St. Bride's Church Cemetery

Chesapeake, formerly Norfolk County, Virginia

A search for the site of the original St. Bride's Church met unexpected success on the morning of February 21, 2007.  Chuck Rippel, suspecting the location to have been in the vicinity of the current St. Bride's Road, spotted three tombstones on a somewhat detoured journey to work.  Exiting his vehicle for a closer inspection he made a remarkable find.  Lying flat to the ground near the tombstones was a historical plaque, placed by the Virginia State Library, marking the location of the original St. Bride's Church.  The site lies directly across the highway from 3401 Battlefield Boulevard in the rural southern section of the independent city of Chesapeake, VA.  Map coordinates are:  N36' 36.1363'  -  W76' 12.6604'.  Maps Courtesy of and Cemetery Photographed February 21, 2007 by  Chuck Rippel.

WP 10 - St. Bride's Church:  At this point stood St. Bride's Church, the Parish Church of St. Bride's Parish, which was established in 1761.  The church, sometimes known as Northwest Church, was built in 1762 and survived until 1853.