Florence Brown Bratenahl, wife of the Dean of the Cathedral, formed All Hallows Guild in 1916 to provide for “the care and beautification of the cathedral close.” The name hallows the land on which the Cathedral was built, the life of Bishop Satterlee, and gifts in memory of loved ones.  Mrs. Bratenahl raised a large part of the funds to implement the Olmsted design, found donors for the architectural elements in the gardens, located ancient boxwoods in abandoned Maryland and Virginia gardens, and had them transported to the Close.  She was a talented self-taught landscape designer (she served as the Cathedral’s landscape designer from 1928 to 1936). She also designed arches, walls and courtyards within the gardens as well as the Pilgrim Steps and the Garth Garden at the then College of Preachers, now Cathedral College. Her work also includes the designs for the Norman Court entrance to the Bishop’s Lawn, the Pool of St. Catherine, and the Pilgrim Steps with adjacent plantings, as well as the landscaping of the College of Preachers and early planting plans for the Bishop’s Garden Hortulus and Upper Perennial Border. Test.


All Hallows Guild Presidents
Mrs. Walter R. Tuckerman, 1916-1937; Mrs. John Henry Gibbons, 1928-1942; Mrs. Charles Warren, 1942-1945; Mrs. Albert H. Lucas, 1946-1949; Mrs. G. Howland Chase, 1949-1952; Mrs. Lewis Clark 1952-1954; Mrs. W. John Kenney, 1954-1957; Mrs. Paul Nitze, 1957-1960; Mrs. Robinson de Sibour,1960-1963; Mrs. Ned Russell, 1963-1966; Mrs. Robert K. Edson, 1966-1969; Mrs. Ernest N. May, Jr., 1969-1972; Mrs. Robert Evans, 1972-1975; Mrs. Everett Parkinson, 1975-1978; Mrs. S. Parker Oliphant, 1978-1980; Mrs. Robert C. Morton, 1980-1982; Mrs. Harold D. Brown, 1982-1984; Mrs. A. Wayne Gordon, 1984-1986; Mrs. J. Murray Mitchell, Jr., 1986-1990; Mrs. Guy T. Steuart, II, 1990-1994; Mrs. Joseph N. Cate, Jr., 1994-1996; Mrs. Stephen White, 1996-1998; and Mrs. John L. Bowles, 1998-2000; and Mrs. Douglas N. Beatty, 2000- 2002; Mrs. William P. Daisley, 2002-2004; Mrs. Thomas E. Petri, 2004-2006; Mrs. Mary Evelyn Dean, 2006-2008; and Mrs. Michael F. Kelleher, 2008-2010.

All Hallows Guild Garden Committee Chairmen
Mrs. G.C.F. Bratenahl, 1916-1928; Mrs. Daniel W. Knowlton, 1937-1946; Mrs. L. Corrin Strong, 1946-1949; Mrs. Julian A. Gascoigne, 1949-1950; Mrs. Elinor Donaldson, 1950-1951; Mrs. L. Corrin Strong, 1951-1952; Mrs. Julian A. Gascoigne, 1952-1953; Mrs. William L. Ritchie, 1953-1954; Mrs. James H. Douglas, 1954-1957; Mrs. Frank Gardiner Wisner, 1957; Mrs. Clayton Fritchey, 1957-1959; Mrs. Henry Porter, 1959-1962; Mrs. William Graham Clayton, 1962-1966; Mrs. Ned Russell, 1966-1980; Mrs. Sarah Broley, 1980-1985; Mrs. John L. Elsbree, 1985-1989; Mrs. William G. Miller, 1990-1993; Mrs. George D. Webster, 1993-1997; Mrs. Frances Lombard, 1997-1998; Mrs. Thomas E. Petri, 1998-2004 (Mrs. Guy T. Steuart, II Co Chair 2002-05); Mrs. John L. Elsbree and Mrs. George D. Webster, 2005; Mrs. James A. Bensfield, 2005-2007; Mrs. Guy  T. Steuart II, 2007-present.