Colonial Churches

St Paul's Church

2009-08-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here is an image of the reredos at St. Paul's Church taken recently.

St. Paul's Church, Norfolk Virginia Images

2008-10-25T15:22:00.003-07:00

Here are some images from my visit on October 25, 2008.

St. Paul's Church, Norfolk Virginia

2008-10-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

More correctly called the Borough Church of Norfolk, St. Paul's stands in the middle of a delightfully treed churchyard in downtown Norfolk. In fact, during most seasons, the church's original plan is difficult to discern due to later additions and the presence of trees that obscure the original church, making it especially troublesome to discover clear vistas for photographs.

The parish has a rich and interesting history. It is third parish church of Elizabeth City Parish. A timeline is as follows:

1636 New Norfolk County separated from Elizabeth City county
1637 New Norfolk County divided into Lower Norfolk and Upper Norfolk Counties
1640 Lower Norfolk Parish established
? Lower Norfolk Parish sub-divided into Elizabeth River, Lynnhaven, and Southern Shore Parishes (Rawlings says "soon divided" (p. 153))
1691 Lower Norfolk County split into Norfolk and Princess Anne Parishes
1695 Lynnhaven and Princess Anne Counties merged
1761 Portsmouth Parish and St. Bride's Parish split from Norfolk and Princess Anne

The original, cruciform church is laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers above and English bond below the water table. In the east transept, the chancel end, the water table is virtually at ground level while it seems to be about four bricks on the other walls with a beveled border throughout. The church is a large one: it is 86'6" east-west by 64'6" with walls approximately 30" thick. This original building is notable symmetrical, creating an almost perfect Latin cross (look on Google Earth to see this demonstrated.). The chancel is 18'6" long while each arm is 18'6" long. The nave is 33' wide wile each transept is 26'3" side. The nave itself is 42' long. Remember that Virginia's colonial churches took on the cruciform shape not due to its symbolism but rather to the need to seat more parishioners within earshot of the pulpit.

Wikipedia

2008-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, I have written articles about some of these churches for Wikipedia. Search for Yeocomico Church, Little Fork Church, Merchant's Hope, and St. Luke's Church (Smithfield, Virginia) if you care to read them. Here are the web addresses:

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeocomico_Church
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fork_Church
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant%27s_Hope
4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Luke%27s_Church_%28Smithfield%2C_Virginia%29

Little Fork Church Images

2008-07-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here are images of Little Fork Church taken on July 2, 2008.

Little Fork Church

2008-07-03T07:13:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, expectations are less than reality. I presumed this church would resemble the overall setting of Lamb's Creek Church, and it does structurally, but the superb restoration and pastoral churchyard of Little Fork Church result in a total greater than the sum of its parts. This large (83 1/2' x 33 1/2') edifice stands on a small rise of ground off of Route 229 between Culpeper and Warrenton, Virginia that retains true colonial charm like few churches in the state.

It is considered to be a transitional church of late construction, begun in 1773 and completed in 1776, having characteristics of a rectangular church combined with the contemporary, two story churches of Northern Virginia in a geographic swath from Falls Church to St. Paul's, King George County. It retains elements such as orientation, south and west doorways, compass windows, and Flemish bond, yet includes elements such as a deep church configuration, a hipped roof, movement of southern door to the center of the southern wall, classical door pediments, and a pulpit on the northern wall opposite the southern doorway. It lacks elements of deep churches in Northern Virginia such as two tiered windows and cruciform structure.

Unlike most colonial churches, the designer and builder, John Ariss (circa 1725-1799) is known and designed another similar church Lamb's Creek Church that is s twin of this building. It replaces a wooden church built on or near the same site that burned to the ground in 1773. Instead of another wooden church, apparently planned by Edmund Bass who was paid five pounds for his work, this brick edifice was erected. The church site brochure cites William Phillips as the builder (for a fee of 35,000 pounds) and John Voss as the designer.

It derives its name from the junction of the Hazel and Rappahannock Rivers that are nearby. The name recorded on some plats like the USGS topographical maps of Oak Shade Church has no validity.

The bricks are laid in Flemish bond both in the water table and the walls and show occasional use of glazed brick in both headers and stretchers. The walls are 22" thick. Queen closers and rubbed brick are present at the corners, compass windows, and doorways. The transition from the water table to the walls is via an ovolo, or convex, molded brick. It is a large, deep church as already stated, approaching the limit of audibility in its 83 foot length. The modillion cornice, large toothed decorated eaves, are probably of colonial origin.

The interior, destroyed during the Civil War for Union Cavalry firewood, was restored in 1871 and 1976. The last restoration was done under the supervision of William Griggs, a noted historical architect, and is a painstakingly accurate restoration of the original interior. It consists of box pews painted colonial blue-green with dark wood tops, the original reredos on the eastern wall, and a reader's lectern under the "wine-glass" pulpit high on the north-central wall, directly opposite the southern doorway. In 1963, Rawlings reports a plaster line indication that the original wainscoting was taller than that installed in the nineteenth century restoration. This is apparently corrected in the recent repairs. The elaborate reredos contains a central tablet bearing the Lord's Prayer, the Decalogue, and the Apostles' Creed in modern gold lettering on a black background. The cornice and cross are modern additions rather than colonial features. It is mentioned in the church website that the box pews were constructed to keep out winter drafts, and that parishioners used foot warmers during winters. The flat wooden ceiling is a restoration as are most of the floorboards; Rawlings believes the floor level was originally lower.

The windows are of typical compass style with round arches of voissiors, rubbed brick, and queen closers. They are 8' 8" tall. There are ten windows in all. Those on the south, east, and north are identical while those on the west wall are small rectangular openings with flat arches, characteristic of openings for galleries in other churches. There is no evidence for a western gallery in this church (as in its sister church, Lamb's Creek, that lacks the western windows entirely). The doorways are most likely not the original form: the church probably had classical pediments like Pohick Church or Lamb's Creek Church as evidenced by brick repairs surrounding the doors. The original door openings were approximately 6' 7" wide, and the southern entrance was probably the main one.

Historically, the building was used as a drill field for the Little Fork Rangers, Co. D, 4th Virginia Cavalry in 1861 and, as already mentioned, a stable for Union cavalry in 1863 when the interior was destroyed. A "contrite Union officer" reputedly sent $100 to the church after the war to replace the destroyed pews. A marble monument to the Little Fork Rangers stands south east of the church and an apparently modern sun dial is placed on a brick base in front of the southern approach. There are no colonial graves near the present church, although there seems to be the start of a contemporary memorial garden cemetery to the east of the building among a copse of small trees. Small cedar trees sporadically surround the church that is embellished by a beautifully kept lawn encircling it.

In summary, the church is placed in a charming setting and has been lovingly and accurately restored to reflect its colonial heritage. Rawlings, always the objective historian, reports: "Although as an architectural monument it is without a superior in . . . [nearby] counties . . . it is one of the two or three most neglected of our colonial churches. " The recent restoration seems to have corrected all of this, and like many other of these significant buildings, it is encouraging to see Little Fork Church not only correctly restored but in active use by a congregation. As a last impression, the brick work on this church is simple splendid; in the morning light, the various hues of the individual bricks, accentuated by the rubbed brick doorways, windows, and corners are indescribably captivating.

Yeocomico Church Diagram

2008-06-15T04:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a crude architectural diagram of the church based on the chart. For a far more professional diagram see Upton page 67.

Dimensions of Yeocomico Church

2008-06-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

I have altered the chart of dimensions of Yeocomico Church as a table. Note the curious variability of the walls.

