Welcome to St. Luke's Church.
Built in 1824 as St. Luke's Episcopal Church to replace a circa 1786 church on Bull Hill Plantation land. This is the oldest surviving Episcopal church building in Beaufort County. In 1875 it was sold to the Methodist Church and remains a Methodist church today.
St. Luke's Church, constructed in 1824, is the second church built for the Anglican Church in St. Luke's Parish, one of four parishes that comprised Granville County (the name was later changed to Beaufort County). The Lords Proprietors, who were granted Carolina in 1663 by Charles II of England, intended that the Anglican Church be the established church in the province, but to give full freedom to other forms of Protestantism. When government support of the church was withdrawn in 1778, it almost brought the denomination to financial ruin. While the denomination grew at a slower rate than other denominations, it maintained considerable influence in the state due to its affluent and educated members.
The original church for St. Luke's Parish was built in 1786 on land donated by John Bull and "A respectable congregation was soon collected." By 1821, the building was in disrepair and the rector urged the congregation to build another church. The old building remained in some use until 1833 when it burned. The new church was built about 1/2 mile away on land donated by John Guerard, land that had been part of the Bull Barony (Bull Hill Plantation). St. Luke's is one of a small number of churches in the state that have intact slave galleries.
The new church is architecturally significant as a representation of the transition between the Georgian style, characteristic of earlier Episcopal churches in South Carolina, and the developing Greek Revival style. The result is a blending of both styles into a well-proportioned, simple, rural hose of worship. The rectangular meeting house has a gable roof. The main facade features a box cornice with full return, echoed by a small gabled protico. The portico is supported by two hexagonal timber columns and two pilasters. Additional doors on each side were originally used as entrances to the gallery. The seats in the gallery consist of only tiered planks. Each window has wood shutters and is surmounted by a fanlight.
The parish continued to grow until the Civil War. In 1857, the Church of the Cross was built in BLuffton, with a seating capacity of more 500-600 people. After its consecration, services were discontinued at St. Luke's. No services were reported there after 1856. In 1875, the church building was sold to the Methodists and it has remained an active Methodist church. St. Luke's was listed on the National Register on September 25, 1987.
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St. Luke's Church
Welcome to St. Luke's Church.
Built in 1824 as St. Luke's Episcopal Church to replace a circa 1786 church on Bull Hill Plantation land. This is the oldest surviving Episcopal church building in Beaufort County. In 1875 it was sold to the Methodist Church and remains a Methodist church today.
St. Luke's Church, constructed in 1824, is the second church built for the Anglican Church in St. Luke's Parish, one of four parishes that comprised Granville County (the name was later changed to Beaufort County). The Lords Proprietors, who were granted Carolina in 1663 by Charles II of England, intended that the Anglican Church be the established church in the province, but to give full freedom to other forms of Protestantism. When government support of the church was withdrawn in 1778, it almost brought the denomination to financial ruin. While the denomination grew at a slower rate than other denominations, it maintained considerable influence in the state due to its affluent and educated members.
The original church for St. Luke's Parish was built in 1786 on land donated by John Bull and "A respectable congregation was soon collected." By 1821, the building was in disrepair and the rector urged the congregation to build another church. The old building remained in some use until 1833 when it burned. The new church was built about 1/2 mile away on land donated by John Guerard, land that had been part of the Bull Barony (Bull Hill Plantation). St. Luke's is one of a small number of churches in the state that have intact slave galleries.
The new church is architecturally significant as a representation of the transition between the Georgian style, characteristic of earlier Episcopal churches in South Carolina, and the developing Greek Revival style. The result is a blending of both styles into a well-proportioned, simple, rural hose of worship. The rectangular meeting house has a gable roof. The main facade features a box cornice with full return, echoed by a small gabled protico. The portico is supported by two hexagonal timber columns and two pilasters. Additional doors on each side were originally used as entrances to the gallery. The seats in the gallery consist of only tiered planks. Each window has wood shutters and is surmounted by a fanlight.
The parish continued to grow until the Civil War. In 1857, the Church of the Cross was built in BLuffton, with a seating capacity of more 500-600 people. After its consecration, services were discontinued at St. Luke's. No services were reported there after 1856. In 1875, the church building was sold to the Methodists and it has remained an active Methodist church. St. Luke's was listed on the National Register on September 25, 1987.
View Larger Map