Sunday, May 12 A footnote has been added to the three-century history of St. Margaret's Church with the removal of its more than 100-year-old steeple.

Under the supervision of builder Richard Roeser, a heavy construction crane lifted off the steeple Friday in two parts -- first the spire topped by a wooden cross and then the middle section called the castle by parishioners because of its shape.

After inspecting it on the ground, Mr. Roeser declared the steeple unrepairable.

"We were hoping to save the top part but the wood was rotted and the boards were splitting," said Folger McKinsey Ridout, senior warden of the Episcopal congregation.

For a short time, parishioners will have to enter the sanctuary under a "big hole," Mr. Rideout said, but soon they will have a new steeple in its place, rebuilt to look exactly like the old one.

The church has budgeted $35,000 for the project. The middle section has already been made and is waiting to be lifted into place.

The present building dates back to 1895. The decision to erect a replica of the original steeple was never an issue.

"Our parishioners love the historical aspects of the church," said Theresa Todd, junior warden in charge of buildings and grounds. "They never want to change its looks."

The steeple's 1,200 pound bronze bell, which beckons worshippers to Sunday services, was removed several weeks ago because of the fear that its weight would pull it down.

The replacement project has become a lesson in history for parishioners.

One interesting discovery was a hand-axed timber that supported the bell and appeared to have been burned. Mr. Ridout thinks it was salvaged and reused from the previous church which burned in 1892.

Church members were also delighted by what they found engraved in the bell.

"When we examined the bell we found it was dated 1908 and was made by the McShane Bell Foundry Co., of Baltimore. The company is now in Glen Burnie," said Mr. Ridout whose family has been connected with the church since the early 1800s.

In addition to the name of the builder, the bell holds an inscription and dedication to a former rector, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Ridout, a great-great-uncle of Mr. Ridout's.

The Rev. Ridout, a doctor before he decided to become a pastor, served as head of the congregation for 40 years, from 1845 to 1861 and again from 1870 to 1885.

"He thought it was more important to minister to the soul than the body," said Mr. Ridout. "But he did take care of church members."

Polishing the 100-year-old bell after its removal revealed the inscription to the Rev. Ridout. It reads: "Though he be dead yet he speaketh," which is interpreted by Mr. Ridout to mean that "every Sunday when the bell rings, he (the Rev. Ridout) calls the faithful to worship."

Since the bell wasn't installed until a decade after the steeple was built, Mr. Ridout surmised it took that long for the Sunday school children to collect coins for its purchase.

His grandmother, Maria Duvall Ridout, was in charge of raising the money.

It's still hand-rung by parishioners who sometimes "scrap over who will ring it," according to Mr. Ridout.

He said that he can clearly hear its melodic ring from his home along Whitehall Creek, two miles from the church.

St. Margaret's Church, also known as Westminster Parish, is one of the 30 Anglican parishes in Maryland established by an act of the state legislature in 1692.

The first church was built along the Magothy River in the area of Cape St. Claire.

Several churches and decades later, the present site at St. Margaret's and Pleasant Plains Roads was donated by John Ridout in 1823.

The author can be reached by email at fjaques@capitalgazette.com

Published 05/12/02, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
© Copyright 2002 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

Don't miss these great "Meet the Locals" profiles:

or our comprehensive history pages: