Cathedral of All Souls (Asheville, North Carolina)

Historic church in North Carolina, United States

Church in North Carolina, United States

35°33′56.42″N 82°32′34.19″W / 35.5656722°N 82.5428306°W / 35.5656722; -82.5428306Location2 Angle St., Biltmore Village
Asheville, North CarolinaCountryUnited StatesDenominationEpiscopal ChurchWebsitewww.allsoulscathedral.orgHistoryFounded1896ConsecratedNovember 8, 1896ArchitectureArchitect(s)Richard Morris HuntStyleRomanesque RevivalAdministrationDioceseWestern North CarolinaClergyBishop(s)José Antonio McLoughlinDeanSarah Hurlbert

All Souls Episcopal Church
and Parish House

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

MPSBiltmore Village MRANRHP reference No.79001664Added to NRHPNovember 15, 1979^[1] Private

The Cathedral of All Souls, also referred to as All Souls Cathedral, is an Episcopal cathedral located in Asheville, North Carolina, United States of America. All Souls was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II, the grandson of railroad baron, Cornelius Vanderbilt, in 1896, to serve as the local parish church for Biltmore Village, which had been developed near his Biltmore Estate.^[2] The Right Reverend José Antonio McLoughlin is the current bishop seated at the cathedral.

History

The church was established in 1896 as a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina. It is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Church and Parish Hall were commissioned by George Vanderbilt and designed by Richard Morris Hunt, the architect of Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate.^[3]

The chancel organ was installed by the Casavant Frères organ company of Canada in 1971. The Cathedral of All Souls was designated as the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina on January 1, 1995.^[4] The Right Reverend José A. McLoughlin is the current bishop.^[2]

Stained glass artists Maitland Armstrong and Helen Maitland Armstrong created three memorial stained glass windows for the south transept, honoring Maria Louisa Vanderbilt (George W. Vanderbilt's mother), architect Richard Morris Hunt, and Clarence Barker (Vanderbilt's cousin).^[5] They later created "Ecce Homo," a stained glass memorial at All Souls' Church in Biltmore, for Cornelius Vanderbilt, in 1900.^[6]

The church and its parish house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as All Souls Episcopal Church and Parish House.^[1]

In 2015 a major restoration project replaced the 119 year-old Ludowici roof tiles with new ones designed to match the originals.^[7]

Gallery

All Souls Episcopal Church and Parish House
2017

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "History". All Souls Cathedral. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
^ H. McKelden Smith (August 1976). "Biltmore Village Survey: All Souls Episcopal Church and Parish House" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
^ "Cathedral of All Souls", Romantic Asheville Website
^ Kiernan, Denise (2017). The last castle: the epic story of love, loss, and American royalty in the nation's largest home. p. 117. ISBN 9781476794044. OCLC 981761550.
^ "A VANDERBILT MEMORIAL: George W. Vanderbilt's Gift of a Window to All Souls' Church". New York Times. Jul 22, 1900.
^ Neal, Dale (6 September 2015). "Raising the roof at All Souls after 119 years". USA Today. Retrieved 16 February 2024.