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Stephen Conroy
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By Anne Biggs and Joralyn Echols Glenn
High on a hill overlooking the picturesque borough of Bryn Athyn, just a mile from the Philadelphia border, stands what is for some a mysterious local landmark: a 20th century medieval-style castle. This vision of Old Europe is Glencairn, built as a residence for Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn, members of one of the prominent families who founded this tight-knit community in rural Montgomery County near the close of the 19th century.
Like any home, Glencairn holds a bounty of personal memories and poignant stories of the family that once lived and loved and raised its children within its walls. But unlike any other residence, this former home, now Glencairn Museum, serves as the repository of a unique collection of art and artifacts, priceless items and documents that illustrate and illuminate the history, beliefs and practices of various world religions.
From Huntingdon Pike, passersby can see the tower reaching into the sky, steep-pitched roofs, round and arched windows and warm stone walls—but miss the cloister with its bubbling fountain and white-themed garden, or all the stone carvings that adorn the exterior and offer surprises on columns and capitals, at corners and within entrance archways.
And unless you step inside Glencairn’s Great Hall, once the Pitcairns’ living room, you would not experience the breathless majesty of massive stained glass windows lit by the sun, a gold-tile-spattered ceiling high above, colorful mosaics glittering grandly across a 20-foot wall or centuries’-old statuary looking blindly from arched openings or pedestals. And that’s just one room on one floor. Glencairn comprises more than 90 rooms on 10 floors.
Why was this castle built? How did the collection of religious art and artifacts come together at Glencairn? What significance does Glencairn Museum have today?
A mystery may be nothing more than a question asked of the wrong source. Churchill once famously said that Russia is “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Glencairn’s story might be described as “a belief wrapped in a commitment inside a castle.” It begins with a new Christian belief system.
Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian, devoted the latter part of his life to writing 25 volumes of systematic theology grounded in the Bible. Central to Swedenborg’s understanding was his conviction that religion was not just a matter of knowledge or belief, but came from living a life of usefulness to one’s family, community, country and church. He called his approach to Christianity the “New Church.” Although he himself never attempted to found a religious organization, the name was adopted by people who formed faith groups based on his writings starting soon after his death in 1772.
Swedenborg’s writings were especially well received in 19th-century America. The theology of the New Church was familiar to many of the country’s leading intellectuals and artists, influencing the work of the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Brownings as well as the art of painter George Inness and sculptor Hiram Powers. John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, preached New Church ideas and distributed copies of Swedenborg’s writings while planting apple orchards in the Midwest for the advancing pioneers. By the mid-1800s, readers of Swedenborg’s writings had formed congregations in a number of different states.
Philadelphia was an early center of New Church activity, and in 1876 the Academy of the New Church was established there to provide educational support. In 1877, two of the school’s founders—industrialist and self-made-man John Pitcairn and the Reverend William Henry Benade—traveled in Europe and the Holy Land.
Inspired by their travels, they collected over a thousand artifacts from the ancient world and brought them home, where they became the beginning of a museum for the Academy of the New Church.
In 1893, the Philadelphia New Church congregation established a community in rural Montgomery County where its members could raise their families amid natural beauty and like-minded friends, educate their children, worship and build an enduring base for the New Church in the United States. They named their community Bryn Athyn, believed to mean “hill of unity” in Welsh. Today the 1.9-square-mile home-rule municipality is home to Bryn Athyn College and the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools.
John Pitcairn’s son, Raymond, used his financial and educational advantages to explore art, architecture and history. He was instrumental in the design and construction of Bryn Athyn Cathedral, where his passion for medieval artisanship was responsible for the revival of such handcrafts as stone carving, metal working, mosaics, woodcarving and, especially, the creation of medieval-style stained glass, from blowing the colored glass and designing windows to assembling and installing the panels.
By 1928, Raymond had long completed the cathedral and begun work on his own home of Glencairn, his interpretation of medieval Romanesque architecture whose name combines Mildred’s maiden name of Glenn with Pitcairn. Many of the same craftsmen worked on this new, ambitious project, which would provide plenty of room for the family’s 10 members. It also gave him a spacious canvas to incorporate art he’d been collecting, stained glass both old and newly crafted, the other artisan crafts that had been perfected in the cathedral—and myriad ideas he wanted to develop for the materials, layout, construction techniques and artistic flourishes.
Despite the Great Depression, when Raymond slowed construction but kept as many workers employed as possible, the castle gradually took shape; the family moved into the new home in 1939.
The result features great beauty and impressive artisanship as well as a mix of practical, innovative and flat-out curious aspects. Several sleeping porches for hot summer nights served the parents, the boys and, on a floor near the tower, the girls. Although the house is equipped with two elevators (the main elevator, which runs up to the tower, was recently refurbished), it has just two sets of stairs between the floors—one of which is a “back stairs” for the household staff. It’s no wonder Mildred and Raymond were so trim and fit.
Like an old English estate, Glencairn has a family chapel, an impressive gem whose décor interprets New Church beliefs via medieval-inspired art.
The master bathroom has charming period fixtures, such as the shaving sink, and a double-latched door that closes off either the toilet closet or the hallway into the wardrobe. For those who loved “Downton Abbey,” a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the kitchens is rewarding.
