Old Brick Church (Lower Church, Southwark Parish) variously known as the Lawnes Creek Parish Church or the Lower Surry Church is a historic church in Bacon's Castle,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The lower chapel of the Southwark Parish was a brick rectangular room church built in 1754 about a mile northwest of Bacon's Castle, in

Surry County, Virginia Surry County is a county in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,561. In 1652, Surry County was formed from the portion of James City County south of the James River. For more tha ...

. Its brick walls are irregularly laid in

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

and

English bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by s ...

with a few glazed headers. The church remained abandoned from the Disestablishment of the Church of England in America until 1847. It was destroyed by a fire, reputedly set by recently freed slaves following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1868, but its thick brick walls remained standing. Its ruins were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1986. The Old Brick Church was typical of the Virginia vernacular churches of the colonial period. Prior to its destruction it probably resembled other surviving 18th century brick rectangular room churches in Virginia such as the circa-1743 Merchant's Hope Church in

Prince George County Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...

and the Ware Parish Church in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. Its walls were fairly well preserved until 2003, when a large oak tree in the churchyard was uprooted by high winds during

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the east coast of the United States in September 2003. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed in the eastern Atlantic ...

and fell on the ruins of the church, collapsing large portions of its walls. The ruins have since been stabilized, and many of the original bricks were saved. There are plans to reconstruct the walls and restore the church to its colonial appearance. According to local folklore going back more than a century, the ruins of the Old Brick Church are said to be haunted. Many credible people young and old over several generations claim to have seen the flying fireball. Those who have seen it describe it as simply a ball of fire. It rises from the church cemetery into the air about forty feet and slowly drifts across the broad fields towards Bacon's Castle. A former owner of the plantation saw the fireball out of his window and rushed outside thinking his barn was ablaze. Another person staying at the 17th-century Jacobean mansion woke up to find the ball circling his bed before flying back out the window. Many years ago a church meeting was being held outside in the graveyard and everyone in attendance claimed to have seen the ball of fire. Tablet in wall of Old Brick Church (Bacon's Castle, Virginia).JPG, Old Brick Church, VA 10 Bacon Old Brick Church (Bacon's Castle, Virginia) 2014.JPG, Old Brick Church, VA 10 Bacon Doorway of Old Brick Church (Bacon's Castle, Virginia).JPG, Old Brick Church, VA 10 Bacon

References

Churches in Virginia Ruins on the National Register of Historic Places Churches completed in 1754 Buildings and structures in Surry County, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Surry County, Virginia 1754 establishments in the Colony of Virginia 18th-century Episcopal church buildings Brick buildings and structures in Virginia Brick churches {{Virginia-church-stub