St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum

The tour of this small but elegant historical church was really interesting. Lots of details about the building, which dates back to 1637, and the people who conceived of it and had it built. Great details about its renovation and the original organ that is still in place. Toward the end of the tour, they play a recording of it in action, really amazing considering its age. St. Luke's is a national historic landmark, now surrounded by graves dating back centuries (but there's still room if you want in!) No longer an active church, it is a great setting for learning a bit more about the colonial era and how the local church centered the community (and how the building was designed to be bolder than every other colonial church of its time.)It's located in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, near Smithfield. Unless you are a history fanatic, it's not worth a long trip to get here just for this. But with everything that the surrounding area has to offer in the way of historical buildings, local hams, a few good restaurants, and the hint of salt in the air, this tour is a good way to top off a day trip to the area.

St. Luke's may have been built as early as 1632 and is a gorgeous example of an English rural church and has both Gothic & Jacobean features. The interior is a must to tour.A majority of funding is through their on site gift store which is fabulous! The items are eclectic and prices fair. The staff is friendly and ready to assist Tour tickets for the church are obtained in the gift store. Adults are $8, students $5 and 6 and under FREE. If you think the exterior resembles Historic Jamestowne Church your right, but this church may be even older. Most experts now believe the building to have been constructed 50-75 years later than 1632 as originally thought.Once inside you will view the stain glass windows to the rear. The glass was installed in the 1950's during a major renovation. The windows were retrieved from a European church that closely dates St. Luke's. There is also a one of a kind parlor organ from 1600's the foundation purchased in the 1950's from an estate sale. It was later found out a family Norfolk England owned.There is so much more that could be written about the stunning property, but why not discover for yourself. On occasion Episcopal services are held, look for dates on their website, or Facebook page. The trip is not far for anyone in Hampton Roads. I would recommend a visit to see this beautiful piece of local history.

While I'm not an Episcopalian or an Anglican by a long shot I do love a good 17th century church, especially one that is the oldest building of it's type in the state, as they are all striking in both their history and of course in their architecture.Just to briefly cover the history of the site as it was told to us on the tour. The church was built over a period of a few years likely being finished in the 1680's or 1690's. Initially it was an Anglican Church that was built not only for worship but also as a place to come pay your taxes.After the Revolutionary War in 1777 it is abandoned until 1821 when it houses an Episcopal congregation which only lasted for fifteen years until the church is again, abandoned.The church had two major renovations done in the late 19th century and in the 1950's. The first renovation added things like the non-historically correct stained glass windows but the second renovation aimed to make the building more structurally sound while also making it look period appropriate by adding things like the 1630ish organ which is the oldest in the US.The site is now primarily used for tours, educational programs, weddings and an Episcopal service on the 5th Sunday of the month from Christ Episcopal in Smithfield.In 1957 the site was named a National Shrine by President Eisenhower and in 1966 the site was designated a National Historic Landmark.Our tour was by Leslie (?) and she was fantastic. She made several references that she's not a historian but she was an excellent storyteller. She kept things lite and funny while being informative at the same time. The group of twenty or so loved every minute.If you do the old church tour thing, the one that I've been to which most resembles St. Luke's is Holy Trinity or Old Swedes in Wilmington Delaware. It was built initially in 1699 not as an Anglican church but as a Lutheran Church although it converted to an Episcopal Church in 1791 and still has an active congregation.Last thing would be the gift shop. Normally I poo-poo things like this but while the shop here as it's fair share of Chinese plastic, it also has a lot of unique one of kind pieces including items that are hand done by some of the staff. It's not cheap but it's not crap either.St. Luke's is definitely a bit out of the way but it's a one of a kind experience that is well worth the stop. If you go:We were coming from VA Beach and the drive could not have been any easier. Door to door in a little less than an hour. Just look for the red sign and the short brick wall which runs along 258.Current admission is $8 for adults, $6 for AAA, seniors and military, $5 for students and educators and children under six are free. But only suckers pay that price because they've got everything from a Yelp discount to being on Groupon in essence year round to make the price go down by at least half. Not that I don't want to support a fine operation and building like this but hell, if you're offering than I'm taking.Current hours are Monday - Saturday: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm & Sunday: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Tours start at the top of the hour and the last tour of the day laves at 4pm. Note that St. Luke's is closed for the month of January.

Built in the 1600's and restored. John gave a thorough tour with interesting historic background. The cemetery grounds are well-kept. The church is a pretty site for a wedding ceremony.

Very nice tour given by Gloria!My aunt and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit!The tour was informational without being boringThe church and graveyard are full of history and beautyEven the items in the gift shop were reasonably priced.This should be a place everyone should visit if they live near or are visiting the Isle if Wight/Smithfield area

We stopped at the Smithfield VA visitors Center and they recommended that we take a historic walking tour of the historic St. Luke's church. It was built in the late 1600s and is believed to be the oldest brick church in North America. Well the walking tour was very reasonably priced and The grounds were simple and peaceful. We learned so much from our tour guide who had just graduated from college and was a history and Political science major. If you are interested in a relaxing and educational tour around history and the intertwining of American politics and religion (as opposed to the separation of church and state) we highly recommend this tour to St. Luke's.

This is an awesome place! The tour guide was named John and he did an amazing job with the tour! The church was beautiful and so is the scenery around the church. Every other staff member was very polite courteous and willing to go the extra mile to help me out. John during my tour was able to answer all my questions. The tour was more of a historic perspective.

I love tours, learning about history, and facts. Even if it's something I'm not even interest in, it's just cool to know. This was an awesome and informative tour. Our tour guide, Maggie F., was very professional, informative, sweet, and answered all our questions. If ever we come back then I'll request her.

This is a MUST SEE!!! We took the guided tour and our tour guide was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING...his name is Ezra. He was very knowledgeable and explained things and HE IS EXCELLENT at his job. If you are in the area please stop and take the tour. The gift shop has some great items also​​

Such a beautiful building!! The Reps there are very friendly and know the church's history.