Raymond died in 1966 and Mildred lived on in Glencairn until her death in 1979. The building and its contents, including the art collections, were given to the Academy of the New Church schools. The collections in the Academy’s museum—the items Rev. Benade and John Pitcairn brought home—moved to Glencairn and merged with the Glencairn collections to create Glencairn Museum, a museum of religious art and history.
Glencairn shares the architectural limelight with three other Bryn Athyn Historic District Landmark buildings on this side of Huntingdon Pike. East of Glencairn sits Cairnwood Estate, built 1892-95 in the Beaux Arts style for Raymond’s parents, John and Gertrude Pitcairn, currently an event center and visitor’s site. To Glencairn’s south rises Bryn Athyn Cathedral, a Gothic and Romanesque-style complex constructed in 1913-20 as a modern interpretation of medieval European cathedrals using techniques of the period revived by skilled and unskilled craftsmen laboring, as those European workers did, from workshops erected on site. Cairncrest, built for Raymond’s brother Harold Pitcairn, is privately owned.
Glencairn offers a number of ways for you to explore it year-round, starting with a variety of engaging interpreter-led tours of the tower and five of the floors depicting world religious history—along with a surprisingly intimate glimpse into the family’s personal life. The Museum also welcomes families, individuals and groups to visit other events and programs, from seasonal exhibitions, festivals and visiting exhibits to concerts, workshops and educational programs.
The museum galleries, most of which are housed in former family bedrooms, include Ancient Egypt, Ancient Near East, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Asian, American Indian and several galleries for medieval stained glass, sculpture and treasury items. The Egyptian gallery features special exhibits on mythology, the pantheon and funerary magic, as well as two miniaturized dioramas—one illustrating the ritual aspects of mummification and another depicting the mythical judgment of the dead in the afterlife. In the Ancient Near East gallery, a detailed model of the Tabernacle of Israel explains the Biblical context of the Tabernacle and the rituals associated with it. The Greek and Roman galleries focus on the role of religion in society by presenting religious objects within their broader cultural context. The medieval galleries present several groupings of stained glass panels—one with scenes from the life of Christ and another with saints and martyrs.
Glencairn’s first floor has been preserved in its integrity, with the Great Haland Upper Hall featuring dozens of medieval sculptures, medieval stained glass windows, frescoes, paintings, tapestries and oriental rugs existing in aesthetic harmony with the sculpture, mosaic and stained glass created for this space by Bryn Athyn artists.
Each November this space is transformed by Glencairn staff, volunteers and artists who install Glencairn’s World Nativities exhibition for the public to view from the day after Thanksgiving through the first week in January. The selection of over 30 nativities includes many scenes from Glencairn’s own collection, begun by the Pitcairns years ago, supplemented by loans from artists, collectors and museums: old and new depictions of the Christmas story created by artists from other cultures in a variety of materials. Each rendering is researched and labeled with its story and origin, creating a fascinating experience for visitors.
The Christmas Sing concert each December continues the Pitcairn family tradition of a seasonal concert with live instrumentals. This popular concert is open to the public and tickets usually sell out in advance.
A pair of favorite events is the Medieval Festival (October 29 this year) and the spring Sacred Arts Festival. For a small fee, visitors can explore the castle’s main rooms and galleries, while demonstrations take place on the grounds and within Glencairn’s walls. Glassblowing, stone carving, metal forging, stained glass painting, mosaics, icon writing, printing on a replica Gutenberg-era press and a traditional sand mandala are usually part of the spring festival, while the fall festival features stained glass windows, illuminated manuscripts, period musical instruments, medieval weaponry and a quest based on medieval pilgrimage.
Glencairn has long opened its doors to area schools, with many children’s first Glencairn visit being a field trip with classmates. Recent workshops have included icon painting, yoga, and creating pysanky eggs, while the current temporary exhibition on the Pennsylvania Dutch folk healing ritual of powwowing draws visitors to a presentation on powwowing’s history.
Concerts in the Great Hall have featured some of the world’s finest performers, such as violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn, Philadelphia’s Wister Quartet, pianist and composer Julian Gargiulo and solo-voice ensemble Les Canards Chantants, Glencairn’s ensemble in residence.
In the last few decades, the church community at Bryn Athyn has put concerted effort into sharing their faith and way of life, with the hope that their beliefs can be a positive force in the world. While early Bryn Athyn Church members focused more on educating their own families, now the schools in particular are inviting students from all walks of life through their doors. Glencairn Museum has been part of that effort, working to make itself better known to people of all ages and interests.
“Through our unique collection of religious art from around the world, Glencairn hopes to engage visitors in the ongoing global dialogue about spiritual belief and practice,” says Brian Henderson, the Museum’s director. “We hope the beauty of these collections, and of Glencairn itself, will inspire reflection, build understanding, and ultimately foster empathy for one another in our common human endeavor to find meaning and purpose in our lives.”
It’s also really fun to explore the nooks and crannies of a medieval-style castle and see a mummified baby alligator, Native American tools and weapons, Greek statues and the view from the highest point for miles around.
To book a tour or learn more, contact Glencairn Museum, 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn 19009, at info@GlencairnMuseum.org, 267.502.2990 or visit GlencairnMuseum.org.