The Briarcliff Manor Congregational Church was an outgrowth of a Sunday School that was held at the early White School. George A. Todd, Jr. was the schoolteacher, and later superintendent from about 1867 to 1906! Todd, sensing that locals needed a more permanent place to gather and worship than the small one-room schoolhouse, approached Walter W. Law with the idea for a brand-new church. Law, perhaps eager to bolster his real estate empire, jumped at the chance to help. Law gave the land and Todd donated the stones to build it. Others contributed lumber and labor to the project. The church was officially dedicated and incorporated in 1897 and “opened” as a Congregational Church. It’s the fourth oldest church in Briarcliff Manor (the other three: St. Mary’s Episcopal; All Saints Episcopal; and Scarborough Presbyterian) are all on the other side of the village near the Hudson River.

In 1898 Law gave the first Tiffany stained-glass window. There are 17 stained glass windows in all, representing several well-known studios and decorative arts companies: J&R Lamb, NY; William C. Willett, Philadelphia; John Hardman Studios, Birmingham and London; Woodhaven Studios, Bermuda. Perhaps the most well-known among these is Tiffany Studios. BCC has 7 magnificent Tiffany windows, installed between 1898 and 1906.

For more information on the church see: Mr. Law, We need a church.

Taken with a Sony RX100 III