All Hallows Church (South River, Maryland)

All Hallows Church, also known as The Brick Church, is a historic church located at 3604 Solomon's Island Road, in Edgewater, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. Parish records date back to 1682, indicating that it existed prior to the Act of Establishment (1692) passed by the General Assembly of Maryland laying off the Province into 30 Anglican parishes.[2]

This article is about All Hallows Church in Anne Arundel County. For All Hallows Church in Worcester County, Maryland, see All Hallows Episcopal Church.
All Hallows' Church
All Hallows' Church, July 2009
All Hallows Church (South River, Maryland) is located in Maryland
All Hallows Church (South River, Maryland)
All Hallows Church (South River, Maryland) is located in the United States
All Hallows Church (South River, Maryland)
Nearest cityDavidsonville, Maryland
Coordinates38°54′38″N 76°34′52″W
Built1710
NRHP reference No.69000060[1]
Added to NRHPMay 15, 1969

The church building is a low, rectangular Flemish bond brick structure with a hip roof. The building was constructed about 1710 as the parish church of All Hallows' or South River Parish, now called All Hallows Parish, South River. The interior was gutted by fire in 1727. It was modernized in 1825 and again in 1885. After a fire in 1940, reconstruction restored the building to its 1710 appearance.

The ancient cemetery, shaded by a grove of oak trees, surrounds the church. It contains the graves of many local families. One is Provincial Justice, Deputy-Governor and Lord High Sheriff of Anne Arundel Colonel William Burgess (1622–1686), who donated 100 acres of his lands for the establishment of Londontowne.[3] Among the descendants of pioneer planter/politician Colonel Nicholas Gassaway is his son, the Lord High Sheriff Captain Thomas Gassaway (1683–1739), amidst whose plantations the church itself was built.

The bell in the rustic tower bears the date 1727.

All Hallows' Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.[1]

In addition to the Brick Church, the parish maintains a chapel-of-ease at 864 West Central Avenue, in Davidsonville. The Chapel was constructed from 1860 to 1865 because the parish's Brick Church was too far away at 5 miles (8.0 km) distant.[4] The parish's rectory is diagonally across the street from the Chapel.[5]

All Hallows Parish, South River, is still an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. The Rev. Jeffrey C. Hual is the current rector.[6]

  • Bell Tower at All Hallow's Brick Church, Completed in Spring 2006 by C. R. Bennett Construction, September 2009
    Bell Tower at All Hallow's Brick Church, Completed in Spring 2006 by C. R. Bennett Construction, September 2009

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. Mrs. Preston Parish (May 1969). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: All Hallows Church" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  3. Arnett, Earl; Brugger, Robert; Papenfuse, Edward (1976). Maryland: A New Guide to the Old Line State. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 87. ISBN 0801818745.
  4. Enright, Gail. "The History of All Hallows Parish". Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  5. "Map and Directions". All Hallows' Parish website. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  6. All Hallows Parish, South River website

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