Now available--Spires in the Sun: The Carpenter Gothic Episcopal Churches of Florida

In "Spires in the Sun: The Carpenter Gothic Episcopal Churches of Florida," writer Jonathan Rich and photographer Phil Eschbach present the stories of the oldest surviving wood-frame Episcopal churches in Florida. Built in the 1800s, when Florida was still the nation’s raw southeastern frontier, these churches breathed the romantic sensibilities of England’s stone parish churches into a new medium: wood. Together with their Carpenter Gothic counterparts elsewhere on the nation’s frontiers, they elevated the American wooden church to new heights of historicity, imagination, and beauty.

Distinctive enough as exemplars of vernacular architecture, Florida’s Carpenter Gothic Episcopal churches also serve as time portals through which to meet the men and women who built them. Readers may be surprised to learn that more than half the profiled churches were built under the leadership of Victorian-era women, one of whom was abolitionist-novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe. They will discover, too, that one of the churches was erected by a woman who launched a congregation that met first in her parlor and later gathered outdoors under the spreading limbs of a giant live oak. One was sponsored by a Civil War widow whose star-crossed youthful romance with her future husband has been called Florida’s answer to Romeo and Juliet. Another was constructed to serve the crowds arriving daily by train to attend the nationally celebrated Florida Chautauqua series. And one, raised by an African American master carpenter and his sons, is now Florida’s oldest Episcopal sanctuary historically led and attended by African Americans.

A cri de coeur for architectural preservation, Spires in the Sun fulfills the dictum of conservationist Baba Dioum: “We will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” Fresh, authoritative, and comprehensive, Spires in the Sun is the definitive work on Florida’s Carpenter Gothic Episcopal churches. From its pages, both newcomers and those who already cherish these architectural gems will gain fascinating insights and come to love them as never before.

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Spires in the Sun will be published on November 30, 2023 by Frederic C. Beil of Savannah. It will be a hardcover book with Smyth sewn binding, measuring 8 1/2 x 11 inches and consisting of over 500 pages of text and photographs (the latter appearing on practically every page). The retail price is $75 and is now available in the bookstore. Please complete the form below and click "submit" button to place your order.

Spires in the Sun: Now available for purchase

Author Talks on the Florida's Carpenter Gothic Episcopal Churches

There will be a series of author talks on the Florida Carpenter Gothic Episcopal churches featured in the book. After each event there will be a meet and greet and book signing with Mr. Rich and Mr. Eschbach.

Spires in the Sun is organized in two parts. Part I includes: a description of a typical Florida church of the “Carpenter Gothic” style; a recounting of the advent and growth of the Episcopal Church in Florida; biographies of Bishops Rutledge, Young and Weed, with a particular emphasis on Bishop Young and his working affiliations with architects Richard Upjohn, Frank Wills, Charles Haight, and Robert Schuyler; an explanation of relevant contemporary influences, such as the Oxford Movement, the Gothic Revival, and ecclesiology; and an examination of the prominent roles of women in campaigns to build the churches. Part II is divided into 39 chapters, each of which profiles a specific surviving 19th–century Carpenter Gothic Episcopal church in Florida. These chapters tell the story of how each church was dreamt of, planned, and built by its original mission members.

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Jonathan Rich, a retired attorney who represented publicly held companies, major banks, and Florida’s principal economic development organization, is currently chairman of the board of a national trust company. He has also served in leadership positions for several non-profit organizations devoted to the arts, jobs training and the sport of rowing. A third generation Floridian, he has studied Florida human and natural history for decades. He lives in Winter Park, Florida with his wife Beth.

Phil Eschbach, a commercial photographer specializing in architecture and travel, has maintained a studio in Winter Park for many years. His photographs have appeared in national, regional and local publications. He has served on the board of a non-profit organization dedicated to architectural preservation in Central Florida and is a past president of the Winter Park Historical Association. A ninth generation Floridian, he lives in Winter Park with his wife Elizabeth.

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