Yeocomico Church Formal Writeup

2008-06-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Yeocomico Church, Westmoreland County
Parish Affiliation
Like most early churches in Virginia, Yeocomico Church’s parish membership has changed as the population of Westmoreland County population grew or shifted. A brief outline shows this tendency:
1653: Part of Nominy Parish: Westmoreland County established
1661: Upper Nominy Parish became Appomattox Parish
1662: Became upper part of Potomac Parish
1662: Lower parish church of Nominy Parish that was renamed Cople Parish before 1668 [5].
It is the only remaining colonial church in Cople Parish and Westmoreland County [6].
Dating
This is the fourth oldest complete church in Virginia preceded by Newport Parish in Smithfield 1680,York-Hampton Parish Church (Grace Church) 1697, and St. Peter’s in New Kent County 1701. The original part of the present building can be assigned a date of 1706 according to a dating brick in the south east wall [7]. The north wing was most likely erected circa 1725 [8]. It is the second church on this site; the earlier building was a wooden structure of “oak timbers, sheathed with clapboards.” [9]. Curiously, parts of the wooden structure, including a corner post inside the east gable and a portion of a beam were found embedded in the walls. It has been suggested with no real proof that the brick walls were erected around the frame of the earlier wooden one, essentially encasing it. It is far more likely that some wooden elements of the earlier church were re-used in the construction of the present brick edifice [10].
Architecture
This is a room church that shows a combination of features from the Virginia Gothic tradition, as in Newport Parish and St. Peter’s, New Kent County, combined with the emerging Classical style of the Virginia church of the eighteenth century. Its unique features are:
The presence of a southwest doorway with an enclosing porch
The first example of kicked eaves in a colonial church
The establishment of a baroque juxtaposition of “masses and complex shapes”
Reduction of exterior decoration to understated elements
Corbelling of the corners of the church and porch
A belt course of glazed brick
Diapering on the porch façade
A series of brick arches filled with plaster on the porch façade
Corbels on the gables
A wicket door
Brick ornaments of initial plaques, emblem plaques, and a millstone inserted in the chancel upper window [11].
Dimensions
The church is T-shaped with irregular dimensions and bonds on the brick walls. The bricks themselves were supposedly dug and kilned a hundred yards to the northeast of the church. There is a marker with a brass plaque indicating this in the churchyard [12]. The chancel and west walls of the east-west wing that form the main body of of the church and comprise its earliest sections differ significantly in their dimensions. The other other structures of the church, the north wing and the porch, show a similar variability.
Also the north wing and the porch are not aligned but offset so that the porch stands far to the west of the north wing [14]. The dimensions of the main building, the north wing, and the porch are singular in being so varied; all other Virginia churches have north-south and east-walls perfectly aligned with equal dimensions. The best consensus is that the church was most likely built as a rectangular edifice in 1706 with the north wing added in the 1720s[15].
Brickwork
The brickwork is typical of Virginia colonial churches in being laid with a water table, a section standing on the foundation, a brick’s length wider than the walls that are nineteen inches thick. The transition from the water table to the walls is made with an ovolo, a convex ¼ round, molded brick. As is the custom, English bond is present on all of the water table. The walls, however, are varied in their brickwork with some sections being laid in Flemish bond, other sections in English bond, and still other sections in irregular, mixed bond. Flemish bond is used regularly on the porch and most of the south wall. English bond is used on the upper eastern part of the south wall, the east and west gables, two sections of the north wall and the chancel wall. The north wing is a mixture of Flemish and irregular bonds. Glazed headers are used with some regularity in the walls as is typical with Flemish bond, but some sections show an irregular use of the this feature also[16]
All of the walls show extensive repointing and other repairs to the brick and mortar. These may be of late nineteenth or twentieth century origin as Meade reports in an 1838 visit that few repairs were evident [17]. The present edifice, however, shows alterations to almost all of the surfaces: south wall of porch; west wall of porch; upper right part of south wall; south wall under window and lower left corner; vertical line between window and eastern doorway; water table between window and eastern doorway; chancel wall on east; chancel gable; chancel water table; north wall of chancel around small window; north gable apex; west wall lower left; north wall of nave ; west wall of nave[18].
Doors
The location of and features of the doors make this church an interesting study in the transition from the Gothic room church to the Classical room church in Virginia.
Wicket Door
Inside the south porch is a wicket door, the only known one in an American colonial church. It consists of five vertical sections and three horizontal sections each divided by battens. The smaller door is located within the middle three battens vertically and the central one horizontally. Cyma reversa mouldings are used on the battens. In the 1960s, the area around the doorway’s segmental arch was covered with a layer of plaster. [The plaster is presently removed, and brick repairs are evident.] The doorway’s wooden molding is of a cyma reversa, reverse S, curve. On the hinge side is a large wooden peg that keeps the upper hinge from pulling out of the frame. The hinges consist of thick pintles at the top and bottom of the left side of the door. The door is said to weigh one-thousand pounds. The door is six feet wide and eight feet high and is of two thicknesses. There is a large, horizontal board at the top, then two small boards, and at the bottom four more horizontal boards. The outer door is held in place by large strap hinges that are obviously hand made. The inset wicket door also has a pair of strap hinges that are miniature images of the larger door with similar construction from horizontal boards. There is a single deadbolt on the inside of the door [19].
Southeast Door
The door frame for this opening is highly altered in almost every detail with the exception of the basic size. The door itself may be original but is almost certainly of old if not of colonial origin. It consists of a pair of narrow, white battened doors opening at the center. Each door has a pair of vertical recessed panels on the top and bottom half, comprising four panels on each door. The brick arch is obviously a replacement, but the wooden door trim consisting of two vertical frames surmounted by a horizontal board bearing a chamfer and lamb’s tongue molding may be of colonial age. The vertical frame members extend beyond the lintel to the bottom of the brick arch. The space between the arch and the top board is filled with flat plaster. The sill is a simple wooden one. In all likelihood, this opening had a pediment of unknown appearance in colonial days. It is the only door in the church that has a lock and key. These are of modern origin[20].
North Door
This opening on the end of the north wing consists of a full width, battened door bearing four vertical, recessed panels similar to the south door. The frame and brickwork surrounding it are probably reworked. This is especially evident in the brick framing on the top that is now a simple course of Flemish bond. The wooden door frame consists of three sets of flat boards, becoming progressively narrower toward the doorway. There is a bevel between the outermost frame member and a semi-round molding between the two inner boards. Both the north and south doors are secured by strap hinges on the inside[21].
Windows
The original window openings are difficult to ascertain due to successive and significant reworkings of the walls since 1900. Despite this, the general form of the windows is in all probability similar to the present openings.[22] The general form most likely follows that of St. Peter’s Church in New Kent county that has leaded diamond-shaped leaded panes set in square casement windows, though, these too are reproductions from fragments discovered on the site. Diamond-paned windows were in common use in England since the 1630's. The present windows are clearly not colonial and reflect changes in fenestration during the nineteenth century.[23].
The rectangular windows on the south, east, north wing of the east wall, the west wall, and all walls in the north wing are similar. They consist of two rectangular, facing guillotine sashed windows covered by heavy wooden shutters painted dark green and fixed with wrought iron H or H-L hinges. The shutters are not of colonial origin[24]. The east façade had two window openings: a large rectangular one that is 9’ wide and 8’ 2” high with 16 over 16 glass panes and a circular window above it with an inner section in quarters and an outer section in eighths. The circular window, in particular, is of uncertain authenticity as it is claimed that until restorations in 1930 it contained not a the present type of window but either plastered over stone and rubble or, most curiously, a millstone[25] All of the other windows have 12 over 12 glass panes. The single south window is 7’ 2” wide and 8’ high white the north wing has two smaller windows on its east and west walls and another it its north face[26]. The frames for all the windows are flat with painted wood. The wooden, bottom sill projects slightly from the frame. All have brick sills with ovolo cast bricks marking them[27].
Interior
The interior of the church has been extensively reworked and little remains, either physically or stylistically, from colonial times. It is painted white on all surfaces with the exception of the tops of the railings.
The chancel still remains in the east wing and has some reconstructed colonial features. It is on a platform raised a foot or so from the church floor. On either side of the window opening are simple rectangular tablets bearing on the left The Lord’s Prayer above the Apostles’ Creed and on the right Exodus XX (The Ten Commandments) under which is printed the Summary of the Law. In the middle is a reredos, obviously of non-colonial origin with an opening for the window incorporated within it. It bears, from the top down: 1) a cross placed so as to intersect center of the circular window; 2) a truncated tympanum, 3) a square-columned pilaster on either side of the window, and 4) a bottom forming a flat window sill. The chancel is physically separated from the rest of the church by four-foot tall vertical panels a few feet north and south of the window openings and a rail with 8 turned balusters on either side and a central opening. There are south and north facing seats in the space between the side panels and the outer walls, on the north a built-in slip pew and on the south a short bench[28].
On the right, or south, is the pulpit, reader’s desk, and clerk’s desk, the reader’s desk supposedly made from portions of the original pulpit[29]. The reader’s desk stands just in front of (north) of the main pulpit. All of this stands to the west side of the south window on a raised platform but, unlike the chancel, has no separating rail. Between the chancel and the raised area for the pulpit is a small organ enclosed by vertical panels. Behind the organ are two choir pews facing north. [This is a crowded church with very narrow aisles.] In front of the clerk’s desk is the baptismal font. To the west of the raised pulpit are two rows of three slip pews with a central aisle[30]. The rest of the ground level of the church is taken up by rows of slip pews facing south in what is essentially a nave area.
The present aisles were most likely demarcated in 1824 but may have been established as late as 1873[31]. Originally there were galleries in both the north and west wings, but only the north remains. The balusters there are probably original, and the gallery itself is largely colonial. The present brick floors are clearly not of colonial age as is the case with the raised platforms for the chancel and pulpit[32].
Ceiling
The ceiling resembles the general form of the original but is a reconstruction from numerous repairs, particularly in 1928 and 1939. It is a compass ceiling with two tie beams[33]. The 1706 ceiling was of “hand-riven oak” laid on rafters and collar beams. It has been replaced by a clapboard ceiling matching the general features of the north wing. The tie beams, that are marked with a lamb’s tongue and chamfer, are original while the roof trusses were replaced in the 1820s. The beam farthest north bears the figures “iiii” and the beam farthest south is a clumsy insertion. The porch trusses may be original. A new shingle roof was installed in 1954[34].
Objects
The communion table is the oldest in the state and is of undoubtedly an original feature of this church. It is a walnut table with dimension of 65” x 30”. It has baluster-like, robust legs and a bottom rail on all four sides. The molding of the edge of the upper rail is a reversed S (cyma reversa)[35]. Reportedly it was used as a chopping block by an American patrol during the war of 1812[36], and it shows a documented disregard of the sacerdotal nature of communion tables in early American churches cited by Upton as including: use as a desk for in-church schools, use as a hat table, instances of their being “pushed around carelessly,” going so far that stray dogs stole the communion bread and even urinated on the table legs. Hence, regulations were passed that the table in each church must be located on the east wall and that a protective rail be erected around it[37]. The use of any church as a school, in particular, is puzzling because most colonial vestries scrupulously avoided using the church even for parish business meeting in a separate vestry house close by a church or in the room formed by bell towers such as at St. Peter’s, New Kent County[38]. The vestry house for this church remained as a ruin just outside the west wall until 1820[39].
The baptismal font of gray polished marble is original to the church. It is octagonal in shape and now stands on a painted, white sandstone pedestal of unknown origin that is not original. Presently it is placed on the far northwest corner of the platform holding the pulpit. It was most probably, like that of all but three surviving fonts for colonial churches, made without a pedestal and placed on a table inside the church instead. Upton notes that it closely resembles baptismsl bowls in books of standardized fonts common in England at th time[40].
Other objects are also associated with the church from colonial days. The silver-plated chalice is probably and earlier one that has been “reworked.” There is a sundial to the south of the church either donated or fabricated by Philip Smith in 1717. Five colonial grave markers are spaced throughout the churchyard: in 1963, three were illegible and two were table tombs moved from “Wilmington” [Wilmington, Virginia is over one-hundred miles northwest of Yeocomico.][41].
The church is surrounded by a wall of modern origin, one of several replacements. In 1838 this wall is reported by Bishop Meade as “mouldering away”[42] while the obviously old sections of the wall may be “very old”[43]. The present gates may have been present in 1920 as a painting of that date shows similar gates in place[44]. Colonial churches only sporadically had graveyards such as this one enclosed by walls as most parishioners tended to inter their dead on their own plantations or farms[45].
Embellishments
The quaintness of this edifice derives not only from the Tudor swag (kicked gables) at the eaves, the south porch, the porch arches, and wicket door, but also from fanciful embellishments to the building in the form of unique door pilasters and brick plaques.
The wicket door has pilasters on either side unheard of in these simple churches. Each pilaster consists of the following structure from the bottom at the water table to the top: water table – 5 bricks (identical in height to rest of the water table); border of beveled brick; pillar – 11 convex bricks one brick wide; a torus- shaped border brick; a pillar of 8 horizontally convex bricks; a border brick of an ovolo with a flat edge on top; the apex of two bricks in the form of a flattened arrow; and a tip of a half-sphere one-half brick wide [see the gallery picture of the wicket door].
By contrast, the southeast door has a simple, rectangular pilaster consisting of bas-relief column extending from the water table to the top edge of the door. It is flat and 1 ½ bricks wide. From bottom to top it contains: a column of 8 bricks; a beveled heading; a column of 9 bricks; a torus heading; a column of 5 bricks; an ovolo heading with a flat top[46]. [See the gallery picture of the south door.]
Even more curious is the presence of patterns of glazed bricks and various plaques bearing initials and enigmatic symbols. As already mentioned, the porch gable contains glazed headers in a diamond shape (diapering) and a glazed header barge line (a diagonal line of bricks following the barge boards on the gable), but these embellishments are unevenly spaced so that the diamond is clearly off-center [see porch picture in gallery.]. This irregularity is true for the use of glazed headers throughout the structure[47].
The plaques bearing initials, dates, and idiosyncratic symbols are also most unusual and distinctive to this church. They are:
An S and G were once said to be on porch gable but no longer evident.
Porch gable: the initials S--G--M placed in separate bricks surrounding a brick bearing the image of a thistle.
Southeast doorway: R.L. carved in brick.
South Wall: 1706 IGI – below the G an English rose (originally placed over nearby, south, doorway).
Chancel Wall: Initials – IB , IS , WL , IS , IC , IT , AD , TB (Js for John or Joseph): Star between the I and B and T and S is a flower.
Chancel above circular window has initials of vestrymen and workers of 1928.
All of these plaques have an ovolo sill and some, such as the date plaque have a completeinset of molded brick. The initials on the porch and over the southeast doorway are incised while the others are in bas-relief[48].
Historic Events
A number of anecdotes have been related about the church and the churchyard according to local tradition. It was reportedly used as a barracks during the American Revolution and was, like most other Anglican churches, abandoned after the Disestablishment. It is alleged that the churchyard was used to slaughter animals by the American soldiers. The communion table was used as a chopping block although its surface was later restored. It was a ruin by the War of 1812 when it was again inhabited by an “American patrol” who used the baptismal fort as a drinking bowl that was carried away and found on a nearby farm [49]. They also allegedly made unspecified repairs to the brick walls. In 1844, a local congregation of Methodists sued to take possession of the church, but it legally reverted to the Episcopalians[50] who still use it as an active church. Services are held on Sundays at 11:00, and the church is currently open the last Saturday of summer months from 10:00 to 12:00 for guided tours[51].
In 1838, when Bishop Meade visited, the church showed evidence of few repairs although the original roof may have been present[52]. Major repairs to the brickwork, windows, and roof ware performed in 1928 and, at that time, an initial plaque was installed above the chancel’s round window. Electricity was added in 1947 and a heating system in 1949[53]. The roof shingles were replaced in 1954[54]. Ameslee Hall, the new vestry hall with architectural features compatible with Yeocomico Church, was added several years ago[55].
Summary
All in all, Yeocomico Church is a colonial artifact of great interest and value. Architecturally, it is a transition from the Gothic featured room churches of seventeen century Virginia to the Georgian, classically featured churches characteristic of the Virginia vernacular church. It shows a movement from the “massiveness of . . . earlier churches” toward a “baroque feeling for masses and complex shapes”, with unique characteristics such as the southwest porch and the pronounced kicked eaves derived from English architectural traditions[56].
Rawlings states: ““While the greater part of the church, of course, owes a great deal to both the late Gothic and early Classical manners of building, much of it also derives from the naïve and primitive skills and ways of its early artificers, who built an ornamented their church in much the same natural and God-fearing way . . . Yeocomico today is still a relatively a remote spot that is blessedly not too much overcome by latter day sophistication.[57]. “When it is said that Yeocomico Church is fascinating, quaint, and artless beyond compare, it must also be said that it is equally perplexing, particularly as to its original shape and masonry. . .[58]”. The contribution of local craftsmen, whether they were hodgepodge architects or whimsical bricklayers, is what gives the building its characteristic charm, the feature that remains in the mind of the viewer the peculiar impression of naïf elements coupled with mysteries regarding its many enigmatic features.
6. ^ Rawlings 50
7. ^ Rawlings 50
8. ^ Rawlings 52
9. ^ Rawlings 58; Upton xv
10. ^ Rawlings 50
11. ^ Rawlings 56
12. ^ Rawlings 58; Upton 69
13. ^ Rawlings 50
14. ^ Rawlings 50-51
15. ^ Rawlings 50-51
16. ^ Rawlings 58; Upton xv
17. ^ Rawlings 51
18. ^ Meade II 149
19. ^ Rawlings 51
20. ^ Rawlings 53
21. ^ Rawlings 54
22. ^ Rawlings 54
23. ^ Upton 69
24. ^ Rawlings 33, 44
25. ^ Rawlings 54
26. ^ Rawlings 54-55
27. ^ Rawlings 54
28. ^ Rawlings 55
29. ^ Rawlings 55
30. ^ Rawlings 55
31. ^ ”The Episcopal Churches of Cople Parish"
32. ^ Rawlings 56
33. ^ Rawlings 55
34. ^ Upton 45 [see this page for a picture of the ceiling taken in 1927—before restoration.]
35. ^ Rawlings 56
36. ^ Rawlings 55
37. ^ Rawlings 55
38. ^ Upton 150
39. ^ Upton 72
40. ^ Rawlings 57
41. ^ Rawlings 55; Upton 145
42. ^ Rawlings 57
43. ^ Meade II 148
44. ^ Rawlings 57
45. ^ Rawlings 57
46. ^ Rawlings 1-2
47. ^ Rawlings 54
48. ^ Rawlings 52
49. ^ Rawlings 52
50. ^ Rawlings 57
51. ^ Meade II 153-4; Rawlings 57
52. ^ "The Episcopal Churches of Cople Parish"
53. ^ Meade II 138
54. ^ Rawlings 56
55. ^ Rawlings 56
56. ^ > "The Episcopal Churches of Cople Parish"
57. ^ Upton 69
58. ^ Rawlings 58
59. ^ Rawlings 57-58

Yeocomico Church Images

2008-06-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Using my new camera (Nikon D40), I took a large number of images of Yeocomico Church. Here are samples.

