The Earliest Gothic Revival
in the Valley
The first signs of the Gothic Revival style are seen in the northern valley, in Christ Church, Winchester (1828), St. Thomas’s Chapel, Middletown (1834-37), and Leeds Chapel, Markham (1841). All three were Episcopal churches, founded by leading valley families. Christ Church was designed by Robert Mills, who, although better known for his Neoclassical and Federal buildings, experimented with Gothic Revival. These churches and their patrons demonstrate the interest in Gothic Revival prior to the 1840s when New York architects Ithiel Town and Richard Upjohn spread the fashion for this style.