Did you know that Christ Church Cranbrook was carefully planned with the help of many skilled artisans by the Booth family, then given to the congregation as a gift? Just as our life as a parish began as a gift, so did our lives as Christians. As you explore this page, we hope you’ll gain a deeper understanding of why the church is built as it is, and what it can tell us about who we are and who we strive to become.
Christ Church Cranbrook is a towered late English Gothic Revival Church. This was the type of church architecture favored by George Booth. It was inspired by the old Gothic parish churches found in the Kent, England, countryside, the area from which Booth’s family came. As he planned Christ Church Cranbrook, he used these churches as the models for the church he was to build.
Gothic architecture originated in France during the Middle Ages, developing out of the earlier Romanesque style. Romanesque churches are characterized by rounded arches, thick walls, and small windows. In contrast, height is important in Gothic churches, arches are tall and pointed, walls are thinner and contain large windows to help reduce their weight and to bring in more light, and buttresses, often flying, help to redistribute weight and provide additional support. There is copious delicate and intricate decoration, both interior and exterior. READ MORE
Christ Church Cranbrook’s conception began with the purchase of a one-hundred-acre farm in Bloomfield Township by George Booth in 1904. The purchase of this farmland occurred after Booth and the previous owner, a farmer, came to an agreement, which took nearly two years of negotiations to reach. Although Booth received the farmland that the church stands on today in 1904, the idea to build a church did not occur until later.
In the same year that Booth bought the farmland, his father, Henry Wood Booth, felt called to start a Sunday School. This service was actually held at the corner of what is now Cranbrook Road and Lone Pine Road. The Booth family came to the realization that there was not a church close by to serve the citizens of the Bloomfield hillsides, and began discussing the need for a chapel. After years of discussion, Booth committed to building a church on October 4, 1923, and planned for it to be a gift for the community from himself and his wife, Ellen Booth, as well as their five children who contributed to the construction funds. READ MORE
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.