Trinity Episcopal Church was built between 1828 and 1830 on the site of the parish’s original 1762 church in the city of Portsmouth. The congregation of the first church dwindled after the disestablishment of the Anglican church, but was revived in 1820 under the leadership of the Rev. John H. Wingfield. When it was attempted to enlarge the colonial church, the structure was found to be so decayed that the building was pulled down save for one wall, which is believed to be incorporated in the present structure. During the Civil War Trinity was used as a Confederate hospital. The formerly simple Federal-style building has been remodeled and redecorated many times and contains six Tiffany stained-glass windows. The tower, an important architectural landmark for Portsmouth’s historic Four Corners, the principal downtown intersection, was added in 1893. The Trinity Episcopal Church’s picturesque churchyard contains gravestones dating as early as 1763.
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