"The building is an extremely picturesque brick church, reminiscent not of the Renaissance work then becoming dominant in England, but of the older Gothic; it is not at all unlike many of the small English parish churches of the sixteenth century, when the Gothic style was really extinct, although its superficial characteristics, the buttresses and the pointed arch, still obtained. The stepped gable at the chancel end of the church is an unusual feature in English architecture.... The tower is the only part of the building which shows the Renaissance influence." When the building was some two hundred years old it began to fall into disrepair; the people preferred to attend the church in Smithfield. Bishop Meade wrote his "Old Churches and Families of Virginia" at the time when the old church was most dilapidated. He said: "Its thick walls and high tower, like that of some English castle, are still firm, and promise to be for a long time to come. The windows, doors, and all the interior, are gone. It is said that the eastern window--twenty-five feet high--was of stained glass. This venerable building stands not far from the main road leading from Smithfield to Suffolk, in an open tract of woodland. The trees for some distance round it are large and tall and the foliage dense, so that but little of the light of the sun is thrown upon it. The pillars which strengthen the walls, and which are wide at the base, tapering toward the eaves of the house by stair-steps, have somewhat mouldered, so as to allow various shrubs and small trees to root themselves therein." For nearly fifty years the church was closed. But in 1884 Rev. David Barr, who was in charge of a church nearby, began to raise funds for the reconstruction of the building. He persisted in spite of many discouragements. When matters looked darkest a man who signed himself "A Virginian" made the following appeal: