Elegant in its simplicity and virtually unchanged since 1735, this is the most pristine of Virginia's many Colonial-era churches. It was the gift of planter and businessman Robert "King" Carter, the richest man in the colonies at that time. His father, John Carter, four of his five wives, and two infant children are interred in the chancel (their graves are to the left as you face the Ten Commandants on the wall). King Carter's tomb is outside, on the north side of the church. Among the Carter descendants are eight governors of Virginia, two United States presidents (the Harrisons), a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Gen. Robert E. Lee. Carter descendants still operate Shirley Plantation on the James River.

The three-tiered pulpit is in excellent condition, all 26 original pews remain, and a marble baptismal font dates to the 1660s. The museum displays archaeological artifacts from Corotoman, King Carter's lavish Rappahannock River plantation manse, which burned down only 4 years after he finished it in 1725. Take a 30-minute guided tour through the church and allow another 30 minutes or so to wander among the gravestones.