Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The Church and Father Charlie

The county where my Nephew's wedding was held was Isle of Wight County.  Someday I would love to visit the original Isle of Wight, but this just might be the closest I'll ever come to it.
The church where the wedding was held was St. Luke’s, circa 1632.  It is the oldest existing church of English foundation in America and the country's only surviving original brick Gothic church,  For nearly 200 years, St. Luke's was known simply as "Old Brick Church."
The brickwork around the church exterior is detailed and elaborate.  
And has walls two feet thick.
You enter the church through a wicket door that leads into the nave. Folklore says that small doors set into a larger wood door and requiring those entering to take one high step inside, shut out evil spirits,  On the practical side, it probably kept the interior drier and warmer.
Inside you can't help but notice that the church looks like an upside down boat.  Someone mentioned to me that this was because most of the colonial leaders had experience with building boats.
There are many beautiful stained glass windows,
There is one window that is in memory of Pocahontas, who is said to have been christened in the church.
There is a triple-level pulpit (right in photo) that was built with a sounding board attached to the ceiling which amplified speakers for court and church. It is simple and beautiful.
I wish I would have had more time to walk through the cemetery.  
And to explore more of the grounds.  But it was so hot, and time was not on our side. 
St. Luke drawing a portrait of the Virgin Mary
But we did have time for a late lunch in the town of Smithfield that is the "Ham Capital of the World."  How could you not love a town famous for its ham and bacon?  
It's really a lovely town with Victorian homes and specialty shops that really made me wish I could have just forgotten about the reception. But of course I couldn't.  Maybe next time!
All too soon my trip to Virginia Beach was over and it was time to come home. All was well at Golden Pines, and Charlie had done a great job taking care of the kittens while I was gone--You can watch the video below and see for yourself.  "Father Charlie" really does love "his" kittens!    
   

25 comments:

  1. So sweet Charlie loving on those kittens!! He wants to give them a bath!
    The photos of your trip to Virginia Beach are so beautiful! You got to see some very special sites!
    love
    tweedles

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  2. My male peep remembers the Old Dutch Church-also 17th century- in Sleepy Hollow, close to where he grew up. That ought to explain a lot.

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  3. Oh, that church is amazing! I bet the wedding pictures will be spectacular! Charlie is so gentle with his kitties...so sweet and I bet your happy you got it on video!
    oxox
    Daisy

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  4. Glad you had such a good trip to your nephews wedding. Amazing a place is named after the Isle of Wight, we visit the island fairly often... http://www.visitisleofwight.co.uk/
    and added to that we came from Southampton, which is on the mainland with sailings to and from the island. lol.
    Absolutely love the video of Charlie with the kittens, soooo cute :-)

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  5. Love those old Virginia towns. So beautiful. Also enjoyed Charlie tasting his kittens.

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  6. Charlie, what a wonderful surrogate Dad, and old stone churches, I saw one years ago, and there were plaques, telling of the number of stones and the names of each family who contributed.... numbers were well into the thousands.

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  7. What a beautiful church
    Oh Charlie is soooo cute wiv the kittens
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  8. Hello Kim, I love the old church and the beautiful stained glass windows. And Charlie with the kitten is adorable, he is a loving father! Have a happy day!

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  9. The church is amazing! I just love old Victorian homes!! I have been in most of the U.S. states, but have never spent much time in Virginia. I think I should...looks like there are some pretty neat places there!! The video is so precious!!

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  10. oh, charlie is just wonderful!!! love that old church, too! definitely some boat hull qualities!

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  11. i like that saint luck has a dog helping him with his drawing.
    i loved Virginia when we lived there. i wish i could have seen more of it.
    this post was simply lovely.
    and charlie?
    well ... father charlie has been a long time favorite of mine!
    so gentle and loving he is with those sweet tiny babies. XO♥

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  12. i do not know if saint luke was all that lucky.

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  13. Oh we LOVED those pictures of the church, and the statue with the dog...just wonderful!!! What a fun place that would be to live.
    stella rose

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  14. Beautiful church - inside and out. Love the details. I would have like to spend some time haunting that cemetery.
    Charlie seems to be a purrfect father for the kittens!

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  15. Sweet Charlie! I can't say Edgar had ever been quite that loving to our kitty, Charlie.

    Edgar and his mum

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  16. Nahunta Pork!
    What a beautiful church and grounds. Thank you so much for sharing the trip with us.
    Blessings. ♥

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  17. What a wonderful historic old church and cemetery. Love Charlie taking care of his litter.

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  18. Evening Kim, love that church, it is really beautiful.Blessings Francine.

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  19. What a beautiful church for the wedding. So much history. Charlie is so sweet with his little charges.

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  20. OH my goodness mom is a huge fan of church architecture and especially steeples. When we first started blogging she didn't have a lot of photos of me (gasp) so she went around town taking photos of Church steeples.
    OMCs I wish I had my very own Charlie!!
    Hugs madi and mom and thank you for visiting us

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  21. What a lovely part of the country - just the place to enjoy life and recharge your batteries.
    What a caring boy Charlie is - he really loves those kittens - he makes a very good "Mom".

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  22. Thank you for that tour. The church is lovely and unusual and I have a thing about old cemeteries. I could spend hours there.

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  23. This is such a stunning church and you took some amazing photos. I will have to take some time off and visit this location. It sounds like you had a good time while you were away on your trip, I am a little jealous. It looks like Charlie did a good job taking care of all those kittens, it seems like he is a natural!

    Carson Coronado @ Old St. Mary's Detroit

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  24. Hi Kim! Cameron and Mark and I were in the car the other day and I don't remember why, but during our conversation I told "my boys" about Charlie and his love for the kittens, and how he'll stay by their crate to watch over them. They (especially Cameron) just thought that it was the sweetest thing, and so I told him that I'd try to find a post or two on your blog about it. So I did a search of your blog and have been reading (and enjoying!) lots of your old posts. I was happy that this particular one appeared with the video of Charlie taking care of his charges. I'll show it to Cameron later today (we're all snug in our beds right now! 8:30 Saturday morning😊). Have a great weekend!

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Speak--I really enjoy your comments! Thanks for stopping by today!!