Yeocomico Church Revisited

2008-06-01T14:37:00.001-07:00

Just this Saturday, June 2, I visited this most unusual church again. I inveigled Jack, an carpenter, artist, and poet beyond compare for a run up the Northern Neck. We rocketted up to the church and spent three hours talking with Bill King, a member of the congregation, who engaged us with the history and anecdotes about the church and the community. He was most gracious and allowed us to wander about the church, enter the interior, and barrage him with a host of questions and observations.

The church is open on the last Saturday each month from 10:00 to 12:00 for tours; I highly recommend anyone interested in these churches visit this one. Check their website for directions: http://www.copleparish.org/.

I have a full writeup of this church at Wikipedia; Search for Yeocomico Church to find the article.

Merchant's Hope New Images

2008-05-18T16:26:00.001-07:00

I have added several images here referrring to the the previous post.

Merchant's Hope Revisited

2008-05-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

Dating
The church has been dated by local tradition and a date carved on one of the roof trusses to 1657 (Rawlings 28), but recent historic and architectural evidence establish a date of approximately 1725 (Upton xv).

The church was primarily part of Martin’s Brandon Parish as both an upper and lower church. It is located on the Old River Road that preceded the present Route 10 that connects Suffolk with Hopewell. (Mason 79). The parish affiliation changed as parishes were reorganized during the colonial period. The record is somewhat confusing, and recent dating or 1725 by Upton tends to change the parish affiliation of this particular building dramatically:

1618: Martin’s Brandon Parish was originally a plantation parish named from a nearby plantation. It was united with Prince George’s Parish at that time (Rawlings 28).
There is indirect evidence of an active parish and, therefore some kind of church edifice, in 1665 and 1675 (Mason 78).
1655 – 1688 – 1720: Martin’s Brandon Parish was made independent of, absorbed by, and again made independent of Westover Parish, immediately north of the James River (Rawlings 28; Mason 78).
1655- 1688: The parish was referred to as Jordan’s Parish(Rawlings 28).
1688: Is mentioned as a chapel of ease for Westover (Rawlings 28).
1720: Is mentioned as the upper chapel of Martin’s Brandon Parish (Rawlings 28).

Name
The vernacular name Merchant’s Hope for the present church is derived from the nearby plantation of the same name. The linking of the church to a sailing bark called Merchant’s Hope has no validity. The ship and church derived their names from the plantation (Rawlings 27-8).

Architecture

Brickwork
This church is the outstanding example of the brick, rectangular room church in the state of Virginia.
It is 60’ x 25’ as measured on the inside. In colonial contracts for churches this was referred to as “in the clear.” It consists of 22 ½ inch thick walls of solid brick (two-and-a-half bricks thick) with English bond below the water table five bricks high and Flemish bond above the water table. The transition from the water table to the walls contains a row of beveled bricks. Glazed headers are used throughout the building, and there is a row or glazed headers along the barge boards. Unlike most churches of the early eighteenth century, there is almost no serious reconstruction in the walls. Queen closers of rubbed brick are present in the doorways, the window trim, and at all four corners of the building (Mason 78; Rawlings 28).

Doors
The main entrance, west door, pediment, is of the most simple character; it consists of a compass heading with simple wood panels on the doors which may be of colonial manufacture. The brickwork surrounding the door is an understated pediment with no pilasters, pillars embedded in a wall. Its only decoration consists of rubbed brick accentuated by queen closers and an arch of flat bricks. The door itself is embellished by a wooden lunette, here a half-circle, and its two, center-opening doors have a small horizontal panel over two large vertical panels. The door’s wooden trim contains curved cyma reversa, a reversed S-shaped molding, pieces separating three panes. Wooden pegs are used in both the doors and windows. H-L hinges are used throughout the building. (Mason 79; Rawlings 29).

The south door is identical in detail with the exception that it is a shorter, rectangular opening in the chancel end of the church with a flat arch at the top (Mason 79; Rawlings 29).
Upton comments that “the doorways were [sic] comparable in size and visual emphasis to the windows, rather than inconspicuous.” (70) and that all Virginia brick churches lacking an elaborate pediment have similar doors with a compass head in the west end and a flat head on the south wall (117).

Windows

Merchant’s Hope has the best preserved compass windows of surviving colonial churches and displays the eventual style of chancel windows universal in eighteenth century Virginia churches. Although they show systematic repairs, they are “very old” and “surely colonial” (Rawlings 29). They consist of identically sized windows on the north, east, and south walls. There are four windows on the north, two in the east, and three on the south (The vestry door is directly opposite the north-eastern window.). On the west wall above the door is a small compass window. The brick embellishment is the same as the west doorway with rubbed brick, queen closers, and a curved arch. They have two vertical sections made up of 24 over 16 panes. They are true guillotine windows with no counterweights. The wood work on the windows, like the west doorway, is a reverse S-curve, and the muntins are one inch thick. The bottoms consist of wooden sills with a row of beveled bricks below them in oarlock orientation. (Mason 79; Rawlings 29; Upton 71).

Interior
The interior was gutted during the Civil War when the church was reputedly used as a cavalry picket station, although there was no damage to the doors, windows, or gallery (Rawlings 30). It was reconstructed and now resembles the general room church configuration with the exception that the T-shaped aisle has been altered to an L-shaped one with the top of the L at the west door and the stem at the south. (Rawlings 29). The chancel has a communion rail instead of a rood screen as at Newport Parish and Yeocomico while the pews are similar to those of Vauter’s church, single row box pews with a door on each end. The pulpit is just south-west of the chancel although it was originally near the middle of the south wall (Rawlings 20). The west gallery still had an original stairway and rail (Rawlings 29) with asymmetrical balusters characteristic of the early eighteenth century (Upton 109). On the east wall is a communion table centered between the windows and tablets of obligatory scripts: from left to right, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments (Exodus XX), and the Apostles’ Creed. Most notably lacking is the display of a cross: no Anglican Virginia church displayed a cross during the colonial period (Upton 118-121).

Floor
The floor reputedly contains original 18” square flagstones or Portland stone (Rawlings 29). According to rather dubious evidence, there is a crown mark on the underside of the tiles identifying them as having English origin (Brock 24). An architectural problem with the floor is that the present level is too low for the doorways. Either the door openings as well as the doors were larger or the floor was higher. The present structure of a high door step combined with a low floor is most unlikely to be of original origin (Rawlings 29-30).

Roof / Ceiling
The most prominent feature of the exterior roof is the pronounced kick of the eaves which flatten them, giving the entire church a distinctive look. (Mason 79; Rawlings 30). Of course, the present slate roof is not the original one. (Rawlings 30). The roof truss construction is of considerable interest since it is the earliest known example of a king-post truss that is bent at the feet to allow a curved ceiling (see Upton p 44 Fig 24 for a diagram of the elaborate roof trusses.). The present surface is a semi-domed plaster ceiling completely concealing the truss structure (Upton 43-44). It was common for ceilings to be painted blue with clouds though this in not mentioned in regards to Merchant’s Hope (Upton 3).

Symbolism and Structure
This church contains the most pure example of the essential elements of a rectangular room church (Upton 60-63) that include:
Dimensions of approximately 60’ east-west by 25’ north-south.
Lack of a rood screen separating the chancel from the pews.
Oriented with the chancel facing east.
Main doorway on the west wall: vestry door on the south east corner.
Lack of bell tower or south porch.
Plain exterior lacking a bell tower or south porch
Display of tablets containing The Lord’s Prayer, the Decalogue, and the Apostles’ Creed (Upton 60-63: 118-121).

In addition, Upton writes extensively on the symbolism embedded in the general features of the building citing particularly the tendency toward pediments and domes:
· The pedimented doorways used on many churches are part of a continuous tradition running from Rome through early Christian and medieval building to post-Reformation England; they recall the gateway symbolism of Mediterranean and medieval architecture, and it turn refer, largely unconsciously to the triumphal arches of imperial Rome. They signal the transition for the secular world to the exalted world of the Church.” (Upton 117).
· “Pedimented doorways thus partook of the vault/dome/canopy tradition in dignifying the approach to the honored place, and in their shape. The pediment . . . conveyed honor in itself.” (Upton 117).
He also states that the combination of a compass pediment on the west door and a triangular pediment on the south was characteristic of early eighteenth century churches in Virginia:
· “ . . . every surviving pedimented church before the 1750s uses a segmental pediment for the main (west) door and a triangular pediment over any secondary doorways . . . in doing so, the gateway/canopy was linked to the compass ceiling and the more general principle that curved or compass forms were more dignified than straight or ‘square’ ones.” (Upton 117).
Hence the plaster, domed ceiling that symbolically suggests the transition from the secular to the rarefied spiritual world.

This transition is also accomplished by the symbolic journey a parishioner takes when entering the church; he progresses from the secular world through the arched west doorway, passes the baptismal font symbolic of entry to the church (Upton 48), walks under a representation of the sacred dome to the pews from which he progresses to the east, toward Jerusalem (Rawlings 13), to take the communion meal at the chancel rail from which he can see the sacred texts through the clear light from the large east windows (Upton 3-4, 48, 142).

Another aspect of the physical structure of Virginia’s colonial churches was the social status given to seating. One’s social status was reflected in the nearness to the chancel, so parishioners of higher rank sat closest to the pulpit and the chancel while those of low status sat near the west wall. Men and women were also separated by seating on different sides of the aisle (Upton 3-4).

Bibliography

2008-05-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

I have found a number of sources useful in my reading on these old buildings.

Meade, William. Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia. 1995 Philadelphia: Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc, 1847.

This is the basic reference available in two volumes as a reprint. I bought it off amazon.com. Bishop William Meade did an extensive physical survey of Virginia's colonial churches and recorded their condition in the early decades of the 19th Century. He exhaustively documents the parishes, families associated with parishes, the ministers, and anecdotes about the churches. He shows a clear evangelical bias and remonstrates against excesses of clergy and formal Anglican practices. Like Heroditus, he accepts many questionable stories, but to err on the side of completeness is not necessarily a historical sin. An invaluable resource.

Meade, George C. Colonial Churches of Tidewater Virginia. Richmond, Va.: Whittet and Shepperson, 1945.

George Meade complied this book after a long years of visiting sites and publishing articles in various periodicals. It is organized by counties and contains maps and some illustrations of the churches along with admirable summaries of parish and building histories. I purchased a used copy and found it was signed by the author. What a bonus!

Rawlings, James S. Virginia’s Colonial Churches: An Architectural Guide. Richmond, Va.: Garrett and Massie, 1963.

The canonical reference. Sporadically available on amazon.com. Organized by date of construction of each church with a succinct summary of parish history and lucid descriptions of the condition of each building's exterior and interior from the experienced eye of an architect. A must take on church jaunts. If you have to have one book about the churches, this is it. It contains a limited number of photographs of selected churches in color. He finds Merchant's Hope to be the stereotypical church, and it is hard not to agree with him.

Upton, Dell. Holy Things and Profane: Anglican Parish Churches in Colonial Virginia. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986 (1997).

A brilliant book that examines not only the architecture but the social, historical, and cultural influence of these beautiful buildings. An absolutely must read. Upton brings to light aspects of colonial churches that are novel and transcending.

St John's, King William County Reredos

2008-05-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I found this early Twentieth Century image of the reredos replaced in the recent renovation. Rawlings hypothesizes it was taken from a nearby church, probably Stratton Major.

St. John's, King William Interior

2008-05-05T14:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some shots of the inside of the church. Why didn't I take more? The recent restoration has added a new reredos (chancel backpiece between the two east windows) that, unlike the one Rawling's cites (1963) is appropriate for the size of the room and window interstice. The only jarring note are the turnbuckles used to support the walls from north to south. Colonial parishioners preferred the wide space -- according to Upton (1995) these may have been the only buildings of such size that most colonial parishioners saw.

The font pedestal is from a nearby parish, Acquintin Parish, and was placed there in 1978. It is of yellow sandstone and similar to pedestals common in the Eighteenth Century (Upton 145).

