St. John's Church

Q-82

St. John's Episcopal Church was founded in 1848; its original Greek Revival sanctuary opened in 1850 near the corner of Court and London Streets. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1855, James Chisholm, the church’s first rector, remained in Portsmouth to minister to the sick. He died of the disease and was later added to the Episcopal Church’s calendar of saints. The Gothic Revival sanctuary on this site, designed by architect Charles M. Cassell, opened in 1898. Mary Brown Channel, the first female architect licensed in Virginia, designed several additions. Her father, William A. Brown (rector 1904-1938) was consecrated Bishop of Southern Virginia here in 1938.

Department of Historic Resources, 2019

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Saint John’s Church Parish Register Journal of the Annual Council of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia, 1848 “Notes on the History, Building and Furnishings of St. John’s Episcopal Church” (2012). Portsmouth Sanborn Maps, 1888. Southern Churchman (articles pertaining to yellow fever epidemic, 1855). Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (New York: Church Publishing, Inc., 2010), 584-585. Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 17 Sept. 1895, 16 Sept. 2013. Richmond Times-Dispatch, 16 Feb. 1935, 13 July 1965. Portsmouth Star, 19 Jan. 1936. Alf J. Mapp Jr., “Brown, William Ambrose,” Dictionary of Virginia Biography https://www.stjohnsportsmouth.org/Our%20Story/history-future.html