St. Luke's Church is a historic church in rural Beaufort County

Beaufort County, South Carolina

-National protected areas:*Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge *Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 155,215 people, 45,532 households, and 33,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 206 people per...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 located about four miles north of Pritchardville

Pritchardville, South Carolina

Pritchardville is an unincorporated community in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, located between Hardeeville and Bluffton on South Carolina Highway 46. The community takes its name from nearby Pritchard Farms....

.

The original Episcopal

Episcopal Church

An episcopal church has bishops in its organisational structure which is calledEpiscopal polityEpiscopal Church may refer to:Anglican Communion:...

 congregation worshipped about a half mile away in a 1786 building built on land donated by John Bull. In 1824 the present building was constructed on land contributed by John Guerard, on part of what had been Bull Hill Plantation. In 1857, the Church of the Cross was built in nearby Bluffton

Bluffton, South Carolina

The weather in the Bluffton, SC area is typical of the Southeast with generally mild temperatures from Fall through Spring and a warm and humid Summer. There can be occasionally snow flurries in the winter but that is quite unusual....

, and services were discontinued around that time. In 1875, the church was sold to the Methodist

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

s, who use it to the present day.

The church is noted for its transitional architecture bridging the Georgian

Georgian architecture

Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 style of earlier South Carolina Episcopal churches and the rising Greek Revival style

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

. It is one of the oldest churches in the state built for Episcopal worship, and one of the few with intact slave galleries.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.