Immanuel Church - Castle, Delaware
Posted by: BruceS
N 39° 39.641 W 075° 33.750
18S E 451748 N 4390248
Historic Episcopal church in New Castle, Delaware.
Waymark Code: WMN7Z4
Location: Delaware, United States
Date Posted: 01/15/2015
Views: 1
IMMANUEL CHURCH on the Green at Market AND Harmony Sts., originally designed in the manner of the traditional Anglican Church plan, with chancel at east end, is set without relation to street lines. The building, begun in 1703 and completed about 1710, is of brick , covered with buff stucco, and surr. The shingled tower and spire were added in 1820-22. At the same time the church was lengthened, the altar and chancel moved from the east to the west end, and a four-dialed clock placed in the tower. In 1848, the copper-covered wooden cross was added. Stones laid flat in the brick aisle mark four graves, the earliest inscription being dated February 12, 1717.
Immanuel Parish was organized in 1689, under the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in America. Gifts of a "pulpit, altar cloaths, and a box of glass," now lost, were made by Queen Anne. Church silver, shown on Old New Castle Day, includes a flagon made in New York by Simeon Saumaine, and given to Immanuel by the Governor of Pennsylvania in 1710. - Delaware - A Guide to the First State, New Castle section, 1938, pg. 242
The church appears much as described in the Guide however that is due to restoration. The church caught fire on February 1, 1980 when embers from a nearby marsh fire landed on the roof. The roof, steeple, and interior of the building were completely destroyed, leaving only the exterior walls intact. The church was restored to its 1822 appearance through an outpouring of support from across the state. The restoration was completed at a cost of more than $2 million and the church was rededicated on December 18, 1982