Form 10-300(July 1969)

SITE
STATE:UNITED STATES DEPM!TMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Missouri
COUNTY:NATIONAL REGISTER OF HIS"rORIC PLACES

Callaway

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

FOR NPS USE ONLY
DATE

ENTRY NUMBER(Type all entries - complete applicable sections)

STREET AND NUMBER:

7th Street and Westminster Avenue
CITY OR TOWN:

FultonCATEGORY

z00

D

District[ZI Building

SiteD
DStructure

ObjectD00

PublicPublic Acquisition:

00Private
BothACCESSIBLE
TO THE PUBLICSTATUSOWNERSHIP(Check One)Yes:

~ Occupied

In Process

D

Being Considered

0 Preservation work

Unoccupied

D Noin progress
PRESENT USEV)z

D

Agriculturol

0Commerciai~ Restricted
D Unrestricted(Ch,:,ck One or More c.s Appropriate)

D E<iucotionol
D Entertainment

D Government
D lndustriol
D Militory
D Museum

DDgg Comments

0 Transportation
0 Other (Specify)

Pork
Private Residence

Nonsecta1·ianStudent
Chapelrn Religious
D

Scientili cfAD<~~~EE~;?~:~~?PE RTY"'-l:s: >Board of Trustees, ifostminster CollegeLUlUV)

f-'·

en

Westminster College0~

Cl TY OR TOWN:

Fulton-lr:t

G1

STREET AND NUMBER:

STATE:65251

CODE'1f-'·__,_,~=+===:t-...,b..,,,·s_s.,,,o=u=r=1....
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COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC:

on

Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Callawa

Count

Courthouse

g~..

I-' z
I-' -!
p., <STREET ANO NUMBER:

5th and Court Streets~Cl TY OR TOWN:

Fulton~STATE

65251

CODE.Missouri«29l'I

Missouri State Historical Survey
DATE OF SURVEY:
19690 Federalz-lll

K] State0County0LocalbEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS:

Missouri State Park Board
STREET ANO NUMBER:

0a,l'Ill

Cz ;oCz.:: "'tl

P.O. Box 176, 1204 Jeffe!:f>on Building

ci -ty· OR TOWN:

Jefferson City'-----=---65101.._______

J-<"'"'m0zr_ _ _ _ _ _........,'°'l_s_T_A_T_E-,·- - - - - - - - - - - - [ ~c-co_o_E--1

MissouriC29-<0>-!
rrJ

(Check One)(ZJ Excellent
CONDITION0O FoirGood0

Deteriorated0Ruins

txJ Altered00

Unexposed(Check One)(Check Ono)

Unaltered(X) MovedO

Original Site

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT ANO ORIGINAL (II known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCESaint Mary the Virgin, Alderrnanbury is a single story, three aisle, fivebay, longitudinal plan church designed in the English Baroque style by
the 17th century architect, Sir Christopher Hren. It was designed in1667 to rebuild a 12th century church of the same name destroyed in theGreat Fire of London in 1666, and ,tas constructed in 1677 on the cornerof Aldermanbury Street and Love Lane, London, England. In 1941, it was
hit by a German incendiary bomb and gutted. All that remained of thechurch after the blitz were the exterior walls,. the tower and twelve
interior columns that separated the nave· from the side aisles. In 1962,
these remains were given to the Board of Trustees of ',vestminster College,Missouri, who had them dismantled, shipped to the United States and used
to reconstruct the original Wren church as a memorial to the famous
English statesman, Sir i/inston Churchill. It now stands as the center
point of the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library in the United States,
which is located on the corner of 7th and Westminster streets in theChurchill Quadrangle of ~fostminster College.
The college's Churchill Quadrangle is situated on a rise in the landscapeand the Churchill Library, Museum and Gallery is· located in a rectangularundercroft built into this rise at the corner of 7th and Westminsterstreets. The stone roof of the museum forms a platform level with thetop of the embankment, and the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury is loc~ted on this platform. As was the case in London, it isoriented in an east-west direction.

mmz-I;;:oC:

n-IEXTERIOR
0The exterior of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury iscompletely typical of Sir Christopher ',/ren' s city church architecture.
It is constructed of gleaming white Portland limestone according to apure and simple ~rchitectural design that gives it an essentially flat
character. The main emphasis of the exterior design is on the tower
which is placed as the dominant feature in the center of the west facade.
It rises over a square plan in three stories separated by shallow
mouldings. The lower two stories are undecorated stone, the first being
characterized by a large round-arched window on the west, while thesecond is pierced by a small circular wind.ow on the west and a roundheaded windm., on each side. The third story of the tower is moredetailed with stone quoins at each corner. This story holds five newbells and has four round-headed windows, one on each side, louvred forsound. The tower is terminated by a bold cornice and topped by a balustrade. On top of the tower is a small square cupola covered with copper
coated with lead. On the west facade, the tm·rer is flanked by tworound-headed windows, one to each side, at the end of each aisle.

