Old St David's Church and Cemetery

We begin with a brief programming note: I'm back in South Carolina for the time being, so expect to see more posts on the Southeast.

Somebody actually gave me the keys to a historic church.

Said key is kept at the Chamber of Commerce in Cheraw, South Carolina, a few blocks away from Old St David’s Church.  This information was posted online, as were the Chamber’s opening hours; though I arrived pretty much smack dab in the middle of those hours, no one was at the Chamber and the door was locked.  As I’ve had problems with doors in the past, I did put some effort into trying to open it several ways before realizing that it wasn’t just me.  I was about to call the office’s number to see if someone was hiding in the back when a woman appeared from the adjoining insurance office and let me in.  She was able to let me in and told me the staff had a meeting and would probably be back in an hour—this after I’d driven half an hour specifically to visit this church and cemetery.  If the entire staff leaves during your scheduled opening hours, maybe put a sign on the door.

Fortunately, the kind non-Chamber-employee was also able to give me the key.  Now, when I’d read online that you could pick up the key, I expected to have to sign for it, at least, and probably to have to produce my driver’s license and have them make a copy until I brought the key back.  Given those expectations, I was a little surprised to be handed the key, no further questions asked, and told that if no one was in the office when I came to return it that I should just slip it in the mail slot.  Obviously I of all people would never purposefully do anything to damage a place of worship, but they didn’t know that.  Apparently I look trustworthy and benign (though in reality I am more the former than the latter).  Anyway, the greater danger was that I would decide to live there and never return the key.

(Spoiler alert: I did not.  And there wasn’t that much that looked valuable that could be easily stolen, so I suppose that curtailed many concerns.  Still.  One hopes that normal operating procedure entails a bit more circumspection.)

Old St David's predates the Revolution, and was the last Anglican church built in the state while it was still under George III's rule.  As is common with churches of the time, it features box pews.  The interior is whitewashed, with wood accents; there isn't a painting or lick of gold to be seen.  Keyholders enter through the door on the east side.  Once inside, the raised pulpit is directly opposite the door.  The entry at the front of the church is only used when ceremonies take place there, but the stairs to the small balcony are found there.  At the other end of the church, past the altar, is the vestry, with shelves full of hymnals and information on the area during the war.  The interior door in the vestry does not lead to a bathroom; if there is one in the church, it's well hidden.  There is, however, a quality Union Jack near the back door.

Though I'm not much interested in the Civil War, I neither can nor will ignore the fact that it happened.  The monument to Confederate soldiers in Old St David’s is interesting in that it was erected in 1867, quite soon after the war ended, and while the area was still occupied by Union troops.

Despite its long history, the cemetery does not have an overabundance of Revolutionary era graves.  Of those that do exist, the most notable are not of patriots.  In June 1780 the 71^st Highlanders arrived in Cheraw.  Against advice from local Loyalists, they camped near the Pee Dee River, itself not far from the church.  According to the regimental surgeon some two-thirds of the 300 soldiers suffered from fever, and several died, though their names were never recorded, even by their own officers.  In fact, a large plaque in the churchyard says that “The official Muster Rolls for this Regiment are some of the most incomplete of all the Public Records of the British Military in the 18^th Century.”  There are three sites at Old St David’s where Highlanders were buried: one near the entrance, one near the vestry door, and one on the west side of the churchyard.  This last has the biggest marker, and the aforementioned plaque is nearby.  I can't help but feel a little sorry for the soldiers who died so far away from their homes and families, even if those soldiers were enemies.

Other interments of note include that of the first Bishop of Texas (who was born in Society Hill, South Carolina, not far from Cheraw), and one-half of Laurence Lempriere Prince.  Perhaps this is not as unusual a situation as it seems at first glance; one assumes that the halves are in the form of cremains, and families often split up their loved ones.  And there are bits of saints divided up all over Europe, and Shelley's heart is buried in his plot in the English Cemetery in Rome.  Still, this was unexpected, to say the least, and a bit puzzling.  An Internet search revealed no obituary that might help explain Mr. Prince's motivations, but it did return a picture of the other half.  I must say, I was somewhat let down that it was so similar to the one in Cheraw.  I was hoping that it would be different, at least, or that there would be some further scavenger-hunt aspect to it.  Which gives me ideas...