Northern Neck Now

Enhanced by its quiet rural setting, Christ Episcopal Church, Lancaster County, is without peer among Virginia’s colonial churches in the quality of its architecture and state of preservation. The cruciform structure was commissioned by Robert (“King”) Carter, the most prosperous and influential of Virginia’s colonial planters. Completed by 1735, the exterior is set off by its beautiful brickwork, especially the molded brick doorways, the nation’s finest examples of their type. The tall arched windows of Christ Church, with their original sash, are accented by sandstone keystones, imposts, and sills, as well as by gauged brick voussoirs. The original interior fittings include the paneled box pews, triple-decker pulpit, and walnut altarpiece. In the churchyard are the richly carved tombs of Carter and his two wives. Still a functioning Episcopal church, the property is maintained by the Foundation for Historic Christ Church.

Christ Episcopal Church, Lancaster County