John Carter's son Robert, a wealthy vestryman and planter, decided that the parish deserved a more substantial place of worship and, in 1730, funded and supervised the construction of a brick building on the approximate foundations of the old wooden church.

Christ Church was connected to Robert Carter's Corotoman mansion by way of a cedar-lined road, in order to emphasize the importance of the benefactor and his family.

Operating only intermittently in the 19th century, the church fell into disrepair; the Carter family tombs in the yard were subject to weathering and neglect, and vandals stole bricks from the exterior.

The unknown original architect endowed the structure with many of the hallmarks of the Georgian style, including a formal, symmetrical layout, pedimented facades, and classical detail.

Its unique wineglass pulpit is located in the building's center and the three levels of lecterns were intended to show the relative importance of the readings delivered there.