EASTERN SHORE CHAPEL
London Bridge vicinity, Virginia Beach
Built 1755; dismantled 1952
Photograph: Virginia Historical Society
The Anglican Church was the government-established religion in colonial Virginia; as many as 300 Anglican churches
may have been erected here. Of that number some fifty remain. Taking its name from its location near the Atlantic
coastline, this diminutive house of worship was commissioned by the vestry of Lynnhaven Parish. Typical of Virginia's
simpler colonial churches, Eastern Shore Chapel had a gable roof skirted by modillion cornices. The side walls featured
round-top windows with gauged-brick arches; in this way the small churches were distinguished from secular buildings.
Stained glass, Italianate bracketed cornices, and a small belfry were added in the late 19th century. The construction
of the Oceana Naval Air Station in the decade after World War II required the confiscation of the Eastern Shore
Chapel tract. The congregation proposed dismantling the church and rebuilding it a short distance from the original
location, but the old bricks were found to be unusable.
Next: Poplar Grove Church
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