A Detailed Parish History

This compiled history comes from notes of the Rev'd Geo. W. Dame, the Parish Register of 1857, the Rev'd John R. Lee, Stafford G. Whittle, the Rev'd Frank Stringfellow, and Francis T. West.

Early History, 1767 - 1841

In 1767, Camden Parish and the County of Pittsylvania were formed from Antrim Parish and Halifax County.  Upon entering the ministry, James Stevenson of Williamsburg offered himself as minister for the new parish after being ordained in London. He entered upon his duties as rector in 1769, and the vestry at once ordered four new churches and two chapels to be built, sextons employed, and Prayer Books purchased.  The Rev'd Lewis Guilliam came in 1774 when the vestry purchased 588 acres for 160 pounds sterling from Richard Chamberlain of New Kent County, VA.  With the rector living on the glebe, twelve vestrymen were regularly elected, (one of them the father-in-law of Andrew Jackson).  The glebe was sold in 1779 by order of an act of the Virginia Legislature to Epaphraditus White of Halifax County for 5,150 pounds, who later sold it to Samuel Calland. Long known as the Glebe Farm, the site is marked today by the Calland-Moorman graveyard.  

Henry County was formed in 1777, and the Parish of Patrick carved from Camden in 1778.  In 1784, the Rev'd Guilliam left the area, and no more is known of him.  There were visits of a Parson Jarrett of Dinwiddie, whom the Convention had directed to visit the area.  People were encouraged to hold fast to the church, since, after the Revolution, the Anglican (Episcopal) Church in Virginia greatly declined.  The wooden churches built earlier had fallen into disrepair, and Episcopalians remaining in Henry County worshiped in small groups at private residences.

In August, 1840, Dr. George Washington Dame came to visit his old friend, the Rev'd Mr. Clark at his home in Halifax County.  He came to the area as faculty at the Danville Female Academy and that same year founded Danville's Church of the Epiphany.

Christ Church Founded

In July of 1841, the Rev'd Dr. Dame came to Henry County to visit a former college classmate.  Urged by families who had clung to their Anglican worship since colonial times, he gave up one Sunday per month at Epiphany to minister in Martinsville.  He also held a regular Saturday appointment at an old meeting house called "Liberty" at Leatherwood, the former estate of Patrick Henry just outside of town--then belonging to General John Dillard.  Gen. Dillard was a veteran of the War of 1812 and represented Henry County in Virginia's House of Delegates.

In 1842, the Rev'd Dr. Dame took Dr. Anderson Wade, MD, to the Rt. Rev'd Levi Silliman Ives, the then Bishop of North Carolina, for confirmation at Wesley's Chapel "at Rockingham," NC, making Dr. Wade the first confirmed male member of Christ Church.  In the latter part of 1842, the Rev'd Dame began to hold regular services in Martinsville.  

The second member confirmed was Mrs. William Ballard Preston of Patrick County.  Mr. Preston (of Smithfield Plantation) was a Whig Congressman and became Secretary of the U.S. Navy under Pres. Zachary Taylor.  Another confirmed here was the mother of General J.E.B. Stuart, Elizabeth Letcher Pannill--granddaughter of William Letcher and step-granddaughter of Col. George Hairston, two of Virginia's many Revolutionary War heros.  

In the summer of 1844, Mr. Wellington E. Webb was ordained Deacon, and the parish was transferred to his care; but as he ramained only a year, the church again came under the leadership of the Rev'd Dr. Dame until 1848, when Dr. Anderson Wade became rector.  During his rectorship, the first church edifice was consecrated in 1848/49--sitting three blocks west of the present church on land donated by Marshall Hairston--when the name was officially recorded as Christ Church, (of note, the baptismal font used today is an artifact from this ediface). 

An interesting note, the Rev'd Frank Stringfellow, rector of Christ Church from 1891 to 1894, served as a spy and scout for Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart during the Civil War, and after leaving Christ Church, became the first Chaplain at Woodberry Forest School near Orange, VA--a private boarding school for boys. 

The Ansons and the "New Church"

The Rev'd Alfred Anson was born at Windsor Castle in 1852 into an aristocratic British family.  Anson's grandfather was the Very Rev'd Frederick Anson, Dean of Chester.  Alfred's father, the Hon. Rev'd Frederick Anson, was appointed Canon of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 30 December, 1844, by Queen Victoria--a font of alabaster and white marble memorializing him can still be found in the south aisle of the nave at St. George's.  Also of note, Alfred's uncle George had, among other positions, been Keeper of the Privy Purse to Her Majesty and served as the private secretary to Prince Albert for many years. 

The Rev'd Alfred Anson was also the uncle of William Temple, Archbishop of York and eventually Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-1945).  Alfred came to America at the age of 21 and decided to enter the priesthood in 1890.  He was ordained at St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, VA, and became rector of Christ Church following a series of rectors on 15 January, 1894.  

Four months later, the first brick was laid for a new gothic-revival Church building in the style of an English country church.  Designed by Danville's leading architect-contractors of the late Victorian era, R.B. Graham Bros., Architects and Builders, the new church was built on land donated by Miss Ann Marshall Hairston, daughter of the first donor. By 1896, the congregation was meeting in what is now the Undercroft, and in that same year the first baptisms were held in the new structure.  The congregation (led by the Chairman of the Building Committee, Judge Stafford G. Whittle), consecrated the new Church on 5 May, 1903, with the Rt. Rev'd A.M. Randolph, Bishop of Southern Virginia.  The consecration sermon was delivered by Dr. J.J. Lloyd.  Today's present edifice is the oldest church building still in use in the city.

