Old St. David’s is the oldest extant non-Quaker church in Delaware County. Church of England settlers worshipped first in each other’s homes, and then in a log chapel in the corner of Newtown Township bordering Radnor. By 1715, with sufficient parishioners to support a minister and a building, the parishioners made a proposal. The Rev. John Clubb was asked to serve as pastor. In his words, his parishioners “heartily engaged themselves to build a handsome stone church. They subscribed that day to a tolerable sum to carry it on.” The building of the church is described in a wonderful “History of Old St. David’s Church: Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania” by Henry Pleasants on the 200th anniversary in 1915.
The cornerstone was laid on May 9, 1715, and the building was constructed by parishioners in the traditional Welsh country church style – simple rectangular, 1-room buildings. The building has large, beautifully proportioned Queen Anne windows and shutters on the east side with a steeply pitched roof for shedding snow. The interior has been altered with the passage of time but still retains the reverent simplicity of its founders, including 23 wooden pews and benches, installed in 1830.
The American Revolution divided neighbors and churchmen loyal to the mother church in London. Parishioner “Mad” Anthony Wayne chose his side and led the Pennsylvania Line throughout the war. The ministers, who routinely recited prayers for the King and the Royal Family, did so at their peril. It is said that lead from the church windows was removed and melted for bullets. And yet the church survived and prospered.
General Wayne, who died and was buried in far off Erie in 1796, was later disinterred, and his bones made the long journey back home to Old St. David’s in 1809, in the saddlebags brought by his son for that purpose.
In 1857, when it was proposed to tear out the east wall and provide a vestry room, the church was divided again, between those who supported the change, and those who wanted to preserve the church. Mark Brooke, casting the decisive vote for preservation, was challenged on his loyalties, and responded “I am a St. David’s man, not an Episcopalian!”
In March 1880, the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited the church. Struck by the peace and quiet of the setting, he composed a poem about it: “Old St. David’s at Radnor”, which was published later that same year: The opening lines:
“What an image of peace and rest is this little church among its graves …”
The old church building is still in use, welcoming visitors on Sundays as it has for over 300 years.
For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and membership information, please visit our website at: https://nshistory.org/