This "mother church of northern Virginia" was built between 1769 and 1774 under the supervision of vestrymen George Washington and George Mason. Theirs and other prominent families paid for their own box pews, laid out opposite the pulpit, which was on the side, as was prevalent in England at the time. The first president's connection led to the brick building's being known as "Washington's Church." During the Civil War, Union soldiers stabled their horses in the church and stripped the interior. They did not, however, steal the English baptismal font, which dates to the 11th or 12th century and is still used today.