St. Matthew's Church, Bedford

The story behind St. Matthew's Church goes all the way back to 1796, when the St. George's parish became part of the "Protestant Episcopal Church in the United Towns of Bedford and New Castle." St. George's, as you may recall, was built in 1761, but prior to the Revolution was a part of the Church of England (Anglican). In 1796, St. George's was the only Episcopal church in the "United Towns" - however, years of neglect and occupation during the war had left it virtually unusable. 

St. Matthew's Church pictured in Bolton's History

In the early years of the 19th century, the vestry of St. George's sued to reclaim a legacy left to the church by St. George Talbot, the original benefactor. Upon winning the suit, the vestry decided to direct the funds toward a new church rather than repairing St. George's, which they believed was not salvageable. Before the settlement was paid, John Jay advanced a sum of $2,500 to purchase land in Bedford for the new church. Construction of St. Matthew's commenced in 1807 and finished in 1809. The church was consecrated on October 17, 1810. The adjoining cemetery was established in 1812.

In the Rev. Robert Bolton's 1855 book History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the County of Westchester, St. Mark's and St. Matthew's Churches look quite similar, with the same basic layout and castellated tower. However, while St. Mark's Church was made of wood (like its predecessor St. George's), St. Matthew's was made of brick - hence its early name, "The Brick Church."

In later years, the tower of St. Matthew's - like that of St. Mark's - was refashioned into a steeple. Several additions were put on St. Matthew's over the years. A mission church of St. Matthew's, St. Mary's, was built in 1851 on the border between Bedford and Armonk. The rectory was built in 1811; the nearby "Chapel in the Woods" (an outdoor chapel) was built in 1939; the present parish house was built in 1946; and a children's chapel (pictured below) was built in 2013. A sweet little building with its own bell, the children's chapel is 34' x 20', even smaller than the 18th-century St. George's Church (which was 30' x 40').

I couldn't believe that this chapel had been built in 2013. It fits so naturally into its surroundings, and is so traditional in its design, that I probably would have guessed it was from the 19th century. I believe that is an outdoor baptismal font on the left in this photo.

Here you can see part of the addition that was put onto the church. They did a wonderful job matching the brick colors and construction. And I loved the little pile of firewood.


Above, you can see the St. Matthew's cemetery. Believe it or not, I have never been here! It's just a few yards away from where I went to middle school, but at that time I was preoccupied with St. George's/St. Mark's cemetery (and I guess I still am). Someday when it's a little warmer I'll have to walk through and try to identify relatives of the people buried at St. George's/St. Mark's (there are plenty).


There are some really beautiful stone walls in Bedford, and they ones around the church are very well maintained. The building on the right in the photo above is the rectory, and the building on the left is the parish house, where we saw a lovely art show. There is a huge fireplace in the parish house that I didn't want to leave. Behind St. Matthew's (not pictured) there are fifty acres of woodland owned by the church.