Aquia Church - Stafford VA
N 38° 27.879 W 077° 24.192
18S E 290329 N 4260107
From space, a cross marks a historic church.
Waymark Code: WMAY32
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 03/10/2011
Views: 11
Aquia Church in Stafford, Virginia was completed in 1757. It was built in the form of a Greek cross which is a square central mass and four arms of equal length. It was a form used in Byzantine architecture. This design is clearly distinctive from a bird's-eye view.
In colonal times, the Overwharton Parish contracted Mourning Richards to build the church. William Copein was the stone mason. It was almost completed in 1755, when fire destroyed the interior and had to be rebuilt. The House of Burgesses granted the money to Richards to finish by taxing the colony's citizens. There are entrances in three arms of the cross. Some of the sandstone for architectural details came from the quarry at nearby Government Island
.
After the Revolutionary War, Aquia Church lost members as more denominations flourished, and the church shared a minister. It fell into disrepair and neglect until William Meade arrived in the mid-1800s as an assistant bishop and the church revived. During the Civil War, Aquia Church suffered considerable damage by soldiers who encamped in Stafford County and scavenged for supplies and used the church for a stable.
Aquia Church has survived even encroaching development and serves an Episcopalian congregation today. It is considered one of the finest examples of colonial church architecture.
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