History
of Holy Trinity Church
Clemson
The original church building on the site of Holy Trinity Church
was a wooden structure built in the late 1800's. In 1920 the building
was turned to provide space to build a parish house and later a
rectory. The building was then bricked. This group of buildings
served the parish well for many decades, but when the size of the
congregation was expanding beyond the size of the church a new
plan had to be made. As much as the congregation wanted to keep
the old buildings and add on, the condition of the structures made
that plan impossible. There is now a new church with office space
underneath connected to the Bishop Finlay Parish House containing
fellowship and education space. The connection is made by a bell
tower that is built to accept the carillon from the old church.
The building program was designed to accommodate a growing and
active congregation.
We are a downtown church in Clemson and consider our proximity
to the University with importance. Our church overlooks the University
tennis facilities and Bishop Finlay Parish House overlooks Riggs
Field, the soccer stadium. The Parish owns a house and cottage
(Trinity House and Trinity Cottage) that are located directly behind
our formal buildings. These facilities are used in our Canterbury
College Ministry, with our Episcopal Young Church people, as well
as for other programs.
The church and office area comprise approximately 13,000 square
feet of our facilities. The church was built to seat about 280
with some overflow space in the narthex. There is a beautiful rose
window above the altar and stained glass windows along each side
of the church that tell the story of the life of Christ. The office
entrance faces the University and is located under a transept of
the church. This downstairs area includes offices of the Rector
and his staff as well as meeting and work rooms.
The Bishop Finlay Parish Hall contains approximately 30,000 square
feet of fellowship and education space. A parish hall is adjacent
to the church and can comfortably handle a reception for 300 people.
This room is decorated in a way that would be appropriate for casual
parish dinners as well as a formal wedding reception. It is supported
by a state of the art commercial kitchen located in the middle
of the building. This facility also houses the Episcopal Day School,
Sunday School rooms, a children's chapel, several libraries, and
resource rooms. The building also contains an unfinished basement
intended for expansion use and area's for our youth.
The Parish Family at Holy Trinity are very proud of our gardens.
We have wonderful gifts in our parish and a green thumb is one
of them. A street side perennial garden borders the church.
Written by: Tommye Hurst
