Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/12/1989
NRHP Listing Date 12/27/1990
NRHP Reference Number 90001924
A storybook country church, Emmanuel Episcopal stands on land donated to Southam Parish in 1846 by Philip St. George Cocke, master of Powhatan County’s great plantation, Belmead. Cocke worked with Thomas Ludwell Hobson of Brooklyn, also in Powhatan County, in having the bricks made at both Belmead and Brooklyn. Cocke’s use of the prominent architect Alexander Jackson Davis for the design of Belmead has led to speculation that Davis may also have designed Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Though in the Gothic Revival style for which Davis is noted, the church was probably designed by Cocke himself. Whoever was responsible, the architecture has attracted many admirers to the church in Powhatan County. Bishop John Johns, who consecrated Emmanuel Episcopal Church in 1847, wrote that it was “highly credible to the good taste and liberality of those by whom it has been erected.” Early in the 21st century the parish ceased and the property was sold to a different congregation.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: February 23, 2023
