Subject
Bruton Parish Church (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 21. Building 01.
Church architecture - Virginia - Williamsburg
Postcards - Virginia - Williamsburg
Thompson, A. Wordsworth (Alfred Wordsworth), 1840-1896
Description
Recto and verso of postcard illustrated with a hand-colored image of a painting titled "Bruton Parish Church in Early Colonial Days" by A. Wordsworth Thompson. The original painting is now owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thompson was active as an artist in the late 19th-century. This composition depicts the church as it appeared before 1895.
The caption reads: "Bruton Parish Church. Oldest Episcopal Church in America in continuous use, Court church of Colonial Virginia. Worship began 1632. First brick church completed 1683. Present building 1710-15. Transepts built by and for House of Burgesses. Colonial Governor's Canopied Pew. Three sets communion silver, viz.: Jamestown, 1661; William and Mary, 1686; King George III, 1766. Jamestown Font, "Liberty Bell of Virginia," first in America to proclaim civil Independence, May 15th, 1776. George Washington's name on parish register eleven times. Lectern presented by President Theodore Roosevelt. Holy Bible by King Edward VII. Pews Memorial to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Tyler, John Marshall, Patrick Henry and many other distinguished worshippers."