Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Summer 2013 Issue | Page 15

Graveyards,
Tombstones &
Stories Told

Photos: St. David’s Communications Ministry

St. David’s, Ashburn
The cemetery at St. David’s Episcopal Church & School sits
in the shadow of the ruins of the historic Belmont Chapel,
built by Margaret Mercer in 1840. Mercer purchased
Belmont plantation to establish a progressive Christian
school for young ladies, including a chapel. Following her
death in 1846, Belmont Chapel remained the center of
community religious activity until it fell into disrepair in the

mid-1950s. A fire in 1963 destroyed all but the foundation
and a portion of the grand stone facade of the chapel. The
property was almost forgotten until Victoria Heard, curate
of St. James in Leesburg, discovered a land deed that
restored the Belmont property to the Episcopal Diocese
of Virginia. In 1989, a new covenant community was
established at Belmont named after David.

Leeds, Markham
The top of this monument
gravestone (right) is broken
off to sign