Hanover County Historical Society: Ancient Chapel Found Under Fork Church

In excavating to install a heating system at Fork Church recently, workers uncovered the end of a brick wall, 15 inches thick. With this discovery, workers followed the path of the wall and uncovered it for about 6 to 8 feet in its length. The excavation also revealed a large area covered with bricks, such as might have been used as a church walkway, a floor, or outdoor court, the Rev. Mr. Mason reports.

The discovery bolstered Mr. Mason’s belief that 222-year-old Fork church had been preceded by a "Fork Chapel." This contention was confirmed this week when historian-judge Leon M. Bazile labeled the brick wall finding as the remains of Fork Chapel or “Chappel in the Forks," a forerunner of the present church which was built in 1735. Judge Bazile verified his opinion with entries from the Vestry Book of St. Paul’s Parish of 1721 when the chapel was ordered to be built, and an April 16, 1723 entry ordering that "Mr. James Overton and Robert Thomson view the Chappel in the Forks and see whether it be done according to agreement…." The fact that the chapel was completed is confirmed in other Vestry reports of 1723, such as the payment of tobacco to a Mr. Zach Brook for "preaching at the chapel," etc.

In tracing the history of "Fork Chapel," the Rev. Mr. Mason has written the following account:

The western end of Hanover County has been a part of St. Martin's Parish since May 1726, when that Parish was formed by an Act of The General Assembly of the State of Virginia. There were no churches in what is now St. Martin’s Parish before 1721, when the Vestry of St. Paul's Parish ordered two chapels, 20 by 36 feet in size, built of frame construction, the one to be at or near Edward Nixon's on the south side of South River, and the other to be built at or near John Thomson's in the forks of Our River. The first of these became known as the Allen Creek Chapel and the other was known as the Fork Chapel because of its position in the fork of the Pamunkey River.

The Ancient Minute Book of The St. Paul's parish Vestry gives us this information along with several other references that convince us that The Fork Chapel was the forerunner of the present Folk Church and in all probability upon the same site. This conclusion has been reinforced recently when workmen excavating for a heating plant under The Fork Church unearthed an old foundation that would seem to point to that conclusion also. If that be true, then the site upon which The Fork Church stands today has been the site of a Church for a longer period of time than that of any other in The County. It was also the first brick church build [sic] in what is now Hanover County, and probably the largest church constructed in the County prior to the twentieith century, though St. Paul’s Parish was prepared to build what may have been a larger one in the vicinity of Old Church just prior to the Revolutionary War, but historians cannot agree whether the plans were ever actually carried out. (There Is not a trace of such a church to be found today, though there are traces of the first church ever built in the County fully a hundred years before.) The Present Fork Church built about 1735. It is a noble structure 75 by 36 feet in size with a ceiling height of 22 feet. In several alleged reliable accounts of the Fork Church its width is given as one-third its length and then it is stated this is unusual for the rule at that time was to have a church one- half as wide as it was long. It was in reality neater to that rule than historians realized. As far as can be ascertained The Fork Church has been in constant use since the time of its construction, however, there was doubtless a slack period following the Revolutionary War, when most Episcopal Churches found the going quite rough. In 1913 a rearrangement of the Pulpit and Chancel of the church was undertaken with the purpose of conforming more closely with Episcopal Architecture. This movement brought a mixed reaction from the congregation, but when in the course of carrying out the plan it was found that the irons holding up the pulpit fitted perfectly into what had been dug out holes of the brick wall just east of the first window on the North side of the church, the great majority were pleased and believed the change was but restoring The Pulpit to its original place.

Another evidence of like nature was found beneath the chancel carpet where nail marks and remnants clearly showed that the semi-circular Communion Rail was not original but a change probably put in at the time the pulpit was put in the east end and behind the Communion table. The old Minute Books of St. Martin's Vestry are lost and we can only surmise about the time these things took place. We do know that early in the nineteenth century there were many congregations that actually favored the "Changed Style" as represented by the Fork Chancel before the change in 1913, and it was probably at that time the original architecture was changed. It is generally believed that the original pews were of the square high-backed type still found in some of the old Colonial Churches. It is believed that these were cut down and changed to give worshippers more comfort and opportunity for relaxation.

Originally there was no chimney on the Fork Church. This was the common pattern of the Colonial Church. Worshippers were accustomed to wearing warm clothing and in some cases bringing hot bricks to produce the heat desired.

Not many years ago a parishioner found a letter written by the Rector of Fork Church in 1840 in which he stated, that in his time the only way to have a fire in the Church was to put a stove pipe out an opening in a window made by removing one pane of glass. He also said that The St. Martin's Rectory had been constructed while he was Rector and that it was first lived in, in 1840. An unique thing about the Fork Church is the great height at which the windows are placed above the floor. Robert Lancaster in his recent publication on "Sketches of the early history of Hanover County" declares that this was done to give the worshippers security from the arrows of Indians. Whether true or not it is quite an idea.

The Porticos over the two doors are also quite unique and cause a good deal of comment and discussion. The general opinion among architects is that they were probably added after 1800, although there are some who think they may be original. Some of the prominent people who have been associated in one way or another with The Fork Church during its long history are, Governor Thomas Nelson, Patrick Henry, Dolly Madison, Samuel Davies, and Thomas Nelson Page.