Milford chronicle., 1955-06-17

The coming of the Revolution
brought hard times to the church,
for the pastor at that time decided
to remain faithful to the Church of
England, and there were many dis
putes until he finally declared that
he would not preach there again,
and for some period the church re-
manned closed. Later town
church" was built, but ladies of
the congregation kept the Sunday
School intact at old st. Anne's.
Construction of the present
church was begun under the Mis-
sionary Phillip Reading in 1865
and completed about 1771. 1t has
now been completely restored, after
much research both through local
records and those in England. The
restoration, begun in 1852. has been
completed to the last detail. After
many necessary repairs to retard
deterioration to the old building,
the pews, pulpit, slave gallery, Pal
ladian window and altar have been
restored to the position and style
of the original building.
Many authentic 18th century fur
nishings have been presented to
the church along with complete de-
tailed descriptions of the original
furnishings as described in letters
and histories of the Parish Church
at the time it was built. Brass chan
deliers, sconces, altar candlesticks,
Chippendale altar table and chairs,
a baptismal stand with delft bowl,
an aims basin of the Renaissance
period are some of the items given
to the Church.
OF particular note are the altar
hanging and pulpit hangings that
have been made for the restored
Church. The altar hanging is an
extremely faithful reproduction of
the original hanging given by
Queen Anne of England. The hang
ings for the pulpit and reading
desk duplicate those described by
the Rev. Mr.. Reading in a letter to
the Rev. DR.. Daniel Burton, Secre-
tary of the S. P. G. in London.
dated March 27th, 1772.
In addition, needlepoint kneelers
for around the altar rail are being
worked in the 18th century design
and acorns of the famous Old St.
Anne's Oak that has been standing
for over $50 years directly outside
the south door of the church.
The cemetery and grounds have
been groomed for the occasion. In
this ancient cemetery many famous
people of Delaware and Colonial
history are buried Some of the
names of those buried in the yard
are the Rt. Rev. Philip Cook, fourth
Bishop of the Diocese of Delaware,
Mr.. A. Felix DUPONT, founder of St.
Andrews School.
A large limb, blown from st.
Anne's venerable oak tree during
Hurricane Hazel, has been ingeni-
ously put to use by Mr.. Cortland
Schoonover, member of the Par
ish. Mr.. Schoonover has fashioned
crosses of this white oak, suitable
for wall use, providing very attrac-
tive souvenirs of the 250th ami
versary, to be celebrated at the an
cient church on Sunday, June 19.
Authentic 18th Century chande-
liers, sconces, Chippendale altar
chairs and table, altar candlesticks,
Baptismal stand with Delft bowl,
and Renaissance aims basin, C.
1910, are all gifts to the restoration
from Mr.. John Kenneth Dandy, of
Wilmington. Is
The altar cloth, an exact replica
of that woven by Queen Anne of
England, was made by Mrs. ]. Will
liam Beaston, a member Of the Par
ish.
The needlepoint kneelers at the
altar were worked by Mrs. Richard
C. DUPONT from an Oakleaf design
by Rev. Joseph Koci and Mr.. and
Mrs. Harry A. Jeffcott.
During the three-year period of
the restoration, the untiring efforts
of Mr.. Harry Jeffcott and Mr.. Sew
ell Biggs contributed greatly to the
success of the project.