Also in the north wing is an Eighteenth Century Bible, King Jame's Edition.

Note the rough plaster on the ceiling: is this an original feature?

Pardon me for nitpicking as this is a noble and loving restoration.

St. John's, King William County Organ Concert

2008-05-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pictures of this restored church during the organ concert featuring the organ from the Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg and Dr. Tom Marshall who played a reptoire of pieces from the Eighteenth Century to modern music.

Rural Traces

2008-04-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

I am writing a book of lyric poetry about my wife's relatives from the mountains of Western North Carolina titled Rural Traces. Here are some samples at

http://ruraltraces.blogspot.com/

St Paul's Parish Church, King George County

2008-04-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

N 38°19'57.03" W 77° 7'28.48" 1766 1766-67

I wondered about the state of this church after reading about it, but was pleasantly surprised to find the brickwork in better condition than I thought although the classic purity of the architecture is ruined by the bricking up of the original, huge doorways and the insertion of rectangular doors in the wing in the early Nineteenth Century.

The building immediately gives the impression of immensity in both width and height. It is in the shape of an equal armed cross (a Greek cross) with dimensions of 61' 10" for the each total side with the arms being 20' 10" wide and 16' in length from the center. Like Aquia Church and several Northern Virginia ones (Pohick, Christ Church Alexandria, Falls Church), St Paul's has two stories of windows: the lower being rectangular with segmental arches, the upper typical compass windows. The walls seem quite high, some 25 feet at least so the total effect is of an imposing edifice. The brick is laid in English bond in the water table and Flemish bond above it. The transition from the water table to the walls is via a beveled brick. Rubbed brick is used at the corners and around the windows while the use of glazed brick is irregular and sparse. The walls are 21" thick.

Major changes were undertaken in 1813 when the building was converted for two decades into a school. The original doorways were bricked up (they extended from ground level to well into the second story, reminding me of the the doors at Christ Church, Lancaster in size. These were located on the west, south, and north facades. Smaller, rectangular doors were then cut into the structure on the sides of the south wings and side. The windows were also altered significantly, some being bricked up and the top row with wooden frames for the compass window tops. I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that the window frames are not original. Compared to the massive changes to the doorways and windows, the repairs to the walls themselves seem minor and are catalogued in great detail in Rawlings (212 ff).

We were unable to see the interior as no one was on site, but through the windows we could see that little colonial structure remains. The church was abandoned after the Revolution and when it was converted to a school, interior rooms and partitions were inserted. In 1830 the building was again converted to a church and the partitions removed, but the rooms on the northern wing were kept as offices. As a result the church was converted into a T-shaped room bearing little resemblance to other cruciform churches. Rawlings cites Aquia Church as the general twin to this building, so a look at its interior will give the viewer the impression of the original interior. The graves in the surrounding churchyard also contain many interesting monuments.

All in all, this remains a pleasing edifice with much to be admired in the brickwork despite the drastic changes to doorways, windows, and interior. It stands on a small knoll not far from Route 301 where it crosses to Maryland, and we found the rolling country pleasant for a Mini Cooper mad drive. The nearby town at Dahlgren has several restaurants close by; we ate at one of the Chinese buffets which we found cheap, friendly, and satisfying.

Fork Church

2008-03-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

Fork Church N37°51'12.81" W77°31'53.92” 1736-1740

Fork Church is a charming rectangular church located close to Richmond at the western end of Hanover County. To reach it go north on Route 1, paralleling I-95 to the west, and turn west on Routh 738 for a refreshingly bucolic trapse.

It is slightly larger than typical churches at 74’ x 34’ and has gorgeous brickwork noted by Rawlings (1063 142ff). The bricks are laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers throughout. A supremely ugly brick chimney is placed between the two chancel windows. The water table seems relatively high (I should have measured it.) and is laid in English bond. Beautifully toned rubbed brick marks the corners and the windows with some regularity. On the spring day we visited, the light brought out all the subtleties in those tones from deep red to rosy red. The windows themselves are in the form of beautifully proportioned segmental arches. The brickwork at the east and west end tops is obviously replaced; Rawlings hypothesizes this as evidence of original clipped gables (143).

The doorways have been altered by the addition of cumbersome, pillared porches with crude triangular roofs and equally clumsy decorative eaves (modillions) and matching half-columns (pilasters) on the walls. The columns are made of white painted brick and taper from bottom to top (classical entasis). Rawlings dreams fruitlessly of the restoration of the original doorways in his 1963 text (144).

For lovers of intricate window frames, this is Elysium. Rawlings describes them in some detail on page 144. I should have thought to take close-up pictures of them. Maybe next time.

The pews are largely original but substantially altered in height from a 1930 remodeling while the pulpit was moved from the north to east to north again. The oak floors are very likely original; this church never had the common flagstone floors typical of most colonial churches. There is a west gallery that is original along with an organ from the mid nineteenth century (Rawlings 145).

There is a large marble font from Mattaponi Church in King and Queen County, but no parish silver as it was destroyed in a 1936 fire.

The churchyard has many internments but none of colonial times and has the strangest, most clumsy wall around some of the older graves. It was erected from the east end of the church ten or so feet from the chancel wall and runs in a thin rectangle for a hundred feet or so. The brickwork in the wall is sloppy and irregular as is the wall capping. The graveyard, though, is worth a good hour of exploration.

Dolley Madison and Patrick Henry along with the novelist Thomas Nelson Page at least occasionally attended here and the actress Katherine Hepburn’s grandfather, S. S. Hepburn, was rector from 1893 to 1903.

All in all, Fork Church is a charming edifice with admirable brickwork. As a editing experiment, the first image shows the east edifice without the chimney.

Slash Church

2008-03-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Upper Church, St Paul’s Parish (Slash Church) 1729 N37.71924 W77.41387

Slash Church is in a rarity of three in Virginia: a clapboard church surviving from colonial days. Remarkably close to Richmond, it has survived relatively intact except, as in most pre-revolutionary places of worship, having massive alterations to the interior configuration. It is easy to find; take the 656 exit on I 95 North of Richmond straight along Sliding Hill Road until it turns into Mt. Hermon Road. The term slash refers to elevated areas in the generally swampy terrain (similar to lights in the Great Dismal Swamp).

The original building, with a similar , but separate structure added a few feet to the north of it in 1955, is surprisingly intact with the clapboards showing inevitable wear yet still relatively undamaged. Its measurements are 60’ x 20’ (measured by Rawlings as 60’ 7” x 26’ 6’’ – as if it changed in post colonial construction?). This makes it just average in size for a rectangular church. Rawlings claims, too, that only isolated clapboards on the east, south and west walls are original while the present pastor asserts that they are largely original with the exception of the northeastern wall which was damaged in a fire in the 1970s along with the floor in the same area. Standing on the top of a small rise to the northwest of Mt. Hermon Road in Hanover County, the first impression is of a pair of buildings similar in construction and proportion to a colonial edifice. It is quite charming and reminds the viewer of stereotypical country churches.

The doors are of simple construction and the west door is of colonial origin as are the sills of the two lower east windows. The eaves contain a toothed decorative motif (modillion cornice) that is original and, in 1963, the interior wainscoting, the handrail, and the west gallery that the pastor claims is structurally sound despite seeming slightly askew. The original wooden foundation sills are still intact but have been set on brick foundations.

Rev. Steve Lesher was kind enough to leave his Bible study group to let us inside and lead Tom, Bill, and me on a guided tour of the inside. The present congregation is vigorous and, pleasingly, composed of both old Hanover residents as well as a sizeable proportion of young families with children filling the building each Sunday. It is good to see these venerable structures still alive and thriving. Their denomination is the Disciples of Christ whose stark worship resembles that of the Anglican simplicity of the Eighteenth Century.

If I make it back again to this church, I will beg to be allowed to stand on a stepladder and see the roof structure which consists of diagonal purlins and beams fastened with wooden pegs that Rawlings says “are arranged in a curious, triangular form . . . [with] no ridge beam.” (104).

Dolley Madison, Patrick Henry, and Henry Clay are claimed as members of this parish, and Henry’s uncle was rector for forty years. Nearby Fork Church also claims Patrick Henry as a communicant? The building was abandoned after the Revolution and was shared by the Methodists and Disciples of Christ until 1842 when the latter denomination acquired its sole use. It was supposedly used as a school and a Civil War hospital? There also was a significant skirmish between Confederate and Union troops on May 27, 1862 in one of the first skirmishes of the Seven Days Battle.

Links to Slash Church are:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vahanove/slash.htm

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/va013.htm

Aquia Church Interior

2008-03-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

The interior of this church is the most original of all extant true colonial churches. I shall, with my non-architect’s eye, attempt to describe the general features.
Check the size of the church and be prepared to be overwhelmed by its sheer size and openness. The white walls and recessed window enclosures admit a brilliant amount of light on a fair day. The frames of both upper and lower windows are said to be original (Rawlings 195).
To the east is the altar and a magnificent reredos with well preserved moldings. (For a full analysis of the moldings, see Rawlings pages 190ff.) Below the beautifully proportioned pediment is the main panel bordered by ionic columns. The four insets bear, as they would have in colonial days, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Apostles’ Creed. Compare this reredos to that of Abingdon Church that is too wide for the space between the chancel windows; Rawlings concludes that the Abingdon reredos was moved from another church. The cross, of course, would have not been displayed in a colonial Anglican church. Amazingly, the communion table is of colonial origin; Rawlings cites the lack wear such as kick marks an indication that it was always used for sacerdotal purposes.
The pulpit is also truly magnificent. It has fully three levels and a stairway with a sharp turn that was almost dismantled and sold just after the Civil War because the vestry, including a brother of R. E. Lee, found the elderly rector could not ascend the stairs. The three levels are from bottom to top: for the recording clerk, the delivery of the service, and for the sermon. I believe I have read that the other triple-decker pulpits such as Bruton Parish, Abingdon, or Lancaster are reconstructed in the image of this one.
The box pews are also original with some planning and alterations but have survived relatively intact. Rawlings (193) describes the panels as having a small horizontal panel over several vertical lower ones. Raised panels on pews face the altar rather than the sides or back. There are also original raised panels below the benches along the walls.
The west gallery is given a page and a half of development by Rawlings who waxes ecstatic over the moldings, pilasters (half columns fixed to the wall), and free columns. To my non-trained eye, it seems distinguishably crooked with age.
The floor tiles date from a restoration in the 1933 for the chancel and just after the Civil War for the crossing. Supposedly the crossing tiles were taken from a family cemetery at an antebellum plantation, Windsor Forest, belonging to the Moncure family.
I despair that I took so few pictures of the interior.

Aquia Church

2007-11-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

39 27' x 77 24': This church is located just off Route 95 and US Route 1 in Stafford Virginia. It is one of the easiest churches to find as the interstate exit, accessible from north or south, is labelled Aquia Harbor. The church is immediately north-east of the first light off the exit from 95.

This is truly a splendid building. According to Rawlings (184ff), the brickwork dates from 1751 to 1757 and was destroyed by Union soldiers during the Civil War. The walls as well as the interior have been rebuilt to the pre-Revolutionary War state sometime around 1915-16. Large patches of the walls are obviously rebuilt, in some cases carelessly even to my non-architect's eye. Apparently there was a coat of yellow paint on the building as recently as 1933.

Aquia is a true cruciform church with the walls 64' both east-west and north-south. Each arm is approximately 16' 2 1/2" long with a width of 32' 4". The walls are 24 1.2 " thick. Unlike Abingdon or Lancaster Churches, while in the interior, one can clearly see the cruciform structure, probably due to its Greek Cross construction. Like few colonial edifices, it has two levels of windows with the lower ones being rectangular with a keystone and angled soldiers and the upper being of typical compass construction. The front, west facade is two stories with a tower with a complicated cornice (See Rawlings 190).

It is surrounded by an attractive churchyard with many curious graves of colonial and modern origin.

In a later posting, I will describe the interior and many lurid stories surrounding the church.

This is a must visit.

Westover Parish Church

2007-07-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

N37.33120 W77.15853 1731 Erected 1731

This rectangular church, like most, is not the first near the site but the exterior in general remains in a state of remarkable preservation. It is located a half-mile or so to the east of Route 5t in a grove of trees beyond a brick and iron gateway. A colonial cemetery surrounds the church and the later, but matching, rectory buildings within the churchyard.

The parish itself is one of the oldest in America, dating from the mid 1620s and, in the early days, encompassed the land on both sides of the river until the establishment of parishes on the other side of the river. Most likely the present edifice was moved after permanent churches were built in surrounding areas.

The walls are laid in Flemish bond with glazing on all sides with a two-row layer of English bond in the very shallow water table whose top row is beveled. It is of average size – 60’ x 28’ and has clipped gables with a cedar shake roof as most churches originally did. There is rubbed brick at all four corners and around the windows. The west doorway was repaired in 1956 and is obviously of new brick while the arches above the windows were repointed in rowlocks that do not match the colonial brick. Rawlings considers the rubbed brick throughout the structure similar to that of Bruton Parish Church (1964 117). Queen closers are used are corners and windows. The window above the west door is inserted on what looks like a larger window (to my untrained eye), but the greatest changes are on the east façade that seems to have three openings but at present only one narrow window that is not at all colonial character.

