St. Thomas Church is a historic

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

church located at

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

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 ...

, United States. It is a rectangular brick structure measuring 40 feet wide and 105 feet deep. The front facade features a recessed portico with two Doric columns flanked by two Doric pilasters. Atop the gable roof is a three-stage tower topped by an octagonal

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

. The original church building was built in 1833–1834, and measured approximately 40 feet wide and 65 feet deep. It was built by William B. Philips, a master mason employed by Thomas Jefferson during the construction of the University of Virginia. It was enlarged and improved in 1853, and enlarged again in 1912. In 1928, the rear addition was raised to a full two stories and a parish hall constructed. The original church is believed to have been based on the plans by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

for Christ Church in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

. That church was demolished in 1895. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> It was 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 1976. It is located in the Orange Commercial Historic District.

References

19th-century Episcopal church buildings Buildings and structures in Orange County, Virginia Churches completed in 1834 Episcopal churches in Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, Virginia Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Thomas Jefferson buildings Brick buildings and structures in Virginia {{Virginia-church-stub