Duke Chapel
Encyclopedia
Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at the center of the campus of Duke University
in Durham
, North Carolina
. It is an ecumenical
Christian
chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Methodist Church
. Constructed from 1930 to 1932, the Chapel seats about 1,800 people and stands 210 feet (64 m) tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in Durham County
. It is built in the Collegiate Gothic style, characterized by its large stones, pointed arches, and ribbed vaults. The tower was heavily inspired by Boston College's
Gasson Hall
, which was built 19 years earlier. It also has a 50-bell carillon
and three pipe organ
s, one with 5,033 pipes and another with 6,900 pipes. A conscious decision was made to place the Chapel at the center of the university and on the highest ridge of Duke University's West Campus. Although plans for a chapel were first made in April 1925, the cornerstone was not laid until 22 October 1930. In fact, when it was completed in 1935 at a cost of $2.3 million, the Chapel was the last of the original buildings to be built on West Campus. It was first used during Commencement
in 1932 and was formally dedicated on 2 June 1935. Stained-glass windows and other details were installed at a later date. The chapel was designed by African American
Julian Abele
, chief designer for the Philadelphia firm of Horace Trumbauer
. The current Dean of the Chapel is Samuel Wells.
, Protestantism
, and the American South
. On the outer arch above the portal are carved three figures pivotal to the American Methodist movement: Bishop Francis Asbury
stands in the center, while Bishop Thomas Coke
and George Whitefield
stand on the left and right, respectively. On the left wall within the entrance portal are carved (from left to right) Girolamo Savonarola
, Martin Luther
, and John Wycliffe
. On the right wall (from left to right) are Thomas Jefferson
, statesman of the South; Robert E. Lee
, soldier of the South; and Sidney Lanier
, poet of the South. John Wesley
, founder of Methodism, stands atop the inner arch within the portal, directly above the Chapel doors.
On Lee's carving, the Italian sculptors inscribed 'US' on the belt buckle; it was partially chiseled away (since Lee was a Confederate general) but is still visible.
. It is 210 feet (64 m) tall and 38 feet (11.6 m) square at its base. Like the rest of the edifice, its main body is constructed of stone from the Duke Quarry near Hillsborough, North Carolina
, while its upper trimmings are of limestone from Bedford, Indiana
. Housed in the tower is a 50-bell carillon
, a gift from The Duke Endowment
. The heaviest bell, G-natural, weighs 11,200 pounds, while the lightest bell weighs just 10.5 pounds.
Although a service elevator and a winding staircase provide access to the top, the bell tower is closed to the public and restricted for Duke University students to special times during Orientation and Graduation.
that measures 291 feet (88.7 m) long, 63 feet (19.2 m) wide, and 73 feet (22.3 m) high. The walls and vaults
of the nave and transepts are constructed from Guastavino tile
and were sealed in 1976 to increase sound reverberation and enhance the sound of the organ. The Chapel also houses a Memorial Chapel and a crypt
.
, Inc. They are constructed from over one million pieces of glass, imported from England
, France
, and Belgium
and varying in thickness between 1/8 and 3/16 inch. The largest window measures 17.5 by 38 feet (11.6 m), while the smallest measures just 14 by 20 inches (508 mm).
The windows depict scenes and characters from the Bible
, and of the 800 or 900 figures represented in the windows, 301 are larger than life-size. The large, upper clerestory
windows along the nave and chancel
depict scenes from the Old Testament
, while the smaller medallion windows along the walls of the nave aisles represent scenes from the New Testament
. Both Old and New Testament images are present in the two large transept windows as well as the altar window. The windows of the narthex
depict women of the Old Testament, and the small windows of the two small entrance halls on either side of the narthex contain six scenes from the life of Jesus
painted in black on amber glass. The windows of the Memorial Chapel are made from silver-tinted grisaille glass, and those in the crypt are of purple glass framed in lead grilles.
, and the lectern. Patriarchs, apostles, saints, and other religious figures carved in limewood and oak appear in the niches of the choir stalls and in the decorative screen behind the altar. Scenes from the Passion
are carved into the north and south walls of the chancel.
