CEMETERY
It is no surprise that the oldest church in Norfolk is surrounding by the oldest churchyard, first appearing on the 1680 survey but believed to date back to the early 1640′s. In addition to the survey work organized by the Heritage Committee, there have been a number of cemetery-related activities in the course of the past year.
In December of 2011, two bronze plaques were dedicated to commemorate Patriots and veterans of both the Revolution and War of 1812, of which there are at least 46 buried in our churchyard. In December of 2012, several local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated individual bronze markers at some of these graves.
In September 2012, Warren Chauncey, Chairman of our Cemetery Committee, contracted with Mr. Robert Mosko from Hanover, Pennsylvania to conduct a course on Preservation and Restoration of Historic Cemeteries. Twenty-five people attended this course over a four day period. The course included classroom instruction and well as hands-on work in our cemetery. During the class five different gravestones were repaired. In November, Mr. Mosko returned to do a complete study of our cemetery. By doing this we will know which grave stones are in the most critical condition as well as the condition of all grave stones. Once the survey is done, we hope to be able to hire Mr. Mosko to begin the restoration of our historic cemetery in the spring.
In addition to the restoration work being done in our cemetery we are mapping, identifying, and marking all grave stones. Thank you to all who have contributed to the cemetery fund.
The Cemetery Committee meets as part of the Heritage Committee once a month. For further information please contact Chairman Warren Chauncey at 460-3861 or warrenc2@gmail.com.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK
At the request of our Rector, Scott Hennessy, we began a project to locate the foundation of the 1699 church. We hired two well known archeologists, David Brown and Thane Harpole, from Gloucester, Virginia.
Their first attempt was to do a probe in the southeast corner of the churchyard where it is thought the 1699 church may have been located. Probing an area of 100 feet x 50 feet they were able to locate many areas just under the soil that indicated either brick or stone. Four 1-foot square areas were excavated which revealed layers of bricks. In their final report on phase one the archeologists indicated a high probability of finding the foundation with further research.
The second phase started the first week in October 2012. Two five-foot squares were dug with all soil being screened for artifacts. Many artifacts were found of much interest to those who watched the work being done.
A special thank you to all those who contributed financially to underwrite this exciting program. For further information please contact Warren Chauncey at 460-3861 or warrenc2@gmail.com.