A historical marker about the St. Andrew's Parish Church, located on Ashley River Road at the entrance to the church reads as follows: "Built in part in 1706, the year the Church of England was established here by law. Enlarged 1723. Burned out and re-built 1764. Scene of early missionary work among the negroes."
From the Old Saint Andrew's Parish Church website:
The grounds and church structure of Old Saint Andrew's Parish Church are a beautiful spiritual and aesthetic setting to get closer to God. Nestled close to the Ashley River and containing ten acres of land, Old Saint Andrew's property is comprised of a cemetery, an education building, and the main church building dating back to 1706, the oldest surviving church in South Carolina.
Saint Andrew's Parish was one of ten parishes created by the Church Act passed by the Colonial Assembly on St. Andrew's Day (November 30th), 1706. Construction of the building began that year, and over the west doors there is a plaque commemorating the date and first wardens. The original portion of the building (now the nave or larger part) measured 40' by 25'. An early rector, the Reverend William Guy, wrote that it was "built of brick, the roof of pine, with five small square windows in it, and not near finished on the inside, with a burying place of seven acres." In 1723, the building was enlarged by the addition of two side transepts and the chancel, thus completing the cruciform or cross-shaped appearance of the floor plan. The brick of the nave is ballast brick, brought over on ships, with that of the addition apparently made on the grounds. The new roof was made of cypress and remains to the present.
The tablets behind the altar, ordered by the Canons of 1604, are called a Reredos, and display the fundamentals of Anglican prayer, law, and belief: the Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, and Apostles' Creed. These are the originals installed about 1723, and are painted on hand-hewn black cypress. Around 1820, they were set in the Honduran mahogany federal capital, and were re-lettered, which accounts for their modern spelling. They were retouched once, in 1855. The railing around the pulpit and the altar is ante-bellum cast iron.
Originally the pews were high backed which cut down on drafts, and for a number of years they were sold as means of raising revenue. Those in the Church now date from the extensive restoration carried out in 1855 by Colonel the Honorable William Izard Bull of Ashley Hall Plantation. The flooring is original-- the small tile pavers probably date from the original 1706 structure, with the larger stone pavers from the enlargement. The baptismal font is original -- its base (of a later period) consists of three pelicans, an ancient Christian symbol of the Atonement and fidelity, and an heraldic device of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which first sent clergy to the parish.
The surrounding area suffered greatly from Indian, Spanish, French, and British wars, as well as number of hurricanes (the most famous being Hugo in 1989). A historic preservation effort to ensure the proper restoration and to guarantee the architectural integrity of the building resulted in a $1.5 million renovation of the church building, completed in time for Easter 2005. The parish raised more than half of the funds from private sources, and borrowed the remaining funds. Several preservation efforts are ongoing in order to retire the debt remaining from the renovation.
Old St. Andrew's celebrated its 300th anniversary with several special events beginning in November, 2005 and continuing through the end of November, 2006. These celebrations culminated with the celebration of the 300th anniversary at special services held November 19, 2006, and with the celebration of St. Andrew's Day on Sunday, December 3, 2006. Photographs of these special events will be posted on the website in the near future.