The Kathleen McClendon Organ is Duke Chapel's original organ and is lodged behind ornate oak screens in two chambers on either side of the chancel and in front of both transepts. Built in 1932, it was the last major instrument made by the Aeolian Organ Company before the company merged to form the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company
. 6,900 pipes, controlled by four manual keyboards and a pedal keyboard, provide a wide range of dynamic expression and orchestral voicing for the organ's individual stops
. The organ was fully restored by Foley-Baker Inc. of Tolland, CT in 2009. Broome & Company of CT restored the existing reed stops and added a new unenclosed Festival Trumpet.
The Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Organ, dedicated in 1976, was built by the Dutch Flentrop
Company in the 18th century styles of Dutch and French organs. Housed in the arch between the narthex and the nave, it contains 5,033 pipes controlled by four keyboards and a pedal keyboard. The organ's main case, in which most of the pipes are housed, is built of solid mahogany and decorated with various colors and gold leaf
. 40 feet (12.2 m) tall and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) deep, the main case is situated on a solid oak balcony overlooking the nave.
The Brombaugh Organ, installed in 1997 in a "swallow's nest" gallery of the Memorial Chapel, was the last organ to be added to the Chapel. It is a two manual and pedal organ of 960 pipes, modeled in the style of Renaissance Italian
instruments. It produces a gentle, sparkling tone with very low wind pressure, and like instruments of the 16th and 17th centuries, it is tuned in meantone temperament
. The Duke family crest can be seen at the top of the organ case.
. Over the altar are three limewood
figures: Jesus stands in the center, with St. Paul on the left and St. Peter on the right. A boss
with the Duke family coat of arms graces the ceiling.
(1924-1940), Julian Deryl Hart
(1960-1963) with his wife Mary Johnson Hart, and Terry Sanford
(1969-1985) with his wife Margaret Rose Sanford. The wife of James B. Duke, Nanaline Holt Duke, is also buried in the crypt, along with James A. Thomas, Chairman of the Duke Memorial Association, and James T. Cleland, former Dean of Duke Chapel, with his wife Alice Mead Cleland.
Two plaques on the walls of the crypt commemorate University Presidents Arthur Hollis Edens
(1949-1960) and Robert Lee Flowers
(1941-1948).
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. It is an ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
chapel and the center of religion at Duke, and has connections to the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
. Constructed from 1930 to 1932, the Chapel seats about 1,800 people and stands 210 feet (64 m) tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in Durham County
Durham County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 223,314 people, 89,015 households, and 54,032 families residing in the county. The population density was 769 people per square mile . There were 95,452 housing units at an average density of 329 per square mile...
. It is built in the Collegiate Gothic style, characterized by its large stones, pointed arches, and ribbed vaults. The tower was heavily inspired by Boston College's
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
Gasson Hall
Gasson Hall
Gasson Hall is a building on the campus of Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is named after the 13th president of Boston College, Thomas I. Gasson, SJ, considered BC's "second founder."-History:...
, which was built 19 years earlier. It also has a 50-bell carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
and three pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
s, one with 5,033 pipes and another with 6,900 pipes. A conscious decision was made to place the Chapel at the center of the university and on the highest ridge of Duke University's West Campus. Although plans for a chapel were first made in April 1925, the cornerstone was not laid until 22 October 1930. In fact, when it was completed in 1935 at a cost of $2.3 million, the Chapel was the last of the original buildings to be built on West Campus. It was first used during Commencement
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
in 1932 and was formally dedicated on 2 June 1935. Stained-glass windows and other details were installed at a later date. The chapel was designed by African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Julian Abele
Julian Abele
Julian Abele was a prominent African-American architect, and the chief designer in the offices of architect Horace Trumbauer...
, chief designer for the Philadelphia firm of Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University...
. The current Dean of the Chapel is Samuel Wells.
Exterior
Entrance Portal
Carved on the ornate entrance to the Chapel are ten figures important to MethodismMethodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, and the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. On the outer arch above the portal are carved three figures pivotal to the American Methodist movement: Bishop Francis Asbury
Francis Asbury
Bishop Francis Asbury was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, now The United Methodist Church in the United States...
stands in the center, while Bishop Thomas Coke
Thomas Coke
Thomas Coke *Thomas Coke of Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire, created Privy Counsellor]in 1708*Thomas Coke , early Methodist*Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester...
and George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
stand on the left and right, respectively. On the left wall within the entrance portal are carved (from left to right) Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar, Scholastic, and an influential contributor to the politics of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. He was known for his book burning, destruction of what he considered immoral art, and what he thought the Renaissance—which began in his...
, Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, and John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher who was known as an early dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached...
. On the right wall (from left to right) are Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, statesman of the South; Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, soldier of the South; and Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...
, poet of the South. John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
, founder of Methodism, stands atop the inner arch within the portal, directly above the Chapel doors.
On Lee's carving, the Italian sculptors inscribed 'US' on the belt buckle; it was partially chiseled away (since Lee was a Confederate general) but is still visible.
Bell Tower
The bell tower of Duke Chapel is modeled after the Bell Harry Tower of Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
. It is 210 feet (64 m) tall and 38 feet (11.6 m) square at its base. Like the rest of the edifice, its main body is constructed of stone from the Duke Quarry near Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....
, while its upper trimmings are of limestone from Bedford, Indiana
Bedford, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,768 people, 6,054 households, and 3,644 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,157.1 people per square mile . There were 6,618 housing units at an average density of 556.2 per square mile...
. Housed in the tower is a 50-bell carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
, a gift from The Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke. The mission of the foundation is to serve the people of North Carolina and South Carolina by supporting selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and...
. The heaviest bell, G-natural, weighs 11,200 pounds, while the lightest bell weighs just 10.5 pounds.
Although a service elevator and a winding staircase provide access to the top, the bell tower is closed to the public and restricted for Duke University students to special times during Orientation and Graduation.
Interior
Duke Chapel, like many Christian churches and cathedrals, is cruciform, with a naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
that measures 291 feet (88.7 m) long, 63 feet (19.2 m) wide, and 73 feet (22.3 m) high. The walls and vaults
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
of the nave and transepts are constructed from Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...
and were sealed in 1976 to increase sound reverberation and enhance the sound of the organ. The Chapel also houses a Memorial Chapel and a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
.
Stained-Glass Windows
The 77 Chapel windows were designed and constructed over a three year period by 15 artists and craftsmen, including S. Charles Jaekle of G. Owen BonawitG. Owen Bonawit
G. Owen Bonawit was an artist whose studio created thousands of pieces of stained glass for Yale, Duke, and Northwestern universities; Connecticut College; and at private homes. There are, by one count, 887 pieces in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library. Bonawit worked often and closely with the...
, Inc. They are constructed from over one million pieces of glass, imported from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and varying in thickness between 1/8 and 3/16 inch. The largest window measures 17.5 by 38 feet (11.6 m), while the smallest measures just 14 by 20 inches (508 mm).
The windows depict scenes and characters from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, and of the 800 or 900 figures represented in the windows, 301 are larger than life-size. The large, upper clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows along the nave and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
depict scenes from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, while the smaller medallion windows along the walls of the nave aisles represent scenes from the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Both Old and New Testament images are present in the two large transept windows as well as the altar window. The windows of the narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
depict women of the Old Testament, and the small windows of the two small entrance halls on either side of the narthex contain six scenes from the life of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
painted in black on amber glass. The windows of the Memorial Chapel are made from silver-tinted grisaille glass, and those in the crypt are of purple glass framed in lead grilles.
Chancel
Duke Chapel's chancel contains the altar, the choir stalls, the pulpitPulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
, and the lectern. Patriarchs, apostles, saints, and other religious figures carved in limewood and oak appear in the niches of the choir stalls and in the decorative screen behind the altar. Scenes from the Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
are carved into the north and south walls of the chancel.
Organs
Duke Chapel houses three large pipe organs, each constructed in a different style, which are used for religious services, ceremonies, recitals, and the study of organ performance. Additionally, a portable "box" organ belongs to the Chapel and accompanies small groups and organizations.The Kathleen McClendon Organ is Duke Chapel's original organ and is lodged behind ornate oak screens in two chambers on either side of the chancel and in front of both transepts. Built in 1932, it was the last major instrument made by the Aeolian Organ Company before the company merged to form the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company
Aeolian-Skinner
Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. — Æolian-Skinner of Boston, Massachusetts was an important American builder of a large number of notable pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner , Arthur Hudson Marks ,...
. 6,900 pipes, controlled by four manual keyboards and a pedal keyboard, provide a wide range of dynamic expression and orchestral voicing for the organ's individual stops
Organ stop
An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist; some can be "on" , while others can be "off" .The term can also refer...
