Saint Paul's Episcopal Church (also known as Borough Church) is a historic church in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, United States. The Nave of the current church was built in 1739 and is the sole colonial-era building which survived the various wars that Norfolk has witnessed. The church has played host to several different denominations throughout its history. Originally a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish, the building was home to a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

parish in the early-19th century and was finally converted back into an Episcopal church. an
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History

Tenants

During the Revolutionary War, the

was disestablished in Virginia and replaced with the Episcopal Church. The Elizabeth River Parish of this new church was divided in 1797 by two feuding congregations. One faction formed Christ Church (which later became Christ and St. Luke's Church), while the other retained the building until 1803, when it was acquired by Baptists. The Episcopalians reclaimed the building in 1832, and Bishop Richard Channing Moore reconsecrated it under the name Saint Paul's.

In wartime

Following his defeat at the

Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The refusal by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any ...

, Lord Dunmore attacked Norfolk from the sea as he fled Virginia on January 1, 1776. In retaliation,

patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

set fire to the homes of

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

; however, the fire became unmanageable, and nearly the entire town was destroyed by the flame. The church was the only major building in the city to escape substantial damage in the assault, though a cannonball (purportedly fired by the ''

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

'') did strike its wall. By the 1830s, the cannonball was no longer embedded in the wall. In the 1840s, it was discovered buried in the church's yard and re-embedded into the wall where it remains to this day. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

, the building acted as a chapel for the Union army. Visiting the church while in Norfolk during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Lord Louis Mountbatten is reputed to have said that Dunmore's cannonball "damn near missed" its target.

Notable ceremonies

General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

requested to be buried in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

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 ...

, where his mother had been born and where his parents had married. Accordingly, his funeral service was held in St Paul's and his body was finally laid to rest in the rotunda of the

Douglas MacArthur Memorial Norfolk City Hall, also known as the MacArthur Memorial, is a historic Seat of local government, city hall located at Norfolk, Virginia. It was built in 1847, and is a two-story, stuccoed and granite faced, temple-form building measuring by . It ...

(the former courthouse in Norfolk) on 11 April 1964.

References

External links

Saint Paul's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls Episcopal Church (Norfolk, Virginia) 18th-century Episcopal church buildings Churches in Norfolk, Virginia Episcopal churches in Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Norfolk, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Churches completed in 1739 1739 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Buildings and structures in Norfolk, Virginia Downtown Norfolk, Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia