Large Framed Lithograph of Williamsburg VA Bruton Parish Church by J.C. Clayton

Description

Large handsomely framed 30.5" x 40" Print of Bruton Prish Church - Williamsburg, Virginia.
This church was Built by James Morris, John Tyler and Benjamin Powell. In 1706, the vestry began considering building a larger church. With only 110 families in 1724, the parish vestry could, however, only afford to plan a small church, and invited the colony's government to finance an enlargement to accommodate the needs not arising from the local residents.[10] Four years later the General Assembly agreed to fund pews for the governor, council, and burgesses. Royal Governor Alexander Spotswood drafted plans for the structure: a cruciform church (the first in Virginia) 75 feet long, 28 feet (8.5 m) wide, with 19-foot (5.8 m) long transepts (wings).
Under the watchful eye of Dr. James Blair, who was rector from 1710 to 1743 (and also president of William and Mary from 1693 until his death), the construction of the new church got underway, with the first construction contract awarded in 1711. Finished in 1715, the church soon had all the required furnishings: Bible, prayer books, altar, font, cushions, surplice, bell, and reredos tablets.
The church grew anew as part of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, which became the first autonomous Anglican province outside the British Isles. In the new Commonwealth of Virginia, those attending Bruton Parish Church did so by choice, and the parish survived to modern times, where it is still active. Over the years, various changes were made to the church fabric, including reversing the interior to place the altar at the west, instead of the east, end. In the early 20th century, an important restoration took place.
Bruton Parish Church today is the most active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. It has nearly two thousand members, four regular Sunday services, and active youth and college organizations. The Church has been restored to its appearance during the colonial era, and name plates on its box pews commemorate famous worshippers from the time, including George Washington, James Madison, John Tyler, Benjamin Harrison, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson. The church still uses a bell cast in 1761, which rang to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, marking the end of the American Revolutionary War.
It served as a hospital during two wars. It was saved by Rev. Goodwin and John Rockefeller when they were investing in the creation of Colonial Williamsburg.