Our Parish church, Christ Church, is a beautiful, appealing place. Many parishioners are first attracted to our Parish after visiting its pastoral setting. Located in rural Mathews County, a place surrounded by the natural beauty of Virginia's Chesapeake Bay, Christ Church is situated at the front on Williams Wharf Road, a colonial tobacco road, and at the back on a small creek known as Church Creek, on the east side of the East River near the mouth of Put-in Creek (formerly Puddin Creek). Behind the church and along the waterfront is Christ Church cemetery which, along with that at Trinity Church, are the two cemeteries maintained by the Parish.

 
CHRIST CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

Unlike the classic examples of Colonial architecture found at Christ Church of Lancaster, and at Ware and Abingdon of Gloucester, Kingston's Christ Church is based on a remnant of a several times rebuilt church which has been transformed by later generations to a Victorian Gothic revival-style structure, particularly on the outside. It is unpretentious, simple, and clearly reflects the personalities and religion of those who built it. It is superbly suited to its physical location and is perfect for its function.

Christ Church has a tower with a bell which rings out strongly over the surrounding woods, farms and water and traditionally announces services. Small children and adults alike find pleasure in giving the bell rope a tug and enjoying the resounding clang overhead.

Christ Church faces north with a lovely view of the church yard, trees and water. It is generally thought that originally what is now the nave, the main body of the church, was the transept, added or rebuilt in the eighteenth century. Colonial churches, like their British forefathers, had the altar facing east and usually were entered by the main door on the west. Whether the earlier church on this site was cruciform in shape, as were its neighbors, is not known. Probably it was.

Christ Church is made of brick, the main part laid in American bond. Five rows of stretchers to one course of headers. Flemish and English bond were the custom in colonial days and so we know that the body of the structure is more recent. Probably some of the brick, but not much, is of colonial origin.

The interior of Christ Church has a simple clear beauty that is almost breathtaking. The windows, once rectangular and of colored glass, are now lancet and of clear glass, nine over nine. The altar window is of clear glass and a former Rector once remarked during service that he was at times distracted, while celebrating communion, by the pure beauty of the view through the window. The congregation too can enjoy the view, with church yard and mature trees on all sides.

Christ Church's interior has other striking features. The ceiling is of locally cut oak, laid in a parquet manner. An original and quietly appealing aspect is the addition to the ceiling of large wooden pendants in the shape of acorns. Another charming and unusual feature is the large chandelier, formerly containing kerosene lanterns but now electrified. Around the base of the chandelier, which once was the well for the fuel oil, is this inscription: "Teach the hearts of thy people by the light of thy holy spirit." We are not sure where the lamp came from. It may have been donated by another Virginia congregation in response to an appeal in The Virginia Churchman following the 1904 fire. Or it may have been given by a Kingston family as a memorial.

Christ Church is constructed in a style known as church warden Gothic, sometimes called carpenter's Gothic; that is, it is of local inspiration and design, built from local materials and workmanship.

 
CHRIST CHURCH HISTORY

The principal Kingston Parish church has been located on the site of Christ Church since the inception of the Parish in the mid 1600s. As the fortunes of the Episcopal Church waned and waxed over the centuries, so did the condition of the church building. By 1840, the "old church," as it was called, was in ruins.

The resurrection of the church that came to be known as Christ Church was the result of the nearly single-handed efforts of one woman - Elizabeth Tompkins. A Mathews County native and daughter of a successful local merchant and ship owner, Elizabeth was a shy young woman in her twenties when she set out to rebuild the old church to its former glory. By the end of 1841, the new Christ Church was complete, and for the first time in over twenty years, there was a minister and divine services in the Parish. Tragically, Elizabeth did not live to savor her accomplishment, dying within a year of the completion of construction.

A monument to Elizabeth and to her younger sister, Captain Sally Tompkins, CSA (the first woman ever commissioned an officer in an American Army), today stands in Christ Church cemetery. Moreover, Elizabeth's memorial stone lies behind the altar rail in the chancel of Christ Church.

On January 18th, 1904, Christ Church burned. It was almost totally destroyed except for the four walls and the large front doors that somehow managed to survive. A new church was immediately built to replace it, completed in November 1904. That is the church building that we use today.

For much of its history, Kingston Parish had two or three Parish churches. In the twentieth century the advent of quality roads made transportation around the county easier. This factor and others caused the Parish to decide to hold services in only one church building. For many years services were held alternately in Christ Church and in Trinity Church at the corner of Route 14 and Ridge Road near Foster. As of the late 1970s, Christ Church has been the sole functioning church of the Parish, and today Trinity is leased to an unrelated congregation.