Church Flowers

The blushing pink flowers literally reach right out to welcome you to this quiet and peaceful place that is quite LOUD with history and stories of the past.
The tall gates have not locked--we may go in.

The workmanship in these old churches never ceases to amaze me. The huge columns, the towers, the intricate carvings...

If you are quiet....and listen...you very likely might hear the whispers of the past.

The original St. Philips was built at the corner of Meeting Street and Broad Street in 1680. A big hurricane in 1710 destroyed it.

The congregation re-built the church on it's present location but in 1713 another hurricane nearly destroyed the new building.Again it was repaired. But!--- It gets worse---in 1835 the church burned to the ground! It was again re-built. In 1886 the big earthquake pretty much destroyed it yet again.

And it was re-built..............yet again.

The serene old churchyard is quiet and the names of people are carved in stone for us to remember.

Tangles of beautiful flowers grow hither and yon..

At sunset, the building has a soft glow.

Right nearby is the French Huguenot church, which used to be known as "the church of the tides" because the congregation arrived by the creeks and rivers from the rice and indigo plantations to attend services.

The gothic revival style building, built in 1845, has been restored to it's original pink-ish paint hue. I love those big tall windows!

The first French Protestants arrived in Charleston on a ship called the "Richmond" in 1680. They put their original church on the corner of Church and Queen Street. It was destroyed in a fire related explosion in 1796, and then re-built.

It was heavily damaged in the Civil War, and then later in the big earthquake of 1886.

How amazing that both these lovely old churches are still here for us to study, learn about, and enjoy today! I love our old churches here in our city.