Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Photographed by William Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

1. Emmanuel Episcopal Church Marker

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Photographed by William Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

2. Emmanuel Episcopal Church

The town of Port Conway was established in 1784 at the site of the Rappahannock ferry crossing from Port Royal. To attend church, Port Conway residents had to take the ferry south to St. Peter’s Church, Port Royal or travel to St. Paul’s at Owens or (after 1843) to St. John’s Church, King George Court House. To end this inconvenience, Cornelius Turner (1812-1876) of Belle Grove donated plantation land for use as a church site.

Belle Grove itself was part of a land grant dating from the 1660s, the decade in which Governor Berkeley granted Thomas Chetwood and John Prosser 5,274 acres as consideration for transporting 100 persons to the colony. Less than three years after acquiring the tract, Prosser sold 1,000 acres to Anthony Sevedge. That portion of the tract then passed from the Conway family (1720-90) to the Bernard family (1790-1839) to the Turners (1839-93). George Washington was a

Photographed by William Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

3. Emmanuel Church Plaque

Emmanuel Church has been registered as a Virginia Historic Landmark pursuant to the authority vested in the Virginia Historic Landmarks Board.

frequent visitor to Belle Grove, and in 1751 the plantation became the birthplace of James Madison.

Emmanuel Church, Port Conway, was constructed 1859-60 and consecrated on July 2, 1860 by Bishop Johns. Unfortunately, the name of the architect is not recorded; however, on the basis of the design and the date, the church may be attributed to the Baltimore architectural firm of Niernsee and Neilson. The firm was responsible for building other churches in the Gothic style in Virginia which share similar design details with Emmanuel Church.

J. Crawford Neilson and John R. Niernsee practiced architecture in Baltimore. Neilson was born in that city in 1817 and studied civil engineering in Brussels, Belgium and subsequently practiced his profession in the United States, entering into a partnership with Niernsee in 1848. Niernsee came to Baltimore from Vienna, Austria, where he had attended the Vienna Polytechnic.

In Virginia the architects are thought to be associated with the design of two Episcopal churches: St. Paul’s Church, Petersburg of 1855-57 and Martin’s Brandon Church, Prince George County of 1855-56. St. Paul’s is documented

Photographed by William Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

4. Grave stones in Emmanuel Cemetery

in the church vestry records as the work of Neilson and Niernsee. A Gothic Revival-style edifice, St. Paul’s is among the most elaborate antebellum churches in Petersburg. Martin’s Brandon is a country church also attributed to Neilson and Niernsee. While predominantly Italianate in style, Martin’s Brandon Church, like Emmanuel, features a tall tower distinguished by an unusual flaring pyramidal roof. The design of the two church roofs suggests the same hand. Martin’s Brandon Church is, of course, larger than Emmanuel. However, both churches have excellent proportions and fine detailing. The location of Emmanuel on the Northern Neck makes the attribution to Neilson and Niernsee more probable. During the 19th century, the proximity of the area to Baltimore exerted a marked influence on Northern Neck architecture. Baltimore is also known to have provided the Northern Neck with building components. It is therefore not surprising to learn that a Baltimore architectural firm may have designed a small country church for a Northern Neck congregation.

In 1861, the Rev. Alexander Shiras was rector of both St. John’s Church, King George Court

Photographed by William Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

5. Grave stones in Emmanuel Cemetery

House and Emmanuel Church. He reported in 1862: “The war has borne somewhat heavily upon the Parish (Hanover Parish), scattering its families, carrying off its young men, and almost dissolving the congregation. Regular services were steadily kept up, and others held for the soldiers occasionally stationed in the neighborhood.”

The Rev. Henry Wall, who became the rector of Hanover Parish, King George County, in September, 1865, reported: “Emmanuel Church at Port Conway was now fit for occupation. It has been repaired by aid of the liberality of kind friends of the Church in Baltimore & New York, and by many personal friends of the subscriber in Alexandria.”

Ultimately, the church recovered from the war and has continued to serve the citizens of Port Conway to this day. The church retains its original interior gallery and its Henry Erban organ. The organ has a Gothic Revival-style case and dates to the third quarter of the 19th century.