St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Showell, Maryland) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Martins Church
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St. Martins Episcopal Church in 2018
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 Location in Maryland
Location in the United States
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| Location | Worcester Highway (US 113), Showell, Maryland |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1756 |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000707 |
| Added to NRHP | April 13, 1977 |
St. Martin's Episcopal Church is a very old and special church located in Showell, Maryland, in Worcester County, Maryland. It sits right on Route 113. This church was built a long time ago, starting in 1756 and finishing in 1759. It's made of strong brick, and much of the original brickwork is still there today.
St. Martin's was the first church for a group called Worcester Parish, which started in 1753. For many years, people came here to worship. However, after another church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was built nearby in Berlin, Maryland in 1824, fewer people came to St. Martin's. By the end of the 1800s, the church was only used sometimes.
By the 1970s, the building was in bad shape. But in 1993, a group called the St. Martin's Church Foundation was created. They worked hard to fix up the church and bring it back to life. Now, the building is known as the St. Martin's Episcopal Church Museum. It's a museum that shows exactly what the church looked like inside when it was first built.
Because of its history and special design, St. Martin's Episcopal Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. This means it's recognized as an important historical site.
Church Design and Look
St. Martin's Church has a classic Georgian architecture style. It's shaped like a rectangle and built with bricks laid in a special pattern called Flemish Bond. This pattern often includes bricks with a shiny, glazed finish.
Outside the Church
The main entrance of the church faces south. There's also another entrance on the west side. The communion table, which is a special table used in church services, is at the east end.
The south side of the church has three sections. The middle section has the main doorway with a large window above it. This window is called a transom and reaches as high as the windows next to the door. The east and north sides of the church each have two sections with windows. The west side has a door in the middle with a window right above it that looks into the gallery inside. All the windows and doors, except for the west door and its window, have special arches above them called "jack arches." These arches have a raised "keystone" in the middle, made from carefully smoothed bricks.
Inside the Church
When you go inside, you'll see two long walkways, called aisles, that run from east to west. There's also a gallery, which is like a balcony, at the west end of the church. You can get to this gallery by a staircase in the southwest corner.
In the middle of the north wall, you'll find the pulpit. This is where the preacher would stand to give sermons. Above the pulpit is a simple sounding board, which helped to direct the preacher's voice so everyone could hear. The communion table is on a raised platform in the middle of the east wall. The aisles inside the church are still covered with the original brick pavers, which are like flat bricks used for flooring. The entire main part of the church, called the nave, has a beautiful curved ceiling that looks like a barrel.
See also
- List of post 1692 Anglican parishes in the Province of Maryland
