Ware Parish Church
The parish's first rector, Alexander Murray, had escaped with King Charles II from the Battle of Worcester, and was nominated to become the Bishop of Virginia, with authority over all Anglican churches in the American colonies, but died before he could be consecrated, so no Anglican bishop ever lived in the colonies. During the American Revolutionary War, American infantry camped at the church. It deteriorated during the disestablishment of the Episcopal Church in Virginia, and was occasionally used by Methodists for services before being repaired in 1827 and restored for full use as an Episcopal Church in 1854. During the American Civil War, federal troops encamped in the yard, and the church was not again repaired and restored to full use until 1878.
The parish has traditionally had a close relationship with slightly older Abingdon Church, in White Marsh also in Gloucester County, and often shared rectors. Two other colonial era chapels, at Kingston and Petsworth, did not survive, although Ware parish inherited two silver patens and two silver chalices from Petsworth and Kingston was in what became Mathews County, Virginia in 1791. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission (September 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Ware Parish Church" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
- ^ NRIS p.3
- ^ NRIS
External links
- Official church website
- Ware Church, State Route 3, Gloucester, Gloucester County, VA: 6 photos and 2 data pages at Historic American Buildings Survey