The Chapel was built between 1885-89, well after Thomas Jefferson’s death as Jefferson intentionally chose not to include a chapel in the design of his university. It is notable that the Chapel’s design contrasts with the secular classicism of the surrounding buildings on the Lawn. Outside adjacent to the steeple which houses the automated Chapel bells sits a plaque remembering Henry martin, who was enslaved and ran the University’s bell every hour on the hour for 50 years.