. The organ was fully restored by Foley-Baker Inc. of Tolland, CT in 2009. Broome & Company of CT restored the existing reed stops and added a new unenclosed Festival Trumpet.
The Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Organ, dedicated in 1976, was built by the Dutch Flentrop
Flentrop
Flentrop is a Dutch company based in Zaandam that builds and restores organs.-History:It was established in 1903 by Hendrik Wicher Flentrop from Koog aan de Zaan. Hendrik, originally a house painter by trade, was an organist at the church at Zaandam, and started a piano - and organ trade...
Company in the 18th century styles of Dutch and French organs. Housed in the arch between the narthex and the nave, it contains 5,033 pipes controlled by four keyboards and a pedal keyboard. The organ's main case, in which most of the pipes are housed, is built of solid mahogany and decorated with various colors and gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
. 40 feet (12.2 m) tall and 4.5 feet (1.4 m) deep, the main case is situated on a solid oak balcony overlooking the nave.
The Brombaugh Organ, installed in 1997 in a "swallow's nest" gallery of the Memorial Chapel, was the last organ to be added to the Chapel. It is a two manual and pedal organ of 960 pipes, modeled in the style of Renaissance Italian
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
instruments. It produces a gentle, sparkling tone with very low wind pressure, and like instruments of the 16th and 17th centuries, it is tuned in meantone temperament
Meantone temperament
Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, which is a system of musical tuning. In general, a meantone is constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a stack of perfect fifths, but in meantone, each fifth is narrow compared to the ratio 27/12:1 in 12 equal temperament, the opposite of...
. The Duke family crest can be seen at the top of the organ case.
Memorial Chapel
A Memorial Chapel was later added to the left of the chapel by the Duke Memorial Association. Intended as a place for reflection and prayer, the Memorial Chapel is closed to tourists and separated from the rest of the Chapel by large iron gates. Along the left wall, the University's benefactors—Washington Duke and his two sons, James B. Duke and Benjamin N. Duke—are entombed in three 30-ton, white Carrara marble sarcophagi carved by Charles KeckCharles Keck
Charles Keck was an American sculptor, born in New York City. He studied in the National Academy of Design and Art Students League with Philip Martiny and was an assistant to Augustus Saint-Gaudens from 1893 to 1898. He also attended the American Academy in Rome. He is best known for his...
. Over the altar are three limewood
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
figures: Jesus stands in the center, with St. Paul on the left and St. Peter on the right. A boss
Boss (architecture)
In architecture, a boss is a knob or protrusion of stone or wood.Bosses can often be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the intersection of a vault. In Gothic architecture, such roof bosses are often intricately carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations...
with the Duke family coat of arms graces the ceiling.
Crypt
Several important people of Duke University are interred in the crypt directly beneath the Memorial Chapel, including three Presidents of the University: William Preston FewWilliam Preston Few
William Preston Few was the first president of Duke University and the fifth president of its predecessor, Trinity College....
(1924-1940), Julian Deryl Hart
Julian Deryl Hart
Julian Deryl Hart served as President of Duke University, North Carolina, United States, from 1960 to 1963. Previously, he was the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Duke. During his presidency of three years, he planned and initiated programs to enhance the "academic...
(1960-1963) with his wife Mary Johnson Hart, and Terry Sanford
Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
(1969-1985) with his wife Margaret Rose Sanford. The wife of James B. Duke, Nanaline Holt Duke, is also buried in the crypt, along with James A. Thomas, Chairman of the Duke Memorial Association, and James T. Cleland, former Dean of Duke Chapel, with his wife Alice Mead Cleland.
Two plaques on the walls of the crypt commemorate University Presidents Arthur Hollis Edens
Arthur Hollis Edens
Arthur Hollins Edens served as President of Duke University from 1949 to 1960. Duke's third president after the school's expansion from college to university, Edens was first president hired from outside the university since 1894, when John C. Kilgo was hired away from Wofford College...
(1949-1960) and Robert Lee Flowers
Robert Lee Flowers
Robert Lee Flowers served as president of Duke University from 1941 to 1948. Flowers graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and worked for Trinity College as a Professor in electrical engineering and mathematics before becoming an administrator...
(1941-1948).