Our group explored the Unitarian Church one last time for the semester. During our visit, we created a list of the top 10 elements of this unique, diverse churchyard.
1. Open to the public 7 days a week
1. Open to the public 7 days a week
There are gates on both sides of the churchyard that make it easy for visitors to come and walk around the cemetery. This is a very unique and interesting cemetery to visit. It’s naturalistic vibe gives it a unique feel and peacefulness. Loaded with history and stories, the Unitarian Church and Cemetery is worth visiting.
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| King Street entrance of the Unitarian Churchyard |
2. Overgrown Vegetation
The plant life at the Unitarian church is one of the main features that sets it apart from any other churchyards on the Charleston peninsula. The various types of trees and vegetation are one of the key reasons as to why our group selected this cemetery for our FYE class.
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| Photo of the overgrown vegetation in the Unitarian Churchyard |
3. Accessible to Public
There is a cute little hallway on king street that leads you down a winding path of trees and moss between the buildings to the cemetery. It has a very cute, quaint vibe to it that makes the cemetery stand out from others in charleston. This also makes it so that it is accessible from King Street as well as Archdale Street.
4. Ghost Story
5. Wildlife
Although lots of dead people are buried here the graveyard is very much alive! The graveyard is full of not only lush greenery but is full of wildlife. When wandering through the graveyard it is hard to miss the large population of birds, squirrels, and lizards that call this graveyard home.
6. Large Size
Unlike many of the other churchyards that we visited in Charleston, the Unitarian church is one of the larger sites that we visited. With marked grave markers dating back all the way to the 1800’s, the churchyard is full of vibrant wildlife and vegetation that adds character to the site.
7. Unique Grave Markers
One thing that really makes this graveyard stand out is the wide variety of gravemarkers. These markers are far from simple or boring. One gravemarker type that seems to be specific to the Unitarian graveyard are monoliths which are tall narrow headstones with a point at the top.
There is a cute little hallway on king street that leads you down a winding path of trees and moss between the buildings to the cemetery. It has a very cute, quaint vibe to it that makes the cemetery stand out from others in charleston. This also makes it so that it is accessible from King Street as well as Archdale Street.
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| Photo shows the times that the churchyard is open and accessible to the public |
4. Ghost Story
The Unitarian graveyard is well known its ghost commonly known as the “Lady in White”. The “Lady in White” is believed to be Anna Ravenel. When she was young she fell in love with a soldier named Edward Allen. Anna’s father didn’t approve and refused to let Anna see Edward ever again. Anna was heartbroken and shortly after fell sick and died. Her father bought six different grave plots and marked them with the same unmarked headstone to prevent Edward from ever finding Anna’s final resting place. Edward Allen later became the famous poet Edgar Allen Poe and wrote his famous poem “Annabel Lee” about Anna. Late at night people sometimes see heartbroken Anna Ravenel wandering around the graveyard looking for her long lost love.
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| Photo of Edgar Allen Poe |
5. Wildlife
Although lots of dead people are buried here the graveyard is very much alive! The graveyard is full of not only lush greenery but is full of wildlife. When wandering through the graveyard it is hard to miss the large population of birds, squirrels, and lizards that call this graveyard home.
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| A lizard laying on one of the grave markers in the Unitarian Churchyard |
6. Large Size
Unlike many of the other churchyards that we visited in Charleston, the Unitarian church is one of the larger sites that we visited. With marked grave markers dating back all the way to the 1800’s, the churchyard is full of vibrant wildlife and vegetation that adds character to the site.
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| Overview photo of Unitarian churchyard |
7. Unique Grave Markers
One thing that really makes this graveyard stand out is the wide variety of gravemarkers. These markers are far from simple or boring. One gravemarker type that seems to be specific to the Unitarian graveyard are monoliths which are tall narrow headstones with a point at the top.
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| Grave marker of the Gilman family |
8. Ornate Family Plots
One thing that really stands out about this graveyard is the large amount of family plots. All of the plots are surrounded by ornate rod-iron fencing which is very popular in the Charleston area.
9. History
The Unitarian Churchyard certainly has quite a bit of history. While we were exploring the churchyard, we came across a grave marker with a death date all the way back to 1808. However, the photo of this said grave marker is not included unfortunately. We found it very interesting that people were still being buried in this cemetery recently. The death date on this grave marker is recorded as March 30 of 2015.
10. Large Stained Glass Windows
While we were unable as a team to visit our church during visiting hours, we were able to walk around the outside and get some photos. Our church has these large beautiful stained glass windows which really add character to the building. They are protected on the outside by glass but you can see them much more clearly inside. They are very unique and add a lot of style and class to our church
This post was created by Taylor Buchan, Brooke Conner, and Emma Stout
One thing that really stands out about this graveyard is the large amount of family plots. All of the plots are surrounded by ornate rod-iron fencing which is very popular in the Charleston area.
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| Photo of a family plot in the Unitarian Churchyard |
9. History
The Unitarian Churchyard certainly has quite a bit of history. While we were exploring the churchyard, we came across a grave marker with a death date all the way back to 1808. However, the photo of this said grave marker is not included unfortunately. We found it very interesting that people were still being buried in this cemetery recently. The death date on this grave marker is recorded as March 30 of 2015.
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| Photo of one of the most recent grave markers at our churchyard |
10. Large Stained Glass Windows
While we were unable as a team to visit our church during visiting hours, we were able to walk around the outside and get some photos. Our church has these large beautiful stained glass windows which really add character to the building. They are protected on the outside by glass but you can see them much more clearly inside. They are very unique and add a lot of style and class to our church
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| Photo of stained glass windows at the Unitarian Church |
This post was created by Taylor Buchan, Brooke Conner, and Emma Stout
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