Bruton Parish Church, Exterior

Dublin Core

Title

Bruton Parish Church, Exterior

Subject

Bruton Parish Church (Williamsburg, Va.)
Block 21. Building 01.
Church architecture - Virginia - Williamsburg

Description

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.

 

Creator

Lincoln, F.S.

Date

1935

Date Created

1935

Rights

This material is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). For reproduction queries: Rights and reproductions

Format

jpeg

Type

Image

Identifier

LC335P1

Rights Holder

Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Gelatin or collodian printing out paper with platinum toning, mounted on board.

Physical Dimensions

8x10 inches

Citation

Lincoln, F.S., “Bruton Parish Church, Exterior,” John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed March 28, 2024, https://rocklib.omeka.net/items/show/278.