Rights and reproductions]]> View of the exterior of Bruton Parish Church taken by F.S. Lincoln in 1935. A smaller seventeenth-century structure stood on the site from 1683 until 1715, when the larger and more elaborate cruciform-style church replaced it. Located at the edge of Palace Green on the corner of Duke of Gloucester Street and Palace Street, the church was originally designed by colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood.  

A series of restoration efforts began under Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin's direction between 1903-1907 and continued periodically until completed in 1940. In this 1935 photo of the south facade of Bruton Parish Church, the building retains the Colonial Revival window shutters and screen doors installed by architect J. Stewart Barney during his 1906 renovation of the exterior, according to how be believed the church appeared in the eighteenth century.  The shutters and screen doors were later removed during final restoration efforts in 1939, given the availability of further research information.  

The original wooden frame of a small bull's-eye window (accession # AF-21.1.1), removed from the east end of the church around 1906, is now in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's architectural fragments collection. Otherwise, the building's exterior walls and windows are original and the interior has been restored to its eighteenth-century appearance.  Large bull's-eye windows are still visible today in the south-facing end of the church (facing Duke of Gloucester Street) and the east end (facing Palace Green).  Bruton Parish continues to serve an active Episcopal congregation and has functioned as a site of worship for the community since the parish was first founded in 1674.

 

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A smaller seventeenth-century structure stood on the site from 1683 until 1715, when the larger and more elaborate cruciform-style church replaced it. Located at the edge of Palace Green on the corner of Duke of Gloucester Street and Palace Street, the church was originally designed by colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood. Bruton Parish continues to serve an active Episcopal congregation and has functioned as a site of worship for the community since the parish was first founded in 1674.

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Rights and reproductions]]> Exterior of the John Blair House, viewed from Duke of Gloucester Street, 1933. "The John Blair House and Kitchen on the north side of Duke of Gloucester Street was the home of a prominent family of Virginians. The Reverend James Blair (1655-1743), founder and first president of the College of William and Mary, came to Virginia in 1685....The original, easterly part of the John Blair House was built early in the eighteenth century. It is one of the oldest houses in Williamsburg. Town tradition has it that the stone steps at both doors came from the Palace Street theater. The steps were added when the house was lengthened twenty-eight feet to the west sometime during the second quarter of the eighteenth century."

(Source: Michael Olmert and Suzanne Coffman, Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg [Williamsburg, VA: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 2007], 103-104).

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Various 19th-century modifications are documented in this photograph. One of three chimneys along the roof ridge is visible on the right. Added in 1840, when the altar was moved to the west end and a new entrance cut into the east façade, the chimneys provided ventilation for three large stoves used to heat the interior. A clock face is mounted on the steeple and almost obscures the small window in the octagonal section of the tower. Shutters cover the round-headed windows. Ivy climbs the east wall and thickly curtains the brick.

Fortunately, the overall exterior appearance of the church remained intact into the twentieth-century. During his first period as rector of Bruton Parish Church from 1903-1907, Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin oversaw restoration of the interior to commemorate the Jamestown Tercentenary of 1907. Further restoration work, including removal of the unauthentic exterior window shutters, occurred in 1939.]]>
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One of the earliest organized activities to preserve Williamsburg's historic heritage occurred in the churchyard under the direction of the Catharine Memorial Society. In the early 1880s, a group of women led by Cynthia Beverly Tucker Coleman raised money to repair the cemetery in memory of her daughter, Catharine Brooke Coleman. This photo records the condition of the graveyard prior to any preservation efforts.]]>
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A smaller seventeenth-century structure stood on the site from 1683 until 1715, when the larger and more elaborate cruciform-style church replaced it. Located at the edge of Palace Green on the corner of Duke of Gloucester Street and Palace Street, the church was originally designed by colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood.

A series of restoration efforts began under Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin's direction between 1903-1907 and continued periodically until completed in 1940. In this 1935 photo of the north facade of Bruton Parish Church, the building retains the Colonial Revival window shutters installed by architect J. Stewart Barney during his 1906 renovation of the exterior, according to how be believed the church appeared in the eighteenth century. The shutters were later removed during final restoration efforts in 1939, given the availability of further research information.

Bruton Parish continues to serve an active Episcopal congregation and has functioned as a site of worship for the community since the parish was first founded in 1674.
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This pre-restoration view of the church interior dates to sometime between 1907 and 1930. It reflects changes made to the sanctuary as a result of initial efforts to bring the interior closer to its original form in anticipation of the Jamestown Tercentenary. Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, who became rector of the church in 1903, worked with architect J. Stewart Barney on the plans. Renovations to the church in the 19th-century had led to the reorientation of the sanctuary and the movement of the altar to the west end. The 1907 refurbishment included re-situating the altar at the east end of the nave. A large circular stained glass window provided a colorful focal point above the altar. It was later removed during a final wave of restoration work undertaken in 1939.]]>

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."]]>
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The caption reads: "Bruton Parish Church. Built in 1678, and rebuilt in 1715, successor to Middletown Church, established 1632. In the Church can be seen three communion services, viz: The Jamestown Service, George III Service, and the Service presented by Lady Gooch in 1686. Also the Bible presented the Church in 1907 by His Majesty, King Edward VII of England, and the handsome bronze lectern by Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt at the same time."]]>
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The caption reads: "The present church was erected in 1710-1715 to replace an earlier church. In its aisles and graveyard are the graves of two colonial governors, three secretaries of state, and many other prominent persons of the colonial period."]]>

The caption reads: "Burton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia. Court Church of Colonial Virginia. In this building worshipped seven Royal Governors, and the Revolutionary Fathers and early statesmen of Virginia, including Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Tyler, Henry, Marshall, and many others.

Church work was established here about 1632. The name, Bruton, dates from 1674, at which time the Rev. Rowland Jones, ancestor of Mrs. Washington, was minister. In 1683 the first brick church was built. Williamsburg became the capitol in 1699, and the old church was torn down and the present cruciform structure erected in 1710-15.

The Bell in the Steeple, made in England in 1761, was the first in America to proclaim Civil Independence. The lectern was presented by President Roosevelt, and the bibles by King Edward VII, and President Wilson."]]>
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The caption reads: "Built in 1710. Where Washington worshipped in 1781. The Parish dates back from 1632. Four presidents of the United States have worshipped within its walls. The bell which hangs in the tower was made in England and presented to the church in 1761 and summoned the patriots together in Revolutionary Times."]]>
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