Williams College Thompson Memorial Chapel

The 8-foot cross, designed and executed for the Thompson Memorial Chapel by H. Lee Hirsche, assistant professor of art. To the solid major axes of the cross, Mr. Hirsche welded thousands of bronze 2-inch rods at varying angles symbolic of the “crown of thorns.” The bronze rods “float” inside a black walnut frame which is in contact only with the back of the cross. (circa 1963)

Thompson Memorial Chapel was completed in 1904 in memory of Frederick Ferris Thompson. The tower is a reproduction of St. Cuthbert’s tower at Wells in the southwest of England. Architect: Francis Richmond Allen of Allen and Collins.

The chapel windows were furnished by the Church Decorating Company of New York, and were made in the studio of John Hardman and Company, Birmingham, England.

The chapel was dedicated on June 21, 1905.

Photo 85, July 2015

Williams College Thompson Memorial Chapel

Photo 86, July 2015