The greatest changes are in the interior that is still one large room with a gallery on the west end and low slip pews with doors that are a post Civil War alteration due to Yankee destruction of the interior. In 1867 the east end was altered to make a deep chancel with small vestry rooms on each side of it. The Ten Commandments are posted to the side of the narrow window with a communion table and an altar rail before it. On the north side of the chancel end is a stone baptismal font; the pulpit, more correctly a rostrum, is on the south side.

I wonder about the windows. Rawlings does not mention them, but the mullions, particularly the y-tracery elements at the top do not seem colonial. He also mentions the lack of clipped gables, so the roof was redone after 1963? One element of the roof’s restoration that seems curious to my eye is the height of the windows. They are so high as to actually touch the eaves that are decorated with a dental molding that seems quite new. Did the parish lower the eaves with the clipped gables were restored?

All in all, this a pleasant edifice in an equally pleasant setting and well worth a hour or two visit; be sure to examine the graveyard as well as the church.

Old Donation Church

2007-07-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Old Donation Church (3^rd Lynnhaven Parish Church) 1736 N36.86703 W76.12856

This is the third church of the Lynnhaven Parish. The first church was most likely had wooden frame construction and eroded so that little is left except part of its cemetery on the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River. (I believe that recently some submerged headstones have bee found?) The 2^nd church’s site is not mentioned by Rawlings or the church site, but it apparently proved too small for the congregation, and the present edifice was erected in 1736. I seem to recall the minister to whom I talked saying that the second church was near the present one?

The name Old Donation refers to the gift of the Rev. Dickson of his slaves and property to the church which used it as a free school for orphan boys.

The church is 65’ x 30’, so it is a tad larger than the average colonial one and laid with English bond in the water table and Flemish bond above it. The walls are 18” thick and, according to Rawlings, were originally higher by thirteen courses than they are presently. The walls show much evidence of rebuilding from an 1882 forest fire that destroyed all but the walls. A picture posted on the church’s web site shows utter destruction. http://www.olddonation.org/history.htm. The 1912 reconstruction of the church greatly altered its colonial character by using glaringly different brick and adding an entrance door (reminiscent of Upper Chapel, Middlesex) and a southern vestry addition. There is a dating brick by the western doorway with the year 1736 on it. The windows are the area of principal interest as the small windows in the northern and southern walls were inserted to accommodate the construction of private hanging pews for wealthy members of the congregation. What is surprising is that there are so many of them. Upton cites concerns that such windows caused arguments within congregations due to the blocking of light to the rest of the parishioners (141). I’m going to return and measure the height of the windows; they seem to be shorter that those of contemporary churches making the interior seem dim compared to churches such as Abingdon or Merchant’s Hope with similar shaped windows. As I recall, the windows of Upper Chapel, Middlesex were purposively shortened in a late nineteenth century restoration. The chancel windows, like many I have observed, are bricked up, apparently a relatively common practice in restorations.

The interior is plastered with beveled window openings while the chancel, vestry door, and pew arrangement is clearly nineteenth-early twentieth century in style. The baptismal font of a reddish marble was being used as a boat anchor in the nearby creek, and there are black and white pictures of the communion silver that is used for special occasions.

All in all, the church has lost the definable simplicity and classical balance in its appearance, but at least it is an active congregation that relished the use of its original building. We attended a free concert given on eighteenth century instruments. Tom Marshall from William and Mary who played harpsichord and organ as well as the oboist who played (I can’t recall his name) were splendid and Dr. Marshall commented that the size and reflective walls of the church give it excellent acoustics. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend a concert if you see it advertised.

Newport Parish Interior

2007-06-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

The interior of Newport Parish is composed of little that is actually colonial as well as a conglomeration of objects and mismatched features of questionable authority.

The first impression upon entering is that of the stained-glass windows that are said to be of Tiffany design; they are luminous and beautiful. However, they are incorrect as colonial Virginia churches all used clear glass which in those erected near the beginning of the eighteenth century were diamond paned. The assertion that they are true Tiffany glass is, too, disputed by an artisan in a recent restoration of them who considers them of Victorian origin but of relatively simple construction (McNatt, Linda "Historic St. Luke's Restoring Stained Glass ...." Virginian Pilot May 22, 1995: B3. ). http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950525/05250518.htm

This church is less of a room church as Upton describes it than a semi-gothic space with a separated entrance and chancel that gives it a medieval character instead of a colonial one. Compare the effect of the huge windows at churches such as Abingdon to see the difference. I am reminded of the practice of suddenly opening side windows at services in the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church that always surprises me with the suffusion of light at the end of the rituals.

All that remains of the original interior woodwork is part of the architrave over the entrance door and one of the balusters on the alter rail from which the other balusters were copied (Rawlings 34). The roof uses massive tie beams to support the rafter surface that enclose the space in a manner reminiscent of medieval structures. Some of the window sills and plaster may be colonial (Rawlings 34). There was clearly a rood screen, unlike almost all of Virginia’s churches, and the bench pews may have been reconstructed in the nineteenth century from original ones (Rawlings 35). The box pews to the west of the altar screen are reconstructions of those constructed for wives of local officials (Rawlings 35). The rest of the pews are simple slip pews that may be derived from the original pews. Were they cut down like those of Vauter’s parish? The pulpit on the south wall is reconstructed from original models in other churches; the only original piece is reputed to be the sounding board (Rawlings 35).

Other elements that are on display are of either American or English origin and include:

A white walnut communion table
An arched-wainscot chair
Another early American chair by Thomas Dennis
A seventeenth century credence table
Iron torch holders on the west wall
A restored 1665 organ (1630??)
A silver-gilt chalice
A brass alms box
Two 1629 combination Common Prayer Books and Bibles
A pair of brass alms basins
An altar cloth
A tasseled pillow
A reproduction baptismal font “hewen hollow like a canoa” like that of the 1610 church at Jamestown Island
Other items of colonial style (all from Rawlings 35-36)

I didn’t think to catalogue all of the items, but, if the church was built in the 1680s, many are of dubious authenticity.

All in all, the effect of the interior is charming and gothic, almost like a transplanted English church. The light though the windows is muted by the deeply colored windows and makes it dim and moody rather than open, airy and luminescent as seems to be the effect in the room church in its full development (consider Merchant’s Hope). I do not go so far as Rawlings who asserts that “…it must reluctantly acknowledged that several false steps have been taken, and it is to be hoped that other colonial churches of great significance will not err in the same ways in the future (37). It is an important building, and it is to be hoped that future research will reveal more concrete information about the architecture, the dating, and the original interior.

Dating of Newport Parish

2007-06-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

The dating of this gothic church is a matter of disagreement between local traditions and academic researchers. Local sources insist that the church can be dated by rather unreliable evidence to 1632. The basic argument is:

The vestry records were concealed by burial during the Revolutionary War by Colonel Josiah Parker and read by his daughter, a Mrs. Cowper and other reliable witnesses who assert a brick church was built in 1632. Upon reading, the records were used as wadding for muskets during the war of 1812 (Meade I 299) or crumpled into dust (Mason 193)>
Local tradition links the name of a militia Colonel Joseph Bridger who is interred in the chancel of the church to the construction of the church (Rawlings 8),
A set of dating bricks, discovered in a roof collapse in 1887 (Rawlings 8) or 1886 (Meade 193), bear the date 1632.
Architectural elements such as buttresses, crow step gables, and the principal rafter roof were characteristic of early 17^th century churches (Upton 60-61).

Other evidence calls into doubt the verisimilitude of these assertions:

It was common for several churches to be built on the same site generations apart. The presence of a brick church on this site does not mean that it was this brick church. On the contrary, according to the guide with whom we toured the church, no evidence has been found of other church foundations on the site (as in Bruton Parish for which there is clear documentary and archaeological evidence of previous churches.) (King 2007 interview with tour guide).
Joseph Bridger was born in 1628 and was four years old in 1632. Some sources (Meade 206ff and Mason 1994ff) cite clumsy efforts to link Bridger’s father with the site, but his name was Samuel, and he can not be documented as having come to America.
The bricks have indeterminate numerals that can be read as 1632 or 1682, and the style of numerals does not match colonial scripts. According to Upton (1985) the bricks are clearly forgeries. The bricks also have a mortar coating indicating that they may have been re-used as interior bricks in later repairs, alterations, or new construction.
Two other local figures, Charles and Thomas Driver, are also associated with the church, but they, like Colonel Bridger, are associated with records in the later 17^th century when they were adults. There are two bricks in the third story of the tower bearing the initials CD and TD usually associated with these two men (Rawlings 8).
The architectural features of the building can all be documented in English churches of the later 17^th century or much later time periods (Upton 83ff).

General historical data militate against the establishment of such an elaborate edifice in 1632 and generally agree with a date in the 1680s:

The other Virginia buildings with gothic features were all constructed in the late 17^th century or after:

Bacon’s Castle 1665;

Jamestown Church circa 1676 (according to Upton 62) not 1639-1647;

2^nd Bruton Parish Church 1681-3;

St. Peter’s Parish Church 1701;

Yeocomico 1706. (Dates from Rawlings Table of Contents; Upton 61-62)

It is unlikely that one of these buildings predates the other by fifty years or more.

The population of Isle of Wight was 31 people after the uprising of 1622 and 522 in 1634. The cost of such a church was approximately 100,000 pounds of tobacco paid for by tax levies three years before construction began. This would entail a tax of 60 pounds of tobacco per year if the figure 522 represents tithables only and 120 pounds if half of the population consisted of tithables when the average tax was considered a burden at 20 pounds per tithable. The average tax was 20 pounds of tobacco for the colonial government and the same for parish taxes. It seems unlikely that the population could bear, in the best case, double taxes, or, in the worst case, quadruple taxes (Rawlings 8; Upton 60; figures King).

The association of Joseph Bridger with the church agrees with a date in the 1680s as does the local links to the Driver brothers (Rawlings 8; Upton

Funding for the Jamestown church of 1639 was such a problem that it took eight years to complete the church. Could a more elaborate building have been constructed in 1632 in a sparsely populated county such as Isle of Wight?

A compromise theory that the church was begun in the 1630s and then modified fifty years later, resulting in the current edifice is also posited. According to the guide who gave me the information, there is no physical evidence of multiple building times (King interview with tour guide).

My personal view is that it is most likely that the church was constructed in the 1680s on the general site of an earlier church, possibly one with brick foundations under wooden walls. The assertion of 1632 construction is predicated on dubious evidence and is not accepted by dispassionate authorities who have no particular viewpoint to advance. Occam’s Razor, or the rule of simplicity in drawing conclusions, states that of multiple theories to explain an event, the one that is simplest and agrees with most data is likely the correct one. I would like to hear from those who disagree with me so that I can post their comments. Like them, I await archaeological evidence to clear up the dating.

Newport Parish Church

2007-06-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

Newport Parish Church N36.94033 W76.58492 1682 (1632?)

Newport Parish church, locally called St. Luke’s Church or the Old Brick Church, is an architectural oddity and undoubtedly the oldest Gothic structure and the oldest Anglican church in the United States. The date of erection is a matter of debate between academics and local tradition and will be covered in another entry.

The basic building structure contains in full blown form the essential elements indigenous Virginia church architecture:

Orientation
West main entry door
Flemish bond and English bond
Water table
South vestry entry door
Rectangular, room-church plan.
Decorated west pediment

As well as several unique or seldom seen features of architecture that link it structurally to Yeocomico and St. Peter’s Churches:

Flemish / crow stepped gables
Covered west entranceway
Buttresses
Large, arched east window

And features surviving only in this building:

Y-tracery windows
Integral bell tower

The basic church is 60’6” x 24’3”, basically the standard size of the average Virginia liturgical edifice. The brickwork is 3’ thick at the foundation and 26” thick in the walls. There are three buttresses on the north and south walls with a Gothic shaped window located between each one. The water table is unique: I didn’t measure the height, but there are two of them instead of one – each about 2 1/2 feet high (?). There are numerous repairs to the brickwork on the walls, and there seems to be mixed bond: We noted basically Flemish bond with English bond on the buttresses, although there seem to be patches of mixed brickwork. Features such as the gables and windows show evidence of repointings at a number of locations. The gables have eight steps and superficially resemble those at Bacon’s Castle. The repairs and alterations are not surprising as the church was abandoned after the Revolution and the roof is reported to have collapsed during a thunder storm in 1887, revealing a dated brick.

