Briefly changing time periods, we stopped visiting Civil War Era sites, and switched to the Revolutionary War. When Patrick Henry and others were trying what to do with ongoing issues with England, their group was dismissed, making it treason for them to meet and discuss political matters without being called back into session. Richmond was the nearest location to Williamsburg (the then capitol) that had a place big enough for everyone to meet. The Pastor of St. John's Episcopal church agreed to let them use their building for the meeting. It was here where self-trained lawyer Patrick Henry ended his speech with "Give me liberty or give me death."
 |
| Our tour guide in the church that has been expanded three times from the original building. |
I found some of the original pews most interesting. All the newer pews are built to match, though not as tall as these. The doors were placed around each seating area as there was no heat in the day. Families brought heating stones and bricks to place around their feet, and the doors kept the draft away, enabling a little bit of warmth for each section during the sermon.
As the church has been expanded, there was nowhere to go in the already full cemetery but over graves. Here is a marker in the nave, showing where a former minister is buried underneath the church in that spot. I personally found this a little disturbing.
Loved the carpet...we saw carpet like this in many places throughout Richmond. Can you imagine having to sweep/brush this clean?
I hope to research this phrase later. The symbol in this window can also be found on tombs throughout the graveyard. Our tour guide told us it stood for "In His Service"...the I, H, and S are intertwined in the more "modern" symbols.
We saw arched tombs like this in Beaufort, NC, and the tour guide there said it was to keep tombs from washing away during floods. The James River is nearby here, but the church is on such high ground I can't imagine water ever getting this high. It was so cold that day that no one was hanging around outside to ask about these two very different tombs.
And an older example of the "In His Service" symbol.
Never seen a tombstone quite like this one. The shame is traditional, but the engraved urn is unlike anything I've seen (not that I've visited a whole lot of graveyards).
The front of St. Henry's church.
More tombs that are almost underneath the church.
And here are some on the other side of the building that are also against the church, and you can see what appears to be others up under the building itself.
If you ever visit Richmond, this is a must on your list of places to do. It's not a free tour, unlike other museums, but it is educational in a great way, the tour guide is open to questions of any kind, and the elevator from the street (entrance from the street to the visitor's center is not accessible and we had to enter on the other side of the block) takes you directly into the cemetery. I must say, I was not prepared for the door to open and immediately be facing tombstones. I almost felt like we were in a movie. But the cemetery itself is fairly accessible, as is their brick rampway to the visitor's center, and the tour guide easily adjusted the tour entrance to make it work for us. An incredibly awesome place that will make even lukewarm history learners interested. And I must say, I learned quite a bit.
One quick note, the walkways around the church block are accessible, though there are a few spots around trees where the roots have buckled the bricks or the sidewalk and it take a little maneuvering.
Comments