What Is the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church?
Nicknamed the “Westminster Abbey of South Carolina,” this church is home to Charleston’s oldest congregation, founded in 1681!
What Makes It Historical?
After outgrowing their first church and watching their second burn to the ground in 1835, the congregation of St. Philip recruited Joseph Hyde the next year to build them a new church, modeled after London’s St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields! The enormous spire was added between 1848 and 1850 by Edward Brickell White, in the popular style of architects, James Gibbs and Sir Christopher Wren!
Over the years, this towering church saw its fair share of struggles, getting bombarded by Federal shells 13 times between 1863 and 1865! Its bells were melted down for their iron for the Confederate war effort and not replaced until 1976! Hurricane Hugo ripped the doors off the church in 1989, but out of all these pieces, the West Cemetery’s wrought-iron gates are one of only two pieces of pre-Revolutionary ironwork to survive the 31-month British occupation during the Revolutionary War!
Buried here at St. Philips are first bishop, Robert Smith; Declaration of Independence signer, Edward Rutledge; Constitution co-author, Charles Pinckney; pirate hunter, William Rhett; Revolutionary hero, Rebecca Motte; and no-step-on-snek flag maker, Christopher Gadsden!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Volunteer with the Historic Charleston Foundation!
- Donate to St. Philip’s Church!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
142 Church St
Charleston, SC 29401
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
There are three Sunday services at St. Philip’s at 8:15 AM, 9:15 AM, and 10:30 AM, plus Wednesday services at 8:00 AM and 5:30 PM!