St. Mary’s Episcopal Church of Scarborough, which dates from 1851 and once counted Washington Irving among its worshippers, has been placed up for sale.
The church in what is now Briarcliff Manor was first named St. Mary’s Church, Beechwood, before being renamed after St. Mary’s Church of Scarborough, England, according to “Our Village, Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. 1902-1952.” The architecture was inspired by the English church.
The historic house of worship closed in the summer of 2015, amid “longstanding fiscal challenges and diminishing personal resources,” according to an announcement by its priest-in-charge at the time.
The listing by Cushman & Wakefield does not include a price, although the property’s total assessment is $2,454,200, which includes the house of worship building and the rectory/single family house that’s part of the sale.
The sale “presents a once in a generation opportunity to become the next steward of a property steeped in history,” the listing boasts.
The property on 669 Albany Post Road (Route 9) is in the 376-acre Scarborough Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and abuts Sleepy Hollow Country Club, according to the listing.
The 1.23-acre campus includes a 5,300-square-foot house of worship and a 2,770-square-foot single family house that formerly served as a rectory.
The original portion of the house of worship is a Gothic Revival structure built of granite with a high-pitched, slate-covered gable roof that was completed in 1851.
The sanctuary has a capacity of about 175 people. A stone corridor leads to an additional gathering space. The building is covered with ivy brought from Scotland, which was originally planted by Washington Irving, according to Briarcliff’s early history.
A bell displayed outside the church is said to have been presented by Commodore Matthew Perry, a Scarborough resident, who brought it home from the Mexican-American War.
The building also holds a sacristy, several classrooms, and a kitchen added in 1960.
The house of worship has the only complete set of stained-glass windows manufactured by John Jay Bolton — one of America’s earliest stained-glass enterprises, according to the listing.
The two-story rectory was built in the 1930s and later expanded and updated. The home, modeled after the sanctuary building, has four bedrooms, 3 ½ bathrooms, and a single car garage.
Briarcliff Manor’s R60A single-family zoning for that parcel typically accommodates homes situated on 1.38 acres or more set back from the street.
