Parish History the churchyard received the remains of important Bnjton Parish,formed in 1674 from the merger residents such as Governor Edward Nott,as well as of several colonial parishes dating back to 1633, many others of more modest status. Of the took its name from the town of Bruton in county' hundreds buried in the grounds, only 148 have Somerset, England. GovernorSirWilliam Berkeley permanent markers, and these are made of and the prominent Ludweil family had strong limestone, marble, sandstone, slate, or granite. A Brief Guide ancestral ties to this town. In 1678 Colonel John . In recent years, the cinerarium area has provided Page, a wealthy colonist, donated the land and ' a final resting place for cremated remains of some funds for a brick church and a churchyard. to The first brick church, completed In 1683, lay to parishioners. the north and west of the present building. Architectural Notes After the College of William and Mary was Bruton's cruciform shape, unusual for Virginia Bruton founded in 1693 and the capital of the Virginia colonial churches, was intended to accommodate colony was moved from Jamestown to the governor's entourage and members of the Wllliamsburg six years later, the existing church General Assembly, college students and faculty, Church was too small. In 1715 this church building was as well as townspeople. Governor Alexander completed and began serving as the "court" Spotswood designed the building in 1711, and the Williamsburg, Virginia church for the colony. In colonial times, church General Assembly and the parish funded the and state were one and all officeholders had to construction. Completed four years later, the attend the established Anglican church. Yet church was 75 feet long with transepts (wings) Virginians George Mason and James Madison extending 14-1/2 feet. An addition in 1752 Included religious toleration in the Virginia lengthened the chancel 22 feet and gave the Declaration of Rights of 1776 and Thomas Jefferson church Its symmetrical form with chancel and nave in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in of equal length. Laid in Flemish bond with glazed f X A -. 1779. headers, the brickwork is strikingly lovely. The V ^ '."ft With American independence, ties between erection of the tower in 1769 completed the church and state were severed, and the Anglican Church became the Protestant Episcopal Church structure. In the USA. Bruton's membership declined and The Parish Today the building deteriorated. In 1840, remodeling Today, Bruton Parish is an active, vibrant ••• placed the altar toward the west and stripped the church as well as a colonial architectural I interior of its colonial furnishings. masterpiece. Nearly 650 families, as well as A restoration (1905-1907) partially returned college students and visitors attend the numerous the church to its colonial appearance by moving services on Sundays, weekdays, and Holy Days in the altar to the east end of the building, and the building that accommodates more than 400 V-; interior excavations unearthed 42 graves. Soon people. Bruton offers a full array of Christian after he became rector in 1926, the Reverend Formation classes for adults and children and W.A.R. Goodwin persuaded John D. Rockefeller, many other activities In the Parish House one and Jr., to underwrite the restoration of the entire a half blocks west on Duke of Gloucester Street. city, and Bruton Parish Church regained its colonial Bruton Parish Church members volunteerto serve glory with the completion of the work In 1939. as trained guides to interpret the building and its history to our visitors. The Churchyard Bruton has probably the largest colonial burial Bruton Parish Church site still existing in Virginia. By 1754, a brick wall Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia enclosed the area. Some of the early tombstones Post Office Box 3520 and memorials in the forms of chest and table Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-3520 tombs, obelisks, sculptural designs, headstones, Telephone (757) 229-2891 Dating from 1715, this Episcopal Church and ledger stones are examples of the Baroque www.brutonparish.org style of funerary art. Beginning in 1678 with the welcomes all who enter. burial of Thomas Ludweil, secretary of the colony. 1/11