Hungars Church
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Hungars Church
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Hungar's Church, HABS Photo
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| Location | E of jct. of Rtes. 619 and 622, Bridgetown, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 37°26′46″N 75°55′27″W / 37.44611°N 75.92417°WCoordinates: 37°26′46″N 75°55′27″W / 37.44611°N 75.92417°W |
| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1742-1751, 1851, 1922 |
| Architectural style | Colonial |
| NRHP Reference # | 70000813 |
| VLR # | 065-0012 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1970 |
| Designated VLR | July 7, 1970 |
Hungars Church, also known as Hungars Parish Church, is a historic Episcopal church located at Bridgetown, Northampton County, Virginia. Since 1828, when an additional church was constructed about nine miles away in Eastville, which is now also one of the oldest churches in Virginia's Eastern Shore, the parish has had two churches.
Accowmake Shire was one of the eight original shires established by the English colonists, and included what later became Accomac and Northampton counties on the Delmarva Peninsula. The first assigned clergyman was Rev. Francis Bolton. This land was patented (claimed) by Rev. John Cotton, who farmed as well as served as the parish's second rector, from about 1632 to 1645. In that year, vestryman Robert Vaughn died and bequeathed tobacco toward construction of a church which became known as Nussawattocks Church. Northampton County was organized into two parishes divided by King's Creek in 1642, and in 1663 Accomac Parish was split off from the northern part of Hungar's Parish. In 1690, Nassawattocks Parish was merged into Hungar's Parish, and Eastville became the seat of Northampton county. Meanwhile, a wooden church was built at what was then called Church Neck by Magothy Bay.
In 1653 a wealthy vestryman who had some prior disagreements with Rev. Cotton, Stephen Charlton, gave land for a glebe to support the minister, and may have given additional funds to build a church. When he died two years later, his will provided that the church would receive his estate if his daughters died. Since one was married at 12 years of age and soon died in childbirth, litigation occurred, and again after disestablishment of the Episcopal Church circa 1808. The Glebe of Hungar's Parish remained the official residence of the parish's ministers from 1745 until 1850, although it was sold at auction after disestablishment conditioned upon the litigation results; the last rector to live at the glebe was Francis Upton, who served until 1850.
In 1679, a contract was entered into for a 40-foot-long wooden church at the Hungars site, although Maj. William Spencer did not give the parish title to the land until 1684. Since 1690, the parish has had the same boundaries as Northampton county; Mr. John Monroe became the minister the following year.
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Wikipedia