Bremo Slave Chapel
1835 slave chapel

The simple Gothic Revival structure now serving as the parish hall of Grace Episcopal Church in Bremo Bluff was constructed in 1835 as a slave chapel for Bremo, the adjacent plantation of John Hartwell Cocke. Cocke, conflicted over the moral and practical issues related to slavery, decided it was his Christian duty to teach his slaves to read. He was opposed to slavery in principle, but unwilling to emancipate his own slaves without first providing them an education, to prepare them and the South for their inevitable freedom. He also decided they should be given religious instruction and their own church. The structure was built on what came to be known as Chapel Field.

The Bremo Slave Chapel is the state's only known slave chapel. It fell into disuse after the Civil War, and in about 1883 was moved from the original site of Lower Bremo to the village of Bremo Bluff to serve the local Episcopal parish. Consecrated in 1884, it was used as a house of worship until 1924, when the present church was built. It is currently used as an activity center for Grace Episcopal Church.