Strawberry Chapel is a parochial

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

in the lower part of St. John's, Berkeley Parish in

Berkeley County, South Carolina Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 229,861. Its county seat is Moncks Corner. After two previous incarnations of Berkeley County, the current county was created in 1882. Be ...

that was built in 1725. It is on Strawberry Chapel Road between South Carolina State Highway 8-44 and the West Branch of the Cooper River. Bordering Strawberry's property is the South Carolina State owned historic site of the “Town of Childsbury.” It was a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

that was settled in 1707. The town no longer exists. They were named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on April 26, 1972.

History

James Child, an English settler, was granted a tract of on Strawberry Bluff overlooking the Cooper River. This location was the furthest upstream that ships could travel. He established a ferry across the river. The town of Childsbury was planned for the bluff. At one time, the town had a tavern, school, chapel, race track, general store, and ferry. A tanner, butcher, shoemaker and carpenters lived in the town. Due to the growth of nearby plantations, the town withered. By 1750, the chapel and tavern continued to be used. Fairs were held until the mid-1750s. The chapel was a parochial chapel of ease of the Parish of St. John's, Berkeley. The parish church at the time was Biggin Church, which is about away. The designation of "parochial" meant that it had the authority to baptize and bury the dead. By 1825, Strawberry Chapel replaced Biggin Church as the parish church. The town is now a South Carolina Heritage Preserve.

Town plan

The town was planned to have twenty-four blocks on Strawberry Bluff. At its center was a market square. Two other squares were named Child's Square and Dixe's Square. The streets were wide. Property was assigned for a college, a free school, a church, and a minister's house. Child designated for farms and pastures and on the bluff for a future

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

. A sketch of the plan for the town has been published.

Chapel architecture

The chapel is a simple, rectangular brick building covered in stucco. It has a jerkin-head roof. The south-facing facade has a double three-paneled door with a flush

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

. There are shuttered windows on either side of this door. The west end has a single door flanked by a pair of windows. There is decorative

rosette window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window ...

above. The east end has two windows with the rosette window above. Extending from the north wall is a small anteroom for the

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

. A mural tablet in memory of an early rector of the parish was moved from Biggin Church to Strawberry Chapel. The silver Communion service from Biggin Church, which had been hidden at the end of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, was found buried in a barn at the Comingtee Plantation in 1947.Saturday Evening Post, June 21, 1947, "How the Comingtee Treasure Was Found," Herbert Ravenel Sass & Charlotte Ball It is now used at services at Strawberry Chapel but is not kept on the property. Additional pictures of the chapel are available.

Management

Strawberry Chapel has Ball-Harleston descendants actively working to protect its historic 1725 structure and graves. A major renovation is planned, with steps begun in 2018 to dry-out Chapel walls from water intrusion over-time. Four communion services are held annually which visitors may attend. Strawberry Chapel and its burial grounds are on private property and not open to the public. Although the chapel and graveyard property share a property line with the Childbury Township land, the two are completely separate entities. The historic Childsbury Township property is owned by the State of South Carolina and not part of Strawberry Chapel's private property.

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Churches completed in 1725 Churches in Berkeley County, South Carolina Ghost towns in South Carolina Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Berkeley County, South Carolina 1725 establishments in South Carolina 18th-century Episcopal church buildings Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places