The bell tower stands on the west wall, is three stories high, and was built as an integral part of the church. Its dimensions are 18’ east-west by 20’ north-south. There is a round, brick arch under a simple triangular pediment as the western entranceway leading to a replica of Yeocomico’s wicket door as the church’s entrance. The pediment over the arch is articulated by raised brick decoration and the interior of the triangle is filled with flat white plaster. On the north and south sides are oval openings three feet wide (I didn’t measure). The corners of the tower are decorated with brick quoins and between the two stories are a horizontal row of brickwork dividing them. Note that the quoins are smaller on the third story. There are green, shuttered windows on the outfacing windows and a triangular cornice surmounted by a weather vane.

Cattail Church

2007-05-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

N37.75761 W77.13587 1751

Cattail Church, what is left of it, is in King William County at the end of a country lane in a suburban looking neighborhood. When we first saw it, we thought it was a nineteenth century church as the brick was overlaid with a thick layer of stucco, steeples with bizarre spikes have been added, the original rectangular room-church was shortened, and an addition was erected at the eastern end of the edifice. The buttresses, reminiscent of St. Luke's in Smithfield are a non-original addition. On close inspection, the bevel of the water table can be identified; all else, including the window frames, is substantially altered. As reported by Rawlings in 1963, several benches may be original (he cites four of them), and, indeed, Tom and I saw what seemed to be an old bench left out in the open portico east of the church that seemed to have been left there for some time.

Its original dimensions were most likely 60' x 30'; the more or less standard size for rectangular room churches. There is little for the student of colonial churches here. Note the curious quoins on the north steeple opposite the triangular cap for the southern one. In Rawlings' account, he mentions that the steeples are painted green although they are now silver. Cousin Tom mentions that European steeples are invariably green. Does anyone have documentation or a raison d'etre for green steeples?

The surrounding graveyard, begun by a local Black Baptist congregation, has numerous internments and curious features such as grave slabs and concrete crosses on many of the graves. Rawlings calls the church ". . . curious and lamentable" (184) while Upton has eliminated it from architectural analysis completely.

Stories of Vauter’s Church

2007-05-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

According to Bishop Mason’s book that I just recently received, there are several interesting anecdotes about this edifice.

First Mr. Richard Baylor of Essex County relates that his father had the Bible carried home each week and that it bore notations in his father’s handwriting in the nineteenth century. At that time the doors to the church were left open and Baylor records that he and his horse took refuge inside during a thunderstorm. This corroborates accounts that the churches were often entered by dogs or pigs (Yeocomico I think) and that chancel rails were ordered to be erected to keep them out of the chancel. This incident, too, generally coincides with Upton’s assertion that the Virginia gentry were not too reverent as evidenced by what seems sacrilegious treatment of the churches. Remember that vestry meetings because of the secular nature of the discussion were often held in small outlying building instead of in the church itself.

Baylor also reports a dual fought in the churchyard by General Bankhead and a Mr. Buckner on the south side of the church. One or two shots were fired before the parties dispersed.

The most common story is that of local farmers in the early nineteenth century who entered to remove the aisle stones and bricks who were confronted by a Mrs. Moscoe Garnett who threatened to prosecute them for trespass and theft on the legal basis that her family had permitted the church to be built on their land, and, therefore, it reverted to their ownership after the Disestablishment. The farmers, according to the present Rector, Dr. Agnew, were Baptists and fled upon the woman’s assertions, leaving the church preserved (Mason 408-409).

The church silver also has a fascinating tale. With the exception of the chalice, it disappeared during the Civil War, but the platen and the other chalice were found them displayed in an antique shop (?) in the North and raised money to purchase them and return them to the parish where they are still in use. The flagon that was stolen has never been found.

Dr. Agnew is also related to the Rev. John Agnew who in 1776 gave a sermon with the topic “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” and was driven from the church by a patriotic vestryman, William Cowper. Cowper is reputed to have replied, to the assertion that Agnew was serving his master, “Which master? Your master in heaven, or your master over the seas? You must leave this church or I will use force!” Agnew, who has served as rector for over twenty years, left and never returned. He became the chaplain of the Queens’ Rangers along with his son, Stair Agnew, who was its captain. The pair were captured and sent to France as prisoners of war (Mason 178), and he finished his life after the Revolution as a pastor in New Brunswick. Cowper served as a delegate for Nansemond County in the Constitutional Convention of 1776.

Vauter's Church Interior

2007-05-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Another unique aspect of this church is the interior that is one of the few relatively intact ones from colonial days. For some reason, I didn't take extensive pictures, but I will remedy this in a future visit.

As already mentioned, the doors are probably the only original ones still in situ and are in amazingly find condition. Even the frames and moldings are in excellent shape; note that they reflect the general Northern Peninsula structure with a semicircular arch over the west door and a triangular one above the southern one. For a close description read Rawling's book pages 92ff. Note the differentiation between the pilasters (bas relief columns) beside the doors and the square voussoirs above the south door based on continuing the lines of the circular or flat arch. The windows, too, are of colonial origin if not original including the compass frames for those in the walls and the semi-arched square sash windows above the south door to provide light for the balcony.

The flagstones of the aisles are most likely original, but the chancel was first paved with bricks removed in 1925. The wooden floors under the pews are said to cover remains of bricks. The chancel was in colonial days in the east but was moved to its northern, central location in 1827 when the church was renovated. At the same time, the pews were cut down to the present height of three feet or so (I need to measure), but the doors, hinges, and rail caps are original. The present color, a pleasing light blue, is according to Dr. Agnew, derived from colonial paint samples found within the church.

The pulpit, which originally was a three decker with a clerk's deck, a reading desk, and the pulpit itself, was replaced with a simpler, one-level pulpit in 1827. It may has stood against the north wall as it now does, but there is little evidence for the original placement. The interior is plastered with a flat ceiling. From the level of the pulpit, the minister is level with the balconies in the west and south -- not a place for one with vertigo.

All in all, the interior like the exterior of the church is charming and truly evocative of a different era. Like Merchant's Hope, it lets the viewer step back into another era and be surrounded by the past.

Vauter's Church

2007-05-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

Vauter's Church (Vawter's) 1719-1731 N38.08642 W77.06798

This delightful building lies just to the north of Route 17 in Essex County between Port Royal and Tappahannock. There are several interesting features of the structure, so I will post different blogs about the exterior, the interior, and the stories about the church.

Vauter's Church is a T-shaped building with the offset to the south -- the best preserved church of its type in the USA. It is the fourth (?) building of St. Anne's Parish and the first brick church of the parish. St. Anne's Parish was founded circa 1704-1711. Rawlings and Upton both consider this church as a modified one with the basic rectangular structure erected around 1719 and the southern T erected in 1731 according to the dating brick. The present rector, Dr. Agnew, states from his examination of the rafters on a crawl though them that the structure was originally erected as a T-shaped structure in 1731?

In any case, the location of the church on a small knoll surrounded by picturesque trees and a small graveyard, makes this the most pleasing site I have visited so far. The rectangular east-west structure is 56'6" x 30'2" -- of average size -- while the T-wing is 30'2' wide by 16' long. The T of the chancel is 10'3" wide. Rawlings cites the irregular placement of the southwest windows so that the shutters overlap and irregular flagstones in the aisles as evidence of later construction of the south wing. I, sadly, didn't think to examine them. The walls are 2' thick.

The walls are in superb shape with the checkering of the glazed brick particularly noticeable. The water table is beveled with the expected English bond below and Flemish bond above. A small number of glazed headers are used in the water table itself. Along the angled rafters of the roof (barge boards) is a row of glazed headers as, to a disorganized extent, in Yeocomico and, in a similar manner, in St. John's, King William. Rubbed brick is present in doorways and window jambs, and there is as well fairly consistent use of queen closers in doorways and windows.

The doors themselves are possibly the oldest ones in the state; an interesting feature of the south doors is that they seem to have been put on backwards -- the door panels are concave instead of convex and the weathering on them suggests that they were always that way. the size and spacing of the arches shows great craftmanship. The south door has a triangular pediment while the west door has a semicircular arch as seems typical in these Northern Peninsula churches compared to those south of the James. The pilasters also show great evidence of symmetry and master brickwork.

The windows have circular (compassed) arches with some replacements in the arches. The west facade has two small windows for the balcony that are square with semicircular arches. The roof appears at first to have a consistent angle but is actually kicked gently at the eves, giving it a graceful look.

All in all, this church is beautifully preserved in an idyllic setting and a must visit. It is still an active congregation, and while, we were there, a tour bus arrived, and we were invited by the genial pastor and visitors to tag along with them.

The

Mangohick Church

2007-05-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

Mangohick Church 1730-32 N37.80782 W77.27191
This greatly modified church is located some twenty miles northeast of Richmond on Route 30 in King William County to the south of the roadway in a large, grassy area with mature cedar and hardwood trees. The name Mangohick is reputed to be of Native American origin as is as well the name of a nearby creek.

The original building was of average size, 61' x 28' and is of typical bonds: English bond below the water table and Flemish bond with glazed headers above it. There are several bricks with initials, some modern and some of possible colonial origin: particularly over the south doorway with the date 1731 and the initials WV? The water table is characterized by a beveled edge where it meets the walls, and there are ventilation holes still present in the lower courses. The south door frame shows the effect of a clumsy restoration as do several of the windows and sections of brick about the structure, most notably the north wall. The west doorway was likely originally a segmental arch but is now a flat one with voussoirs and, as the south door, a recent set of doors.

Added to the east wall is a completely new structure that obscures the brickwork almost entirely. There is a one small window asymmetrically placed on the north wall that is, I believe?, behind the original pulpit. The dental molding at the roof is considered to be original, and the glazed brick is of considerable interest -- a closeup of a glazed brick is included in the illustrations.

The church was abandoned after the Disestablishment and taken over by a local Black Baptist congregation that still uses it to this day. It is again pleasing to see an ancient edifice still in use.

Lamb's Creek Church

2007-04-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

Lambs Creek Church N38.26366 W77.26908 1769-1770

This church is unusual in dimensions, reflecting a change in church architecture in the shape and organization of the building. It is a huge structure, 79'11" x 33'11', approaching the 80 foot limit of audibility in a structure.(Upton, 1985). Tellingly, the pulpit was located on the north wall opposite the south door, thus in the center of the church. In general perspective, the building resembles the meeting house of the northern colonies. It is likely that the south doorway was the main entrance (Rawlings, 1963).

The brick is laid in Flemish bond both below and beyond the beveled water table. The walls themselves show little evidence of repair outside minor repointings and repairs. There is the usual use of rubbed brick in corners and doorways along with queen closers at windows. Because of the length of the church, there are fourteen windows, all covered by ghastly, but most likely, needed metal screens. The wood trim on the north chancel window and the third from western north window are of old, possibly colonial, origin (Rawlings, 1963).

Both doorways are marked by triangular pediments and raised brick pilasters with rectangular wooden doors of later origin. The date, 1770, is prominently incised on the western doorway.

Opposite the western doorway is a boulder with the name and date of erection of the church inscribed on it. The setting, near several houses, and characterized by rank grass diminishes the presence of the building which is set on a small rise near a crossroads just off Route 3 east of Fredericksburg.

St Mary's Whitechapel

2007-04-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

St Mary's Whitechapel N37.74731 W76.55239 1740-1741

This church is presently a rectangular structure that has endured transitions from its first erection: in 1669 it was erected as a rectangular edifice, transepts were added in 1740 to make it a cruciform church, and in 1832 all but the nave and chancel were demolished. Thus the present church bears little relation in its structure to either church, and it is hard to see, while visiting the site, the exact relationship of the present edifice to the original church. Tom and I had to walk around the site several times and consult the kiosk before we could picture the site of the original church. This isn't helped by the ungainly south porch that is an ill match to the building both in its proportions and details. To view the dimensions of the original church, it is necessary to stand in the set of hedges where the chancel used to stand and mentally rotate the cruciform structure.

The brickwork is in Flemish bond with glazed headers and English bond below the beveled water table. There is evidence of numerous repairs and alterations to the walls. Windows on the ends and the north wall are believed to be original. They are compass framed with semi-circular arches. The southernmost window on the east wall is said to be original by Rawlings (1963, p. 164) while the north windows have original sills (Ibid).

We were unable to get to the interior as the building was locked, but the most appealing attributes are an ancient baptismal font (1718) and a set of chancel tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostle's Creed dating from 1702 and 1718. The chalice, paten, and other silver are from 1669 along with Wicomico's silver from
1711 to 1729 are also part of the parish's interior appointments. Characteristically, the panels and silver from this parish are prominently inscribed with the donating family, the Foxs, reminding me of the essential hubris of Lancaster Church.

This is still an active church with a tasteful set of parish buildings across the parking lot from the church and extensive graveyard.

Secrets of Christ Church, Lancaster County

2007-04-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

As Tom and I along with another couple were examining the church, a man drove up, got out of his car, and walked toward us with a set of largish books clutched under his right arm. He identified himself as Stephen Stewart (?) and asked us if we knew about the church. Before we could respond, he told us he was officially banned from visiting the site and talking to visitors.

