Christ Church

John Carter had the first church built on this site; it was completed in 1670 after his death. In 1730, his son Robert "King" Carter, colonial Virginia's most powerful planter, proposed to build a brick church here at his own expense, which the vestry of Christ Church Parish accepted. Finished in 1735, Christ Church is the best-preserved and most finely crafted of colonial Virginia's Anglican parish churches. The church's detailed brickwork, particularly the molded-brick doorways, distinguishes the exterior. The interior includes original high-backed pews, triple-decker pulpit, walnut altarpiece, and stone pavers. The elaborately carved tombs of Robert Carter and his two wives stand in the churchyard.