Historic Christ Church-Recent Preservation Projects: Carter Tombs

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Click to see more photos of the work on Judith Armistead Carter's tomb!

Work has begun on Judith Armistead Carter's Tomb.

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Carter Tombs

The Foundation for Historic Christ Church is pleased to announce the Elis Olsson Memorial Foundation of West Point, Virginia has provided a grant of $75,000 to underwrite the expense of stabilizing the sarcophagi of Robert Carter and his two wives, Judith Armistead and Betty Landon Carter. The Foundation is especially grateful to Dr. Shirley Carter Olsson, Sture G. Olsson, and the other members of the family who serve on the Olsson Foundation board for this wonderful gift.

Standing on the east side of the church, the tombs of Robert “King” Carter, who died in 1732; his first wife, Judith Armistead, who died in 1699; and his second wife, Betty Landon Carter, who died in 1719, were some of the most elaborate and richly-carved sarcophagi erected in colonial Virginia. By the late nineteenth century, however, vandals and the passage of time had literally reduced them to rubble. In 1926-27, under the auspices of the Committee for Restoration of the Carter Tombs, a group comprised largely of Carter descendants who raised funds for the project, the tombs were reassembled by the Baltimore firm of William A. Gault & Son. Continued deterioration led the Foundation to undertake subsequent restoration campaigns in the 1960s and 1980s, the latter of which included producing replicas for the tomb tops and moving the originals into a protected area.

Carter tombs in pieces on east side of church

The Carter tombs lie in pieces prior to their 1927 restoration.

Tombs after 1927 restoration.

In 2001, the Foundation determined that a comprehensive stabilization and conservation treatment would be needed to ensure the tombs’ long-term resistance to damage produced by water seepage, the freeze/thaw cycle, and other weathering. Through a technical assistance grant provided by the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund, the Foundation contracted with noted stone conservators Irving Slavid and Norman Weiss of Monument Conservation Collaborative in Connecticut to analyze the tombs, recommend the scope and nature of the repairs, and supervise the work in conjunction with Tidewater Preservation.

After carefully researching the photograph collection and written records related to the tombs, Weiss and Slavid began removing decades of accumulated bacteria and fungi from them. This exercise not only markedly improved the sarcophagi’s appearance, but, more importantly, it clearly exposed their fabric, allowing Weiss and Slavid to use magnifying devices in a close inspection of each tomb’s structure and defining characteristics. Such precise examination enabled the conservators to prepare exact diagrams of the tombs which will guide the restoration process.

Norman Weiss removes bacteria and fungi from Judith Armistead Carter's tomb.

Expected to take two years, work will commence in the spring of 2004 on Judith’s tomb, followed by Betty’s and Robert’s. The Foundation believes the combination of aggressive preservation and conservative restoration will significantly improve the look of the tombs while making them more resistant to future deterioration. For more information on this work, please contact the Foundation office at 804.438.6855 or fhcc@crosslink.net.