Hidden History: The Rich History of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Church Hill

Tucked away on Church Lane, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is a hidden gem. The beautiful “church on the hill” (and origin of the town’s name) dates to 1732, making St. Luke’s one of the oldest surviving brick churches in Maryland. In fact, its roots stretch back to a 1728 wooden structure on the same site—before England shipped over bricks. It took skilled tradesmen and unskilled laborers approximately three years to build the new church at a cost of 140,000 pounds of tobacco.

St. Luke’s features a gambrel roof (as seen in Dutch Colonial architecture), a bell tower, a semicircular apse housing the altar, and decorative Flemish bond brickwork, a pattern in which bricks are alternately laid lengthwise, or horizontally, and crosswise, with the shorter ends exposed. A unique barrel ceiling graces the interior of the church, along with the semi-circular chancel (the space around the altar). Wooden tablets on the wall display the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, and the Ten Commandments in gold lettering. Received in 1735, the tablets were gifts from the Queen Anne’s Bounty Fund, created by the queen to supplement the income of Church of England/Anglican clergy.  By that time, the 44 church pews had been sold to 66 members, some of whom “doubled up” to share the annual fee of 524 pounds of tobacco per pew. The gallery above, where enslaved and free black residents worshipped, was completed in 1740.

While St. Luke’s Church initially prospered, it faced troubles in the 1760s and 1770s, including a period of “greedy, drunken, even lecherous” clergymen sent by Lord Baltimore. In addition, by 1774, Methodism was rapidly establishing itself in Maryland, drawing parishioners—and their support—from other churches. Things grew so tense (probably for many reasons) that Methodist preacher Freeborn Garrettson accused St. Luke’s vestryman John Brown of “knocking him unconscious and trying to have him jailed.” Then, in 1776, Maryland’s Constitutional Convention voted to end tax support for the church and its clergy. Marylanders leaning toward religious freedom and the separation of church and state did not want tax dollars directed to churches, particularly the Church of England. Despite these trials, including the fact that America’s War for Independence left parishioners and clergymen divided, St. Luke’s, unlike many other parishes, survived.

Not surprisingly, the church has links to the Revolution. Among the first elected vestry of St. Luke’s Parish in 1728 was Solomon Wright. His son, Judge Solomon Coursey Wright, served as a member of the Maryland Revolutionary Conventions, which voted to declare independence from England, adopted a state constitution, and took on colonial government functions until the ratification of the US Constitution. On July 26, 1775, Judge Wright, along with Matthew Tilghman, Charles Carroll, William Paca, Samuel Chew, and many other well-known patriots, signed the Declaration of the Association of the Freemen of Maryland. The Declaration approved “the opposition by Arms to the British troops” and resolved that the colonies “be immediately put into a state of defence. . . an army to restrain the further violence, and repel the future attacks of a disappointed and exasperated enemy.”  During the war, Judge Wright, headquartered at the Queenstown Colonial Courthouse, tried treason cases. In 1778, he was appointed a judge of Maryland’s first Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court and predecessor of the Supreme Court of Maryland.

Judge Solomon Wright (1717–1792) was a descendant of Colonel Henry DeCoursey of My Lord’s Gift in Queenstown. His son, Robert, served as a captain in Colonel William Richardson’s 5th Maryland Regiment of the Maryland Line, which helped tamp out a Loyalist insurrection in Somerset and Worcester Counties. This regiment also engaged in the Battle of Camden and the Battle of Harlem Heights. Robert Wright was elected Governor of Maryland in 1806, defeating Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and later served in Congress.

The Seney family, St. Luke’s parishioners, also had ties to the Revolution. Joshua Seney, born in 1756, oversaw the family farm “located between Church Hill and Sudlersville” while his father, Lt. Colonel John Seney, reviewed local Continental Army recruits and led the 5th Battalion of Militia. Aware of the threat of the British Naval presence on the Chesapeake Bay, Eastern Shore residents appreciated the importance of militias. While local men serving in 2nd, 5th, and 6th Maryland regiments engaged in battles elsewhere (including the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown), militias acted as home guards to defend against British raids. They also patrolled areas burdened with divided loyalties. Outside of his militia duties, “Old John Seney, Joshua’s father . . . helped hold the Parish together by ordering the congregation to pay up on their subscription pledges.”

In 1779, before the war ended, Joshua Seney was appointed High Sheriff of Queen Anne’s County. Following the war, in 1785, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. The same year, he served as lay reader at St. Luke’s, leading prayers and assisting with other duties. Joining the Continental Congress in 1788, he was re-elected in 1790, resigning two years later to become Chief Justice of Maryland’s third judicial district. He held that office until 1796. Two years later, Joshua Seney again ran successfully for Congress, but he died that year, only three years after his father’s death in 1795.

Joshua was buried in the family cemetery, and in 1951, the Daughters of the American Revolution had his body moved to the St. Luke’s Church cemetery, where markers for both father and son—John and Joshua—honor their services as patriots.

But, of course, the history does not end there. Following the Revolutionary War, St. Luke’s was apparently abandoned for several years. In 1817, a brick schoolhouse (Church Hill Academy) was built on the property—one of the oldest Queen Anne’s County schools, according to the National Park Service. The simple but elegant structure is used today as part of the St. Luke’s Parish House, which is available for group rentals.

During the Civil War, another hardship struck when the Union Cavalry used the church as their quarters for a short period of time, allegedly breaking windows and using pews for firewood. In 1881, the church underwent renovation, and still later, restoration efforts moved forward to recapture the building’s 18th-century appearance.

Since that time, the church on the hill has enjoyed tranquility in its historic setting. Twentieth century rectors included some remarkable and dedicated ministers, including Reverend Sewall S. Hepburn, grandfather of actress Katherine Hepburn. Today, St. Luke’s Parish, which includes St. Andrews’s Chapel in Sudlersville (established in 1730 as a chapel-of-ease, or an accessible place of worship for those living farther from the main parish church) is part of the Diocese of Easton.

The official address of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is 403 Main Street in Church Hill. Services are held the second and fourth Sunday of each month at 10:00 am.  The church welcomes people for tours by appointment: 410-739-7499. To inquire about Parish House rentals, email  [email protected] or call 410-556-6060.

 

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