersey. Its building, begun in 1769, is one of only eight designed by the noted colonial architect Robert Smith. And it is one of only two that retains nearly all its interior fittings.

Together, the windows, all of which date from the 1860s and 1870s, are "an excellent example of the 19th-century stained-glass craft," said Jean Farnsworth, a stained-glass historian and director of the Philadelphia Stained Glass Survey.

"An intact program of planned ornamental glazing from the 1860s is very unusual as the majority of early windows have been lost."

Even with the monies in hand and the grant funds, Kelly says additional funds will need to be raised to complete the project.