On the hood of his car, he spread out a series of books and papers, all the while starting a discourse about the secret numbers imbedded in the proportions of the church, designed by Sir Chistopher Wren, the numbers of bricks, paving stones, etc., and the significance of interments on the site, among other details I couldn’t catch.

He started with the proportions of the roof and walls, stating relationships with square root of π, the golden rectangle, and the numbers of courses of bricks. He was talking so quickly, flipping through diagrams so rapidly, and pointing to architectural elements so erratically, that it was frankly hard for me to follow.

Another set of assertions he made were that the church was a form of observatory with the purpose of revealing secrets contained within the building. He cited the western ox-eye window as an indictor of the solstices; the sunset on certain days shines on the altar (the spring and fall solstices), and on the tomb of David Miles tomb other days. Apparently the stones on the east shoulders of the tomb at the center are asymmetrical and hint at secret messages from the Temple of Solomon. ? The nature or content of those secrets were not revealed.

Also, he asserts that Sir Christopher Wren, somehow a friend of the Carters (?), designed the church down to the last brick before his death. In addition, Wren had a hand not only in this edifice, but in other churches such as Bruton Parish and Yeocomico, (?) so that their dimensions are all astrologically and gnomonistically determined. He cited the number of bricks between the top and bottoms of the compass windows reflect the number of days from solstice to equinox. In addition, the two pitches of the roof, which has a kicked gable, added up to the square root of π. There was something about the golden rectangle, too, but according to my calculations, the basic dimensions do not approach 1.618. Oh, the Fibonacci numbers too are involved in graphs he has of the dimensions of the walls according to the snail-like graphs he has superimposed on grainy photographs of the walls. He threw out other numbers, too, that I couldn’t catch.

Obsession is delightful, but I can’t buy it because:

All colonial churches were oriented by law; there are bound to be alignments with any directly constructed east-west buildings with windows in the gables.
A large number of churches in Europe show similar correspondences without having been designed by Wren or specifically designed so.
Wren died in 1723 – were the plans kept secret until 1728-1732 while the church was built?
Wren, according to reputable scholarship, did not design the William and Mary Chapel or any building in America. This church and no other colonial church bear anything but the most general relation to any known church designed by Wren. I don’t believe Wren, specifically, produced a cruciform church with the plan of Christ Church.
The mathematical relations he cites seem forced; why was π not used instead of its square root? The Fibonacci Sequence and other relations can be found in many details in nature and other phenomena such as bee ancestry patterns! Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_numbers for a surfeit of applications.
What are the nature of the revealed secrets? I couldn’t hear any justification for the elaborate cloaking of the secrets in such remote colonial churches.
The idea is not new and has never attracted serious, extended study. It is cited in Rawlings canonical study of Virginia’s early (Rawlings, James Scott Virginia’s Colonial Churches: An Architectural Guide. Richmond, Va.:Garrett and Massie, 1963, page 64.)

Christ Church, Lancaster

2007-04-21T19:58:00.001-07:00

Christ Church, Lancaster County N37.68173 W76.42296 1728-1732This church is a truly impressive and well-preserved edifice. There is an excellent web site by a preservation organization, so I won’t include all of the data here but just my general impressions.Robert Carter, the immensely wealthy and powerful owner of Cortoman Plantation, directed in his will that funds be used to build a church, and it is worthy of the legendary “King Carter’s” status. The first impression upon approaching the edifice is its sheer size. Although it is not the longest church in the state (that honor I believes goes to Bruton Parish’s 100 foot nave) the Latinate cross-shaped building has walls that are some 33’ high – much higher than that of any other colonial church. According to Rawlings, the cross measures 70’ x 70’, but is longer east to west than north to south, so that it appears to be a Greek cross when viewed close up. The massive roof raises the total height to at least 43’ high. Walking up to it is like viewing a pyramid. The walls are in Flemish bond with random glazed bricks and include elements such as sandstone keystones to the windows and doors. The walls are reportedly 36” thick.
The doors themselves are elaborate and massive. The most awe-inspiring is the west doorway that is 21’ high and has an even larger, intricate pediment. A picture alone can not do it justice. The doors on the north and south transepts are equally as impressive.The Carter tombs on the east side of the church are of marble and feature elaborate carvings of colonial motif cherubs and death heads.
I won’t even touch the inside of the church until I make a visit later this year.The general impression this edifice gives me is one of hubris: Carter meant not only to show faith, if he meant to show it at all, but rather to render his exalted position in the colony. It fits such detail in other churches as conspicuously exhibiting a patron’s name or initials on such donatives as wall plaques or communion silver. Dell Upton calls the rising Virginia a “proud and unlovely people.” It aptly describes the tone of the church. Shelley also wrote about this idea in “Ozymandias” – “Look upon my works, Ye mighty, and despair!” Read the poem for an apt conclusion.Extensive information from the Foundation for Historic Christ Church is available at http://www.christchurch1735.org/.

Christ Church, Middlesex

2007-04-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Upper Church Middlesex (Christ Church Middlesex) N37.60474 W76.53437 1714

This rectangular church is average size 60'x331/2' and is laid in Flemish bond (even the water table). It has the typical features of orientation, glazed brick, compass windows, west entrance, and originally a south vestry door (now converted to a small compass window). There is the usual presence of queen closers and rubbed brick at the corners and in the window jambs.

The water table has has a convex curve (ovolo) that gives it an interesting look. The west and south walls have glazed brick in the headers while the north and east walls lack this feature. According to Dell Upton, this indicates not a lack of workmanship on the part of the builder, but the idea that the building was expected to be viewed from the south and west as parishioners entered for services.

On the east, or chancel, end the original large window was replaced by a smaller compass window, but the outline of the earlier, large chancel window is clearly evident. Upton asserts that this is an intermediate form derived from the Y-tracery windows present in seventeenth century churches such as Newport Parish and cites building requests for a large windows in both this church and Lower Middlesex Church. Later churches had compass or rectangular windows in the chancel that generally matched the general size and shape of the south and north windows (in both extant and destroyed churches). This original chancel window was ten feet high and most likely matched the size and shape of St. Peters -- a large, compass-headed one filling a large portion of the east facade. The side windows on the south and north show evidence of extensive relocation and shortening, to me ruining the classical stasis of the facades.

The original doorways are gone, replaced in the west by a brick entry at the east end and a jarringly small window on the south east end. Worse is the presence of additions on the north end that, like the entry, have clearly modern brick with exaggerated dark bricks and modern finish and size that contrasts strongly with the colonial brickwork. The interior, too, is changed beyond recognition as a colonial structure. Next to the church is a private Episcopal school with modern tin-buildings that diminishes the setting.

Farnham Church

2007-04-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

Farnham Church N37.88579 W76.62508 1737

This cruciform church stands in the middle of a small village in Richmond County just north of Route 3. Is is a Latin cross with general dimensions of 63'8" x 58'2". The nave is 24'3", the chancel 14' long while the transepts are 16'7" long. The extensions of the cross are all 25' wide. Reportedly the walls are 2' thick (all from Rawlings, 1963). I believe I read somewhere that Christ Church in Lancaster County was specifically referred to as the model for this church.

The brickwork has been repointed or replaced at several places, and the gables seem to have been rebuilt completely. Rawlings asserts that the roof was originally hipped like Lower Middesex Church. (Should I get a drawing program and produce a hypothetical hipped structure?) The doorways seem to have been completely replaced with modern reproductions for which the frames were obviously cut and new work inserted. The water table, in English bond, has a subtle cavetto and ovolo pattern while the wall bricks are laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers. For some reason (?), the chancel windows have been cemented in a similar manner to those of Chuckatuck church.

While Tom and I were there, two bricklayers were setting a new walk from the north doorway, and we engaged them in conservation. If the local man who was working there reads this, we implore him to keep his distinctive, fascinating local dialect (accent). I got the other man talking, and we had, for me at least, a most interesting talk about the competence of colonial craftsmen -- he gives them a most high rating -- and the features such as the gauged brick voussiors above the windows and doors that demanded considerable skill and meticulous attention to detail. His opinion was that it actually would take only a few months to actually erect the wall bricks and was surprised that such churches often took years to produce. According to Dell Upton (1986), the undertaker (contractor) would get 90% of the alloted funds up front and, due to lack of impetus and the vestrymen's general wishes, churches often took years to complete. The general tax was about 20 pounds of tobacco per tithable (adult male or slave) per year, but a new church would generally double that tax for several years (Upton, 15-16).

All in all, this is a charming church in an equally charming setting and is well worth the visit. The bricklayers said that they are surprised by the number of visitors from as far away as Chicago to this remote crossroads.

Lower Chapel Middlesex

2007-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lower Chapel Middlesex N37.55185 W76.45961 1715-1717

This smallish church, 54'x34', has extra charm because of the clipped gables and kicked eves which give it a distinct, old world look.
The entirety of the church is in English bond which gives it an air of solidity rather than elegance as in nearby Adingdon church. The building is greatly altered from the original in several important respects. The most notable added feature is a small addition added to the east end whose angular looks detract from the basic rectangular structure. The doorways are changed and the windows, according to Rawlings, are lengthened while only the small, elliptical window remains on the west facade and the large chancel window is completely gone.
The interior of the church is in no respect colonial, having been changed in the nineteenth century into a typical two aisle interior with a raised, simple floor at the chancel end.
Among the great treasures of the chapel is a communion chest dating from 1677 and still in daily use. A dating brick with 1715 and the initials of the builder a Mr. Armistead.
The choir director along with a couple working on the windows was at the church when we visited and were most cordial, taking the time to give us a comprehensive tour and explanation of the chapel. A new wing has been added within the last year in as good a match as can be made with new construction. It is good to see such a chapel occupied by a vigorous congregation that understands its historical importance.
Among the anecdotes we mined is that many of the colonial congregation used the creek just to the south of the site to travel to weekly services.

Ware Church

2007-04-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ware Church, Gloucester N37.42252 W76.50742

This is a rectangular church located in Gloucester, Virginia just off Route 14. It was built circa 1710-1715, so it is an typical and well-preserved example of the box-shaped church built soon after Yecomico (1706), so it shows how quickly the Gothic elements were shed. The grove of mature trees as well as the cemetery surrounding highlight the views of the structure.
It is 81' x 41' in length an width with 26' walls that are reported to be over 3' thick with a steep roof (20' pitch). The bricks are widely varied in color with little repointing; in particular note the color changes on the outside chancel wall. The walls are beautifully varied with the contrast between glazed headers and stretchers aesthetically very pleasing. It is one of the few churches with all three doors intact and has the usual Northern Neck/Middle Peninsula pattern of triangular pediments on the south and north with a semicircular pediment on the west. The door pilasters are unusual in having the water table included as a base element. Very pretty! The windows are of great interest; particularly the east windows have a double-sash arrangement that we have not seen before. As in most of the edifices, queen closers and rubbed brick are used at the windows and corners with subtle effect. The round window arches are also pleasingly done.
I need to visit again when someone will let us in as the church was deserted and locked with we visited.

Abingdon Church

2007-04-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

Abingdon Church N37.33197 W76.51325 1755

This immense church is a superb example of the period of church building in colonial Virginia with superb walls, windows, and interior that are almost overwhelming in size and classical proportion. There are also most friendly and informative parishioners who gave Tom and me a fine tour of the inside of the building and revealing anecdotes about the building and its accouterments.

This is a beautifully built church with Flemish bond both above and below the water table. It is in the shape of a Latin cross with dimensions 80 1/2' east-west and 75 1/2' north-south, so that it appears to be a Greek cross to an observer. Each arm is 35 1/2' on the outside. The walls are 25' high and the roof is steeply pitched. Reportedly the walls are 27" thick. Glazed headers are used on all walls. Each of the four arms is crowned by a triangular full pediment with brick on the inside surface. The brick itself is in remarkable condition. Mrs. Hale, who gave us a most gracious tour, asserts that the state of preservation is due to the Union army using the enclosed pews as stables and, hence, preserving the structure from burning, as was the fate of many colonial churches.

The interior, too, is of massive proportions and classical influence. This church is a must visit for those seeking to see a church interior unaltered from colonial times. The altar back piece, or reredos, is magnificent; note its massive size (17' high) and the pineapple in an urn at the center. The gold-painted inscription is, according to local tradition, dated to the end of the Civil War when a grape vine spelling "We praise thee, Oh God," was erected and left the letters permanently on the wood which was then painted in gold script. Rawlings(1963) notes that the altarpiece is several inched too wide for the space between the east windows and suggests the it may have been moved from Petsworth Church or Statton Major church after the Disestablishment. In any case, it is a superb example of church interior decoration.

The lofts on the north and south as well as the staircase pillars in Doric mode and other interior details are in beautiful shape. Some flagstones in the vestibules are original while the others are replaced. I can not list all of the details of this interior in one blog. I need to return and spend a day looking at the woodwork inside.

The grave yard surrounded with a fine wall is also most noteworthy. Plan on spending several hours here.

The exterior doors, too, are magnificent and worth close attention. Like many of the edifices, the western door has a semi-circular arch while the north and south doors have triangular pediments above them. A picture can not do them justice.

