Saint Paul's Episcopal Church (Norfolk, Virginia)

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Coordinates: 36°50′49.28″N, 76°17′7.58″W

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church

Norfolk, Virginia
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in 1907
Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in 1907
Location: Norfolk, Virginia
Built/Founded: 1739
Architectural style(s): Georgian
Governing body: Saint Paul's Episcopal Church
Anglicanism Portal

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church (also known as Borough Church)[1] is a historic church in Norfolk, Virginia. Built in 1739, it is the sole colonial-era building which survived the various wars that Norfolk has witnessed. The church has played host to several different denominations throughout its history. Originally an Anglican church, the building was home to a Baptist parish in the early nineteenth century and was finally converted back into an Episcopal church.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Tenants

During the Revolutionary War, the Church of England was disestablished in Virginia and replaced with the Protestant Episcopal Church in America. The Elizabeth River Parish of this new church was divided in 1797 by two feuding congregations. One faction formed Christ Church (which later became Christ and Saint Luke's Church), while the other retained the building until 1803, when it was acquired by Baptists. The Episcopalians reclaimed the building in 1832, and Bishop Richard Channing Moore reconsecrated it under the name Saint Paul's.[2]

[edit] American wars

Cannonball in the wall of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church.
Cannonball in the wall of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church.

Following his defeat at Great Bridge, Lord Dunmore attacked Norfolk from the sea as he fled Virginia on January 1, 1776. In retaliation, patriots set fire to the homes of loyalists; however, the fire became unmanageable, and nearly the entire town was destroyed by the flames.[3][4] The church was the only major building in the city to escape major damage in the assault,[5][6] though a cannonball did strike its wall.[7] By the 1830s, the cannonball was no longer embedded in the wall. However, it was discovered buried in the yard of the church, and returned to its original resting place in the 1840s, and remains there today.[8][9] During the Civil War, the building acted as a chapel for the Union army, and was returned after the surrender of Robert E. Lee, though it required extensive repairs.

[edit] Architecture

The church is an example of Georgian architecture.

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Register of Historic Places, <http://www.nationalhistoricalregister.com/VA/Norfolk/state.html>. Retrieved on 7 October 2007 
  2. ^ Saint Paul's - History, <http://www.saintpaulsnorfolk.com/history.htm>. Retrieved on 8 October 2007 
  3. ^ Stember, Sol (1974). Bicentennial Guide to the American Revolution. Saturday Review Press, 174. ISBN 0841503141. 
  4. ^ Hale, Louise Closser (1916). We Discover the Old Dominion. Dodd, Mead & Co., 276. 
  5. ^ North, Joseph B. (1877). Potter's American Monthly. J.E.Potter & Co., 195. 
  6. ^ Howard, Blair (2005). The Virginia Handbook. W.J.Burnham, 163. ISBN 1588435121. 
  7. ^ Anonymous (2005). Colonial Churches in the Original Colony of Virginia. Kessinger Publishing, 77. ISBN 1417965215. 
  8. ^ Yarsinske, Amy Waters (1999). Norfolk's Church Street: Between Memory and Reality, VA. Arcadia Publishing, 20. ISBN 0738501034. 
  9. ^ Lancaster, Robert Alexander (1915). Historic Virginia Homes and Churches. Lippincott, 41. 

[edit] External links

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