About St. Peter’s Church Rectory
St. Peter’s Church Rectory is one of the oldest structures in Port Royal. It was built in two periods. The oldest section dates from 1740 – 1745, and the front section dates from 1840. The house is frame, and the older section contains one and one-half stories with three dormers, made of mostly beaded weatherboarding. It also has a full bricked-in cellar (dating to about 1800). You’ll find hand hewn beams with Roman numerals in formerly the parlor. The former entrance features three paneled doors, showing the old wainscoating around the lower part of the walls.
History
Nearly destroyed by a fire in 1936, the Rectory began as a part of Mrs. Ann Roy Fox’s estate in 1782. The Roy Family was made famous in Port Royal through the legacy of Dorothy Roy. She was the only woman in the American Colonies to operate a tobacco franchise, and the remnants of her house are preserved on the other side of 301 near Water Street. The Rectory house was transferred from Mrs. Ann Roy Fox’s estate to Newton Berryman and William Drummond in 1802. From there it was transferred to Thomas Berryman and occupant William Drummond in 1817 and 1819, In 1822 Berryman offered the property for sale. He advertised the property as having “An Excellent, Never-Failing Spring”. George White bought the property later on that year. After White, the property changed hands again a few more times until purchase by the Trustees of St. Peter’s Church in 1876.
–History and About Sections Courtesy of “Hidden Village: Port Royal, Virginia 1744 – 1981” by Ralph Emmett Fall