~ t.- . ·-.

zV')form 10-3000(July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

STATE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESCOUNTYINVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM
(Continuation Sheet)

MissouriCallaway
FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY NUMBERIDATEI(Number all entries)

CHURCH OF' SAINT MARY THE VIRGIN, ALDERMANBURY
Both side elevations have an even sequence cif large round-headed windo11s
in the four·eastern bays, with a doorway, circular window and smallround-arched window characterizing the western bay. The door on thesouth side of the church is articulated by a segmental pediment supported by two applied columns.
The east end facade of the church is the most ornate, but the treatment
remains confined to a very few planes and the character is still flat.
The central portion of the facade that corresponds to the nave is carriedforward a little and capped with a pediment to hide the pitch of theroof. This central section is distin5uished by quoins and characterized
by a large round-headed window flanked by great carved volutes. Theaisle ends are lower than the central portion but a transition from theheight of the nave end to that of the aisles is effected by means of
two curved triangular filling pieces. Each of the two aisle ends contains a round-headed doorway distinguished by acanthus leaves and apediment, with a circular window above.
All four corners of the building are strengthened by quoins and cappedwith a large stone pine cone, a trademark of Wren's work. The roof isof copper coated with lead, and has a single arched clerestory window
over each side of the central bayo
The majority of the exterior of the church is constructed with theoriginal material used by v!ren in 1677. Only a minor amount of newstones are used to supplement the originals and these replace theones lost in the bombing of 1941. To keep the church as authentic as
possible, the new stones were quarried from the original Portland
quarry. The clear window glass is newly made to replace the Victorianstained glass, but it is all hand blown to duplicate exactly the glass
used by ,vren. The roof, and the little cupola that tops the tower arecompletely new, but have been reconstructed accordine to the orieinalplans. All the window frames, pediments and ornamental carving, however, are original.

'------------------------·---------------------....J#'t. ••.

Form 10-3000(July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICENATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY · NOMINATION FORM(Continuation Sheet)

STATE

Missouri
COUNTYCallaway
FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY NUMBERIDATEI(Number all entries)

7 (i/-2)

CHURCH OF S.1-'\.IN1 Ht.RY TH; VIRGIN, ALD2RMANBUJY
1INTERIOR
The interior of the church has much less original material since it
was gutted by the German incendiary bomb. Only the tl-1elve columns
that divide the nave and side aisles and eight of their capitals areoriginal. They no longer support the roof, however, which now rests
on a hidden steel frame. The remainder of the interior is a twentiethcentury reconstruction after the 17th century church. There is abarrel vault over the nave and flat divided ceilings over the aisles.
The floors are of Bedford limestone, the walls are plastered withwhite stucco, and all the decorations are of plaster cast from theoriE;inal molds sent from England, wood carved accordine to the original specifications, and brass copied after examples in other Wrenchurches.
The eastern bay of the nave holds the altar and ornate oak reredos
decorated with limewood carvings and gold leaf. In the aisle to eachside of the altar is a vestry door ornately carved with corinthiancolumns and segmental pediments. The pediments come from another
Wren church, Saint Dionysis Back, which was partially destroyed byfire in 1886~ They were carved by Grinlin Gibbons, Wren's chief
craftsman.
The central area of the nave and aisles are filled with pews in the
17th century design, while the western bay holds a choir loft with a
new organ in an 18th century case.
A moderncantilever stone staircase leads from the lower bell tower
to the Churchill Museum in the undercroft anci twenty-four circularstone steps from the 12th century church stand above them in the second
story of the tower. Wren used these steps when he rebuilt Saint Mary,
Aldermanbury and they have been used again here.
The careful reconstruction of the interior according to original
specifications has produced a spatial effect that is totally Hren,for it exhibits a subtle atternpt to centralize a longitudinal area,a factor characteristic of almost all Wren's later churches. The
nave dominates the church so clearly by its greater height and widththat the narrow aisles hardly appear as independent spatial units,
but rather as extentions of the nave, thus giving the impression ofForm 10-3000(July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICENATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY· NOMINATION FORM
(Continuation Sheet)

STATE

Missouri
COUNTY

Callaway
FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY NUMBER

I
I(Number alt entries)

7 (#3)
CHURCH 01" SAUl'r MARY THi VIRGIN, AL~iRMANBUrtYa large open area. As the width is extended., the length is limited,
for the two _end bays are filled with woodwork and their barrel vaults
are emphasized to the point of almost subtracting them from the truearea of the nave. This gives the interior the aspect of a square
rather than a rectangle, and the impression is enhanced by the placement of a single groin-vault over the center of the church. Theintersection of the vault is marked by a large circular rosette whichrounds the square and gives a subtle sense of centrality •.; ·.,_DATEPERIOD (Check00

One or !,fore as Appropriate)

Pre-Columbion IO15th Century[) 17th Century00

16th Century

18th Century

0

20th Century

19th Century

SPECIFIC DATE!S) (!!Applicable andKnown)
AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE(Check One or More as Appropriate)

D Education

D0Prehistoric

0EngineeringD

D Religion/Phi-

Hi$foricD
DIndustryAl.original

D Agriculture
esJ Architecture
D Art
D Com·merce
D Communications
D Conservation

1-~Invention

D Lands copeArchitecture

DLiterature

0Military

D Music

Politicallosophy

D Science
D Sculpture
D Socia I/Humanitarion

0Theater

0 Urban Planning
Kl Other (Specify)

Memorial to ahistoricallysignificant
individual,
Sir Winston
Churchill

D TransportotianSTATEMENT OF siGNIFICANCEz0

1-u::>0:::

1V'Izw
LUV'I

The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury has primary significanceas the only example of an original 17th century church designed by thefamous English architect, Sir Christopher Wren, to be reconstructed onAmerican soil. This siinificance is greatly advanced by the fact thatthe reconstruction was carried out with the aid of Wren's original plans
for the church. The structure is of additional significance as a memorial to one of America's only two honorary citizens, Sir Winston Churc~ill.
The original Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury was built inmedieval London in the late 12th century and maintained until its
destruction in the Great Fire of 1666. From 1667 to 1677, tne medieval
church, along with fifty others was redesigned and rebuilt by Sir Christopher 'dren, the English baroque architect in charge of rebuilding London
after the fire. (Church records relating to the building of Saint Mary,
Aldermanbury, from: The 1·/ren Society, Vol. XIX, Oxford: 1942.)
In the 1860' s, the Wren church \tas given new gothic window tracery,stained glass windows and a new vaulting system, and cluring the following
decades was blackened by the London smog and gutted by a German incendiary bomb. (Dame Beryl Oliver, The Church of Saint Mar the Viro-in
Aldermanbury, London: 1969, p. 12.
In 1965, however, it was cleaned,dismantled and shipped to the United States where it was carefullyreconstructed according to Wren's original specifications. (A Guidefor Visitors to the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library in the UnitedStates, Missouri: 1968.) Because of this, the building possesses animportant quality that most of Wren's other churches lack. It has been
freed from the dirt of the a 6 es and the unfavorable "modern improvements,"
and has been restored to its original purity of design.
The architectural importance of the church is further increased by thenature of the design. It is one of the finest examples extant of Wren'soverriding preoccupation with the amalgamation of centralized and longitudinal space. All of its elements clearly illustrate \'/ren's desire to
give a central emphasis to a longitudinal church, and indicate a development in \lren' s style from his longitudinal churches to his purelycentralized buildings. In fact, it represents Wren's first solution ofForm 10-3000(July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT Oi= THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICESTATENATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESCOUNTYINVENTORY • NOMINATION FORM
(Continuation Sheet)

MissouriCallaway•

FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY NUMBERIDATEI(Number all ontrles)

8.
CHU:WH OF .SAIN'r MARY TH.S VIRGIN, ALDERMANBUHY

the problemt and as a transition point is essential to the understandingof the artistic development of Wren's style. (E. E. Sekler, Wren andHis Place in European Architecture, New York: 1956, p. 82.)
The church was moved to Fulton, Missouri to commemorate Winston Churchill'E
speech, "Sinews of Peace," given in the \lestminster College Gymnasium(NHL) in 1946. It was in this address that the term "iron curtain" wascoined. The Church of Saint Mary, Aldermanbury now stands as a lastine
tribute to Sir Winston, and the museum in the undercroft beneath ithouses the foremost collection of Churchill memorabilia in the Hemisphere.
Churchill was proclaimed an honorary citizen of the United States in 1963.
In all its .history, America has honored only one other person -- the:Marquis de Lafayette -- with honorary citizenship.

