On my walking tours of historic #Charleston, we usually pass the First Scot Presbyterian Church on Meeting Street, which was consecrated in 1814, making it the fifth oldest in the peninsular city. What is striking about the church is what it is missing, as is the case of the three famous Charleston churches designed by Scottish brothers James and John Gordon – First Scots, 2nd Presbyterian Church (1811) and the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul (1816). None of the three has a true steeple, and are capped instead with bell towers without a spire. The Gordon brothers were master builders, but were not trained in architecture, and did not have the skills to design a towering steeple. It’s not a bad look, these bell towers, and all three churches are handsome and historic, but none pierces the sky as well as so many other steeples in our famous “Holy City”. <img.src=”Charleston Architecture” alt=”First Scots Church”
