The fourth church of one of the Commonwealth’s oldest Episcopal parishes, Martin’s Brandon Church in Prince George County is an expression of the ecclesiastical architectural taste at the time of the revival of the Episcopal Church in Virginia in the mid-19th century. Although its architect has not been documented, the Tuscan-style building, with its pink stuccoed walls and corner tower, resembles the Italianate designs of the Baltimore firm of Niernsee and Neilson. The church was consecrated in 1857 and stands across the road from the site of the parish’s 18th-century church in the rural community of Burrowsville. The choir loft preserves the church’s 1873 Henry Erben pipe organ. A chalice and paten, given in 1656, are believed to be the nation’s oldest communion service in continuous possession of the original parish. The parish was established in 1655 and was named for Martin’s Brandon, land patented by John Martin in 1618.
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
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia