Henry Mansfield Cannon Memorial Chapel
Site: Between Gottwald Science Center and the Wilton Center, on Chapel Circle Road
Completed: Fall, 1929
Architect: Charles M. Robinson
Size: 9,314 square feet
Rededication: November 7, 1976
Architect: Bailey and Gardner
The chapel was built as a memorial to Henry Mansfield Cannon, from funds donated for that purpose by his wife, Mrs. Lottie Southerland Cannon. Mrs. Cannon was a resident of Richmond, but prior to this gift the couple had no association with the University.
Mr. Cannon, a tobacconist, was born in 1857 and died in 1907 of typhoid fever. In 1927 Mrs. Cannon related to University President Frederic W. Boatwright, "I had been thinking for years about erecting somewhere in Richmond a permanent memorial to my husband. He left me this fortune, which had been made in Richmond, and I wished to use some of it to honor his memory. I finally decided for myself that the University of Richmond would be here as long as the city itself, and that I should place my memorial in the University campus, if you would accept it and care for it."
The construction of the chapel encountered some challenges. When digging for the foundation began, solid rock was discovered about five feet under the surface. This made it necessary to blast out the foundation rather than digging adding cost and time delays to the project.. In March 1929, the stone spire on top of the building accidentally fell and was irreparably damaged. Because of its size, the contractor decided that removing the spire was not cost effective, so the spire was buried in the spot where it fell, and a new spire was ordered and installed. The finished chapel contained the narthex, sanctuary, prayer room, guild room, bride’s room, and groom’s room.
The new chapel was the site of the formal opening session of the University on Monday, September 16, 1929, even though the interior of the building was not completely finished. The formal opening of the chapel took place on October 23, 1929 during University Week (when the Luther H. Jenkins Greek Theater was also dedicated). Seniors in caps and gowns followed the faculty into the chapel, with Richmond College students sitting on the left and Westhampton College students sitting on the right. The dedicatory address was given by Dr. Clarence A. Barbour, president of Brown University. Judge William A. Moncure of Richmond presented the building on behalf of Mrs. Cannon, who was ill at the time and never saw the chapel in person before her death. Dr. E.M. Long, Chairman of the Executive Committee of UR, accepted the building on behalf of the institution. As part of University Week, poet Robert Frost gave a lecture that evening in the chapel.
In the late 1930s, a Hammond electric organ was installed, which was used until 1961 when the current Beckerath pipe organ was built. The German organ builder, Rudolph von Beckerath, prepared the drawings and had the organ built in Hamburg, Germany. The pieces were then shipped to the United States in 36 crates, and three workers arrived from Hamburg to install the instrument over the course of nine weeks under the guidance of UR’s music director Dr. John White and UR’s organist Suzanne Kidd Bunting. Von Beckerath later traveled to Richmond to supervise the final installation and to voice the pipes. In 1961, the organ was valued at approximately $35,000 and was the third Beckerath organ in the United States. The organ has 1,200 pipes of tin, lead, and wood; the largest measures 16 feet, and the shortest is smaller and thinner than a soda straw. There are 40 ranks of pipes, and there is a direct connection between each key and each pipe that creates the sound. The organ was dedicated on February 9, 1962 with a concert by Robert Noehren of the University of Michigan.
Russell Bailey of Bailey and Gardner was hired in March 1976 to renovate the chapel. The felt covering on the masonry walls was removed to improve the acoustics; carpeting was installed over the tiled aisles; repairs were made to the roof, windows, front stairs, and walk; and new lighting, heating, ventilation, and public address systems were installed. The renovation budget was not sufficient to install central air conditioning, but a forced air circulation system was installed. The chancel was reshaped by removing several pews from the front and building broad platform steps in their place. The choir loft was restructured to hold 80 people, and wood paneling was extended around the organ case that contains the pipes. In addition, one of the stained glass windows was covered during the renovation. In 1941 Dr. Douglas S. Freeman and his wife had given a copy of Holman Hunt’s “Christ, the Light of the World” in memory of their mothers, Mary Tyler Goddin and Bettie Allen Freeman. It was decided during the renovation plans that the window contrasted too much with the Gothic architecture of the chapel and that it was being obscured by tubes from the organ, which took away attention away from the speaker’s platform.
The chapel was rededicated on November 7, 1976 during Homecoming Weekend. Dr. David D. Burhans, University Chaplain, presided (the position of Chaplain had been established by the Board of Trustees in 1973), and Dr. Elmer S. West, Jr. delivered the dedicatory address.
In the late 1980s, various donors paid for the installation of 27 stained glass windows. The windows were designed by Brenda Belfield of Alexandria, Virginia, who is known for the windows that she created for the Washington National Cathedral.
When the chapel was first built, Richmond College and Westhampton College held separate chapel services – men on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and women on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Later, the services became co-ed. The chapel has also been used for a variety of other events since its construction, such as convocations, concerts, and weddings.
In 2002, the Columbarium and Memorial Garden was created next to the chapel. The columbarium, which contains the cremated remains of alumni, faculty, staff, and students, includes 3,000 niches that each holds up to two urns; there are granite slabs where names can be engraved. The garden can be used for the scattering of ashes and also includes a central memorial plaque for engraving names. The Columbarium and Memorial Garden was dedicated on April 27, 2002.
Sources:
The Collegian, 21 Sep. 1928; 15 Mar. 1929; 20 Sep. 1929; 11 Oct. 1929; 18 October 1929
Daniel, W. Harrison. History at the University of Richmond
VBHS building file
UR website
Annual Report of the President of the University of Richmond, 1928
Richmond Alumni Magazine Winter 2004