Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 05/13/1969
NRHP Listing Date 11/17/1969
NRHP Reference Number 69000371
In an isolated woodland setting, this multi-gable wooden church in Prince Edward County is a singular expression the mid-19th-century Gothic Revival. With its verticality emphasized by board-and-batten siding, sharp gables, and narrow lancet windows, the building displays the individualism inherent in many of the architectural endeavors of rural America. Its Presbyterian congregation was organized in 1755; the present building, erected in 1856, is the third on the site. The exaggerated design is attributed to the Rev. Robert Lewis Dabney, a theologian and amateur architect who served the congregation as a supply minister from 1856 to 1858. Dabney at the time was a professor at the nearby Union Theological Seminary, then part of Hampden-Sydney College. Briery Church survives without alteration, preserving all of its original interior appointments including pews, pulpit, and “vaulted” pine ceiling.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 27, 2022
