Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
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VLR Listing Date 11/05/1968
NRHP Listing Date 10/01/1969
NHL Listing Date 03/02/2012
NRHP Reference Number 69000263
St. Peter’s Church in New Kent County is one of America’s most engaging works of colonial architecture. The main body was constructed in 1701-03 by William Hughes, carpenter, and Cornelius Hall, bricklayer, and employs the simple rectangular plan characteristic of Virginia’s earliest Anglican churches. The influence of the Jacobean Baroque style is evident in its restored curvilinear gables. The tower, with its sparkling glazed-header Flemish bond, was added in 1739-41 by William Walker, and has baroque vestiges in the molded brick cornices, massive corner pilasters, and the four pedestals topped by crude stuccoed urns, one of which is a chimney. The interior suffered the loss of most all original fabric in the course of its nearly three-century history but was carefully reconstructed in 1964-65 in a restoration directed by Harden de Valson Pratt. St. Peter’s was the parish church of Martha Washington during her youth.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: May 4, 2022