As a result of illness and age, the Rev'd Anson resigned in 1920 and was followed by the Rev'd Wilfred E. Roach who passed away 23 December, 1925.  The Rev'd Beverly Boyd was rector 1927-1928, and it was during this time that a new pipe organ was installed by the Geo. Kilgen and Son Organ Builders of St. Louis, MO, the same vintage as their organs for St. Patrick's RC Cathedral, New York City.  The pipes were placed in the Vestry Room with a grille opening into the nave, which is now covered by the carved walnut panel behind the baptismal font.  The Rev'd Boyd left Christ Church for the recently constructed St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Winston-Salem, NC, where Gordon Pannill (the brother of William Letcher Pannill of Scuffle Hill), greatly funded the construction; Boyd was succeded by the Rev'd Robert A. Goodwin and, in 1935, Christ Church hosted the then Archbishop of York who was visiting family in town.

The "Fishburne Era"

What became known as the "Fishburne Era" began with the arrival of the Rev'd Dr. Charles C. Fishburne, Jr. in 1935 and lasted twenty-one years.  After World War II, a period of development, stability, and growth thrived as the Rev'd Dr. Fishburne inspired the parish to prosper.  He was responsible for re-organizing parish life, including an annual evangelistic series sponsored by Christ Church's Layman's League, at which world-renowned theologians offered post-war statements of faith.  The events lasted a week and featured such speakers as Dr. C.H. Dodd of Cambridge University; Henry Luce, editor of Life, Time, and Fortune magazines; and Dr. Reinhold Neibuhr of Union Theological Seminary.  Regarding the event, Dr. Neibuhr said, "This is the greatest expression of religion I have ever seen."

The subsequent growth made it apparent that expansion was imperative, and the vestry--headed by Justice Kennon C. Whittle and Senator Thomas Burch--determined to renovate the present Church with needed additions.  Although a new Parish Hall, dedicated in memory of Mary Ruth Redd, had been dedicated in 1937, (today's Choir Room), new vesting rooms and a renovated sacristy were added.  1950 saw the addition of a professional grade kitchen off of the Undercroft. 

Growth of the 1960s

Adjoining property and the former Pannill family mansion (known as Scuffle Hill--today's Parish House) was purchased in 1959 and 1960 while the Rev'd Philip Gresham was rector.  By 1963, under the leadership of the Rev'd Jere E. Bunting, Jr., Clarence P. Kearfott, and Congressman Thomas Burch, the decision was made to extensively renovate and redecorate all of the parish property, rather than raze both historic structures for one large ediface, which had been seriously considered.  The chancel and nave were remodeled, the organ console and Anglican-style facing choir stalls removed to a new rear gallery, and a Narthex was added, giving the church its present configuration. 

The 47th Annual Council of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia was hosted by Christ Church during the "Great Blizzard of '66,"  and in 1968, during the ministry of the Rev'd Paul W. Pritchartt, the original Scuffle Hill Carriage House property was purchased.  Rev. Pritchartt also initiated the Lenten Noonday Services, and by 1969 church membership had grown to over 1,600 members. 

Changes of the 1970s and '80s

In 1972, the Rev'd James M. Coleman, Dr. George L. Wallace (Senior Warden), and T.F. Gilliam (Junior Warden), realized the urgent need for additional improvements to the Parish House and church grounds and extensive work was executed.  The Parish House was renovated, providing much needed meeting, classroom, and office space.  And starting in 1972, several women worked for five years to complete kneeling cushins to encircle the altar rail. 

The '70s also brought much change to Christ Church.  Although 1971 had seen the election of the first female to the vestry (Mrs. Robert L. Wirtz), Mary Beth Holland was the first female acolyte, serving in May of 1975.  In April, 1977, Mrs. Paul B. Toms and Rosemary Atkins Pace performed the first service as women lay readers, and the Rev'd George Packard dealt specifically with the church's transition to the 1979 Prayer Book.

By the early 1980s, it became evident that the church building was in need of repairs and improvements.  "Priorities '83," a capital funds drive, was initiated, and in March of 1983, the bell tower (not having been repaired since 1898), was rebuilt.  The first of three new tower bells cast in the Netherlands were installed to ring an American Peal and, in 1984, a Flemish-style harpsichord built by A.H. Dupree was acquired. The mechanical action Zimmer organ was dedicated in honor of W. Holladay Yeaman for his fifty years of service as Parish Organist.

The "Covert Years"

The changes and controversies of the '60s and '70s had evolved into a calm and constructive period during the '80s and '90s.  The Rev'd Edward M. Covert became rector in 1980 and his leadership resulted in a period of growth and fiscal stability.  The Right Rev'd Heath Light dedicated a courtyard entrance, a remodeled Undercroft and Chapel, and a columbarium--containing 156 niches--in 1986.  Church programs flourished: a Twelfth Night program brought the entire congregation together in a project of music and celebration, and under Organist/Choirmaster Lynn Gardner, the St. Christopher Choir of adults performed such works as Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Purcell's Evening Service, the Vivaldi Gloria, and Bach's St. John Passion. 

As the church has become strong within, greater attention has been given to outreach and community involvement. 

• Parish House History
• Old Photos