049-0043

Mattaponi Church

VLR Listing Date

09/19/1972

NRHP Listing Date

03/20/1973

NRHP Reference Number

73002027

Mattaponi Church in King & Queen County is an impressive example of a cruciform church, a plan reserved for colonial Virginia’s larger, more important Anglican churches. Typical of such buildings, the walls are laid in Flemish bond with glazed headers, and the entrances are framed with pedimented frontispieces of gauged and molded brick. A church, designated Lower Church, St. Stephen’s Parish, was built here ca. 1674, when the parish was formed form Stratton Major Parish. The present Mattaponi Church was built ca. 1730-34. The names or initials inscribed on three bricks are probably those of masons. Abandoned by the Anglicans after the Revolution, the Mattaponi Church was taken over by Baptists in 1803, who still occupy it. Fire destroyed the original interior in 1922, but the building was repaired and returned to use. The four original altarpiece tablets were saved and reinstalled. Three colonial grave slabs remain in the churchyard.

Last Updated: October 23, 2024

Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.

Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

049-5132

Chief Otho S. and Susie P. Nelson House

King and Queen (County)

049-5025

Bruington Rural Historic District

King and Queen (County)

028-5030

Millers Tavern Rural Historic District

Essex (County)