! ,,.),.

fX~ #.iAJ()R BIBL(OGRAPHICAL REFERENCES.
1.

Briggs, Martin, s.

2.

Dutton, Ralph.

3.

Oliver, Dame Beryl.
London: 1969.

Wren the Incomparable.

The Age of \vren.

London:

New York:

1953.

1951.

The Church of Saint l-br_1 the Virgin, Aldcrmanbur;t:.

4. Sekler, Eduard. Wren and his Place in European Architecture.
York: 1956 •·· ..... 1·· .:..:.=:_:·· ... :·-:··.IJ¢.) (;EOGRAPHICAL.•DAtA • .

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATESDEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY
OF LESS THA_N TEN ACRESLATITUDE ANO LONGITUDE COORDINATESQ

DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTYCORNERLATITUDE..

Degrees Minutes Seconds
0NW

R

LONGITUDE..

Degrees Minutes Seconds
0NE

0SE

00

SW

000

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY:NewLATITUDE

LONGITUDE.

Degrees

MinutesSeconds

38°57'

2Degrees

MinutesSeconds

less t~h~-'a~n~_,,t,..,e"-'nc!....._________________-1

ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIESSTATE:CODE

COUNTY

CODE

STATE:CODE

COUNTY:

CODE

STATE:CODE

COUNTY:

CODE

STATE:CODE

COUNTY:·

CODE

rnrnz-I;:oC

Sheila M. Hannah, Research Architectural Historian
Missouri State Park Board
IDATE
State Historical Survey and Planning 0-ffice
October 1~. 19'7(ORGANIZATIONP.O. Box 176, 1204 Jefferson Buildinr~CITY OR TOWN:STATEzCODE

As the design~ted State Liaison Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law

I hereby certify that this property is included in the89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion

National Register.

in the National Register and certify that it has been
evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set
forth by the National Park Service.

The recommended

level of significance of this nomination is:~StateO

Local

Chief, Office of Archeolo~y and Historic PreservationO
Date

Joseph Jaeger, Jr.
TH~

Date

ATTEST:

Director, Missouri State Park
Board, and :Missouri ~5tatc Liaison Officer------~---·----------,.t, ·.,-I
0

STREET AND NUMBER:NationalnKeeper of The National Registeruate--------------------Form 10-3000(July 1969)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICENATIONAL REGISTER OF MISTORIC PLACESSTATEMissouri
COUNTY

Callaway

INVEHTORY - NOMINATION FORM

FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY NUMBER(Continuation Sheet)

I
I

DATE(Number ell entries)

9.
cmrncn OF SAINT MARY TH.8 VIHGIN, AL0ERMAHBURY
5.

The '.:lren Society.

6.

A Guide for Visitors to the ilinston Churchill Memorial and Library inVol. XIX, Oxford:

the United States.

191+2.
1968.

Missouri:February 8, 1963. P. 35.

7.

11

8.

"In Tribute to Churchill."
December 29, 1968.

9.

"St. Mary Aldermanbury Comes to Fulton, Missouri."
Sunday, September 25, 1966.

10.

"St. Mary the Virgin, Alderr:ianbury."
August 29, 1965.

11.

"The Realm of Christopher Wren."

A Gift for Missouri. 11Time.

St. Louis Post Dispatch Sunday Pictures.
The New York Times.

Globe Democrat Sunday Magazine.

Life.

June 2, 1961.

p. 94-103.

Photo Log:
Name of Property:

Winston Churchill Memorial

City or Vicinity:

FultonCounty:Callaway County

State:MO

Photographer:

Sheila Hannah, Missouri State Park Board

Date
Photographed:

September 1970Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of camera:
Photo #1 – Interior view of the east end of the nave and south aisle taken from the choir loft; also
visible is the barrel vault over the east end bay and the groin vault over the center bay; View from thewest facing east.
Photo #2 – The west end and south side of the church; view from the southwest facing northeast.
Photo #3 – West façade; view from the west facing east.
Photo #4 – The north vestry door; view from the southwest facing northeast.
Photo #5 – The great, ornamental volute on the east façade of the church; view from east facingwest.
Photo #6 – The east end and north side of the church; view from the northeast facing southwest.