This is an active congregation with courteous, well-informed guides. If you have any interest in these churches, you must visit this one.

St John's Chuckatuck

2007-03-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

St John's, Chuckatuck N36.85699 W76.56106 1756

This medium-sized church, 60' x 30', has much to recommend itself despite extensive repairs to its brickwork, windows, and interior. It stands in the middle of a copse of beautiful shade trees by the side of a small pond running to Cedar creek.
It is apparently the third church on the site, and is the only church not oriented but has the chancel skewed to the northwest instead of true west. I wonder if the builders oriented the church to the site and only roughly east-west? Another unique feature is that it is laid in Flemish bond below as well as above the water table. Old pictures I found in a book by George Mason in the nearby TCC library show the church with a collapsed roof and report extensive restoration to the brickwork that is evident even to a non-architect's eye like mine. The effect of the windows is greatly diminished by the nineteenth century panes with diamond panes and translucent lights.
Perhaps I've been visiting too many remote churches with superb brickwork or recent, seamless restorations like St John's in King William County. I seem to recall it in a better light when I used it as a stop on bicycle routes home on summer days, so the church has probably remained the same and my eye has been spoiled.
As I mentioned, the brick facades show extensive repairs with some of the windows showing changes in shape and size. The windows on the chancel end are bricked up in an unattractive, contrasting pale brick, and the lunette window over the entry door is cemented over. There is a large brick patch on the south-east center window (this is apparently the original vestry door?) and ungainly metal straps on the sides. Remember that this is nitpicking; the overall impression, especially from the south of the entry door is truly charming and pastoral. The view from the road through the trees is suitable for a moody watercolor.

Glebe Church

2007-03-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Glebe Church (Bennett's Creek Church) N36.82454 W76.49660 1737-38

Glebe Church is still an active Anglican denomination in a much changed church of which only the walls themselves remain with a greatly altered set of windows, doors, and particularly the cornice that is a jarring wooden structure on base of irregular brick repairs. The church was abandoned after the Revolution until 1856 and went through a series of changes that leave only the walls -- a portion of them at best -- as colonial. It apparently was built as a small, 49' x 25', rectangular structure and in 1759 an L-shaped addition to the north (where the new addition stands) of 24' x 23' was added. Interesting features such as galleries on both the north and west sides were present as well as a hanging pew in the southeast with an outside covered entrance. There may have been another private gallery added in 1777. Sadly all of this is gone, and the church shows, even superficially, much variation in its brickwork. The north addition was taken down in the alteration of 1856 and the surplus bricks used to repair the original-sized rectangular shape. The windows show a lot of variation, and the present windows are clearly not colonial.

Lyric Poems

2007-03-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

In addition to this site documenting via photographs each church I can find, I'm currently writing a series of lyric poems to be published in a chapbook. I plan to juxtapose each poem with a series of images of each church. If you want me to post some samples here let me know via email.

2nd Southwark Parish

2007-03-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

2nd Southwark Parish Site N37.18560 W76.85623

I went by this site for years, not knowing it was there, until a fellow Scout Master from the nearby Pipsico Camp showed it to me while I was working as a councilor for a bicycling and colonial history program there.

It consists of a set of fences to the north of Route 618, a concrete monument, and the outlines of the presumably wooden church there.
In summer, even knowing where it is. it is easy to drive right past it. If you are looking for it, I recommend a GPS

Southwark Parish

2007-03-24T19:37:00.003-07:00

Southwark Parish Church 1754 N37.10862 W76.73557

This church was the most melancholy ruin in the state of Virginia with the walls of the church shaded even in the hottest summer by a huge oak to the south-west of the remains. Alas, in 2005 a hurricane blew the oak over and crushed the largely intact brickwork. The local historical society is now rebuilding the walls in correct bond using the droves of original bricks from the walls. The walls are irregularly Flemish or English bond, reflecting the mix of bonds on the original. I ran into a local man who name I promptly forgot and had a good old talk about the church and showed him the Rawlings book I had the foresight to bring with me. All together a pleasant late Saturday afternoon. I hope I run into more local residents as I pursue my project.

There is some confusion in parishes: Lawne's Creek, Chippokes, and Southwark Parish seem to have a rather mixed history from James City County in 1652. Lawne's Creek Parish was formed in 1640? and was represented by a first church on Hog Island near the Surry Nuclear Plant. The exact site is forever lost. According to local historians, the 2nd Lawne's Creek Church is a scant ruin on Route 618 north of Surry, Virginia. I have seen this church referred to as the 3rd Lawne's Creek Church, but Rawlings asserts is was constructed as Southwark Parish and never served any other parish. Oh, well.

The original walls measures 74' x 43', a huge building and were 2 1/2 brick lengths thick. The walls are exposed and are being rebuilt as the original with Flemish bond on the outside and English bond on the inside. A few sections of brick in the northeast corner seem to have old plaster on them with shells embedded in what looks like a mud base. I have seen shells from either the Miocene deposits on the James or, on the Eastern shore, used as driveway gravel or plaster. It this the case here? The building was abandoned from the Disestablishment until 1847, with local congregations squabbling over the building until the Civil War. It was reputedly burned down by local Blacks who wanted to keep using the surrounding cemetery for burials. There is no proof for this assertion. However, the church site is surrounded by a lovely cemetery with, as I have seen, local burials still going in.

There are also numerous cedar and other flowering trees surrounding the site that render it quite poetic. I shall return and take more pictures in late spring. Across Route 10 is Bacon's Castle built in 1665; another site well worth more than one visit.

Added to this post is a picture I found of the interior of the church in the 1980s showing it before the damage of the 2005 storm.

St John's King William

2007-03-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

St John's, King William County1734 N37.61616 W76.92078

The next church cousin Tom and I visited on March 17 is St John's, King William County. It is a rare, T-shaped church with the chancel (altar) on the east and a projecting wing to the north. The north and west doorways are stunning. The north has a triangular pediment with brick column pilasters while the west has a semicircular pediment with identical pilasters. They seem identical in style to those of Stratton Major and St Stephen's we stopped at earlier in the day. According to my reading, the T-shaped and cruciform churches were not designed as a architectural feature symbolizing crosses but rather as a means to enlarge the church economically as well as to provide adequate volume for the parishioners as a rectangular church has a audible limit of 80 feet maximum. The north wing was most likely built circa 1755. The walls are cited as being in poor repair in a 1963 source (Rawlings, James S. Virginia's Colonial Churches: An Artchitectural Guide. Richmond: Garrett and Massie, 1963 -- the canonical reference source) but now seem in good repair. The windows are correct 18th century form with compass (semicircular) tops and, like the doorways and corners, have rubbed brick, made by selecting light colored bricks and literally rubbing them to give them a different pattern. These subtle touches make the buildings all the more interesting to look at. There is a modern rest room building and a kiosk with the church's history well documented that is part of a modern restoration that is itself stunning. The inside is completely restored to the 1755 condition with the correct display of the Lord's Prayer, The Ten Commandments, and the Apostles' Creed in large tablets above the communion table. I wish I had space for all that this church offers. It is available for weddings, etc., at a very reasonable rate. Quixotically, my camera ran out of battery power just as we arrived, to only two pictures are available. I must make another trip and soon. http://www.stjohnswp.org/oldstjohns/ is the church foundation's site. I highly recommend it for more detailed information.

Yeocomico Church

2007-03-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

Yecomico Church N38.06231 W76.59685

This church is an oddity. Built in 1706, it shows a transition from Gothic churches like St. Peter's (below) and St Luke's in Smithfield (Newport Parish). The two earlier churches (1701 and 1680s) have clear Gothic features like buttresses, Flemish or crow-step gables, and casement windows with small diamond panes. (St Luke's original windows were apparently Gothic Y-tracery ones with clear glass panes -- not the stained glass presently in place.)

Yeocomico is a small church, 51' x 26'-27' (different widths at west and east ends). It may have been built as a rectangular church (like St John's, King William County) and later changed to its present T-shape. It has a unique porch on the south with the only wicket door from colonial times (It is reputed to weigh over 1,000 pounds.). There are irregular variations in the brick bond throughout the walls made of bricks, according to the nearby monument, fired in a kiln on the site. The windows are covered by heavy green, wooden, rectangular, rustic shutters (We could not get in the church as no one was on site to open the church for us.) . There are three doors: two on the south and one on the north. The two south doors are marked by fantastic pilasters while the rest of the church has several brick plaques with the initials of the builders, a thistle, and Masonic (?) symbols. It is a small church that just oozes charm: all the more so because it is completely surrounded by a restored churchyard wall containing stately trees. I will visit again and give a more complete report as this site deserves it. is the church foundaton's site: I recommend it for more detailed information. Check http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/092006/09302006/225092

St Stephen's

2007-03-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Lower Church, St Stephen's (Mattaponi), King and Queen County N37.71864 W76.88687
After visiting Stratton Major Church, we found St Stephen's a few miles up the road. It, like the former church, is on a pleasantly wooded hill with a cemetery of later origin surrounding it. The church is cruciform with splendid Flemish bond brickwork marked by glazed headers. The doorways are striking, with idendical pilasters with a triangular pediment above the vestry door and a semicircular one above the west door. The bricks here seem to be by the same craftsman as Stratton Major (as well as St John's, King William County). I wonder if there was some journeyman who worked on all three churches? The shape is a Latin cross and has dimensions of 84 1/2' x 64' for the main branches east-west and north-south. It is a huge church that could seat 500-600 parishioners if Stratton Major could seat 572 (according to Dell Upton). The construction date is most likely circa 1730-1734. Another building with classical presence-- well worth more than one visit.

Blogging

2007-03-19T18:05:00.002-07:00

I got turned on to blogging by my friend, Peter Stinson, on whose blog can be found some of my poetry, even some about the churches I visit. Read his blog for intelligent, flexible discussion of contemporary issues. http://tidewatermuse.blogspot.com/

Stratton Major

2007-03-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Upper Church, Stratton Major, King and Queen County N37.60285 W76.77049

This church, built between 1724-1729, has splendid brickwork in Flemish bond above the water table with glazed headers. The south doorway, in particular, with its square arches and triangular pediment is a wonder to ponder despite the jarring presence of modern storm doors. It is a rectangular church with dimensions of 64' x 33' 9' with 2' thick walls. It sits on the top of a small rise to the south of Route 14 which enhances its presence on a sunlight day. Reportedly there was an earlier church on the site whose presence was revealed by bulldozing possibly for the new west addition? Elaborate details of brickwork and the classical proportions of the building make it achieve the serenity few modern structures possess. I could almost feel the stares of 17th century parishioners as I walked around the building. Sadly, the west face is obscured by a new addition that crudely covers the magnificent pilasters and curved arch of the western entrance door. After the Revolution, the church was deserted and used intermittently by local congregations of Baptists and Methodists. It is now an active Methodist church with modern outbuildings and play apparatus. Modern maps refer to it as Old Church.

St Peter's

2007-03-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Late February 2007
Visited St Peter's Church north of West Point, Virginia N37.54068 W77.05646

St Peter's is a rectangular church with a bell tower: church built in 1706; bell tower in 1740. It is only one of three extant churches with a bell tower. The structure is 64' x 28' for the main church, and is an late example of Virginia Gothic architecture with buttresses and Flemish gables. The tower has a key for St Peter at its zenith and huge quoins at the four corners. The strange protrusions on the south and north side of the tower are drains for the original two-sided tower roof. The windows are casements with diamond panes of clear glass. Note the Gothic-shaped read window, with clear glass, and the brick arch above each window. The surrounding grave yard is of later origin. It is a very peaceful place with groves of fragrant trees surrounding the church and graveyard.

Merchant's Hope

2007-03-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

February 2007 Merchant's Hope, Hopewell, VA: N37.26563 W77.20213

Visited arguably the most pleasing church in Virginia, Merchant's Hope (Martin's Brandon Parish) circa 1725. On a pleasantly wooded site with aesthetically pleasing lines, this church represents the early eighteenth century ideal balance between form and function. Note the compass windows, the matching doors, and the graceful kicked eaves. The church is oriented, altar end toward the east entrance door toward the west, by law. The vestry door on the north wall is a study in simple elegance. The church itself is 60' x 25' in dimensions with 22 1/2 inch solid brick walls. The water table, lower rows of bricks on the foundation, are in English bond while the walls are in Flemish bond. The headers, or short bricks, in the walls are glazed blue-black. The inside is said to have been destroyed by Federal soldiers and was restored after the Civil War. Well worth a visit or two.

Virginia's Colonial Churches

2007-03-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

March 18 2007

I've recently revived an interest in colonial history in southern Virginia and have begun studying and visiting true colonial churches in the greater Tidewater area. I thought there might be some interest in this topic.

I will visit each of the forty eight authentic colonial churches in Virginia and document them with GPS readings as well as verifying the condition of the buildings with credible printed sources. Email me if you want more information or have information about the churches not in the cited writings.