Old Brick Church
Also known as: Lower Church,Southwark Parish
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Why it's listed
Set in a tree-shaded burying ground across the fields from Bacon's Castle in Surry County, Virginia, the roofless brick walls of Lower Church, Southwark Parish, remain as a preserved ruin. The church was built about 1754 as the parish's second church, replacing an older building on the site. It measured 74 by 34 feet, with walls of Flemish bond brick above a water table and round-arch windows and doorways. Fire gutted it in 1868, and only the walls survived. Steel reinforcing has stabilized them, though the wall tops were left uncapped and vines and trees still grow on and within them. About half of the arches remain, so the original character can still be read. The ruin is one of the few deliberately preserved colonial building ruins in Virginia and the oldest surviving remnant of Southwark Parish, which dates to 1647. It represents the colonial Anglican churches that symbolized the established religion of the colony.
Significance in brief: The ruins belong to Virginia's group of some fifty colonial Anglican churches and are one of the state's few consciously preserved ruins of a colonial building. The Flemish-bond brickwork survives, and the walls are the oldest remnant of Southwark Parish, established in 1647. Nine or so other colonial church buildings in the parish have vanished.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86000002, listed January 2, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | VA 10, Bacon's Castle |
|---|---|
| County | Surry County |
| Listed | January 2, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86000002 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1700-1799 (specific date 1754) |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Colonial Anglican rectilinear church (ruin) |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Maintained as a stabilized ruin; the walls were reinforced with steel but not capped, so deterioration continues, and vines and trees cover the walls and rubble. The cemetery is carefully maintained. |
| Acreage | 1.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.10860, -76.73553 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86000002.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7083526
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.