Henry Vaughan (1845 – June 30, 1917), a prolific and talented church architect, came to America to bring the English Gothic style to the American branch of the Anglican Communion (The Episcopal Church). He was an apprentice under George Frederick Bodley and went on to great success popularizing the Gothic Revival style.
Vaughan was born in Cheshire, England. When he was a child, his family relocated to Dollar in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. He attended Dollar Academy, and was awarded a bronze medal in art from the school in 1863. He then began his apprenticeship under Bodley, eventually becoming head draftsman at the firm of Bodley and Garner.
In 1881, Vaughan came to America, settling in Boston and opening an office in Pemberton Square. He married Mary Shellow a few years later and they had ten children together. He rapidly found success with the Anglican (Episcopal) and Catholic churches. His first commission in the USA was the Chapel of the Society of Saint Margaret.
In the mid-1880s, Vaughan began to receive commissions from Edward Francis Searles, working on numerous projects continuing through until Vaughan's death.
Vaughan died in 1917 in the Boston suburb of Newton Centre, and was interred at the Washington National Cathedral.
Notable Vaughan projects include:
Chapel of the Society of Saint Margaret, Boston, MASt. Mary's Episcopal Church, Dorchester, MA, 1888portions of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, particularly the chapels to Saint Boniface, Saint James, and Saint AnsgarWashington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. (with Bodley) *Philip Frohman, another Boston architect, made substantial refinements to the initial blueprint after both Bodley and Vaughan's deaths, He finished the work of the Cathedral, changing many elements, and spent nearly 50 years completing it. He is really considered the architect of the Cathedral. See the Wikipedia article on Philip Frohman as well as other biographical pieces. See http://www.nationalcathedral.org/about/architecturalHistory.shtmlThe Episcopal Church of the Mediator in Kingsbridge, NY, called "the little cathedral of the Bronx" (as of October 2009, this structure and some of its major interior art pieces and Tiffany windows are in need of significant restoration due to water damage from a leaking roof) (1913)Christ Church, New Haven, CTHoly Cross Monastery, West Park, NY (with Ralph Adams Cram)St. John's Chapel, at Groton School, Groton, MAChapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, at St. Paul's School, Concord, NHAmasa Stone Chapel, at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OHChurch of the Redeemer Chestnut Hill, MAChurch of the Holy Innocents (Hoboken, New Jersey)Searles High School, (1898) Great Barrington MASearles High School (1904), Methuen, MASerlo Organ Hall (completed 1909, now known as Methuen Memorial Music Hall) and Pine Lodge Mansion in Methuen, MAStillwater Manor, a 24-room 3-story mansion in Salem, NHStanton Harcourt Castle, now known as Searles Castle, Windham, NH. 20 room castle completed in 1915 at a cost of approximately $1,250,000, modeled on the Stanton Harcourt Castle in Oxfordshire, England.Dream House, now known as Searles Mansion, Block Island, RI. Constructed 1886-1888 as a home for Searles and his wife, it had a "twin house" design with each of the Searles' having a separate identical side of the mansion.Mary Francis Searles Science Building, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, MEvarious schools and churches
