page_title: St. David's Episcopal Church (Radnor, Pennsylvania)
section_title: Suburbanization
hierarchical_section_title: St. David's Episcopal Church (Radnor, Pennsylvania) / History / Suburbanization
caption_attribution_description: English: Exterior photograph of St David's Church circa 1907
context_page_description: St. David's Episcopal Church, often known as St. David's at Radnor or, less often, as Old St. David's, is a parish of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, founded in the early 18th century and named after the Patron Saint of Wales. A Book of Common Prayer, given as a gift to Lydia Leamy in 1854, refers to St. David's as "Radnor Church". It has grown to be the largest congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, with some 950 active families and 3,000 members. The original church building, built in 1715 and the subject of a Longfellow poem, still stands. It is in nearly the same condition as when it was built, several new buildings having been constructed to house the growing congregation. The adjacent graveyard is a part of the historic site. The church property is divided by the borders of three townships, in two counties, often causing confusion as to the church's location. The church office is located at 763 South Valley Forge Road in Wayne, Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
context_section_description: After the construction of the "main line" of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1832, the once-isolated community began to evolve more rapidly, particularly after the railroad built local stations and offered frequent train service in the Philadelphia area.  One of the way stations on the Main Line was named St. Davids for the church (the station is approximately 3 miles/4 km from the church), and a community of the same name grew up around the station.  The community has no post office of its own, and is served by the nearby Wayne post office.  As Philadelphians began to live outside the city in the late 19th century, the church's parishioners became more suburban.
  As the congregation grew, the parish expanded accordingly.  A parish house (office building), with church school facilities, was built in 1924 and enlarged in 1950.  Further growth of the congregation led to heated discussion over whether the parish should accommodate a burgeoning membership or retain its early character; this was resolved by the 1956 construction of a new worship building, several times the size of the original church.  In a nod to history, the original building retained the name "church" (sometimes called the "old church" for clarity), while the new building was named the "chapel".  As a result, the "church" is the small building, while the "chapel" is the larger one, to the unending confusion of visitors.
  A separate building was built for Sunday school classes in 1965, the year the parish celebrated its 250th anniversary at a service attended by the Bishop of St David's in Wales.  The building is named the Knewstub Building for a former rector of the parish.
  Continued growth of the congregation rendered the chapel too small by the time it was 50 years old.  A new, larger chapel, seating 650, was constructed adjacent to the old one in 2006.  A three-manual, 48-stop, mechanical action organ was installed in 2007.  The old chapel, its pews, etc., removed, is now named St. David's Hall, hosting receptions after services and other church-related activities, and serving as a connector between the new chapel and the parish offices.
  The church grounds lie at the intersection of three townships and two counties.  The old church building, along with a small portion of the graveyard, is located in Newtown Township, Delaware County; the chapel and offices   are located in Radnor Township, Delaware County; and most of the graveyard is in Easttown Township, Chester County.
  All three townships were originally part of Chester County until Delaware County was created in 1789.   This situation can cause problems for the editors and users of databases and directories.
caption: Photograph of St. David's Church circa 1907.
exif: {}