St. Matthew's Church (Seat Pleasant, Maryland)

St. Matthew's Church, also known as Addison Chapel, is a historic Episcopal church located at Seat Pleasant, Prince George's County, Maryland.

St. Matthew's Church
St. Matthew's Church, September 2009
LocationAddison Rd. and 62nd Pl., Seat Pleasant, Maryland
Coordinates38°54′6″N 76°54′34″W
Area16 acres (6.5 ha)
Built1809 (1809)
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No.72001481[1]
Added to NRHPApril 10, 1972

Addison Chapel was first established in 1696 as a chapel of ease for St. John's at Broad Creek. The parish it served was one of the thirty original Maryland parishes and was named for Colonel John Addison, of Oxon Hill plantation, a leading proponent of the Anglican Church. His descendant Walter Dulaney Addison, who was for a term Chaplain of the Senate also served as rector here. It is also associated with the Pinkney, Dulany, Lowndes, and Calvert families.

In 1983, the vestry voted to vacate the structure and form Holy Redeemer Episcopal Church in Landover. The chapel was not convenient to where the parishioners lived, and a covenant placed by the Maryland Historical Trust barred the installation of indoor plumbing. The Episcopal Diocese of Washington agreed to continue weekly services for another five years, which ended in 1988. [2]

Architecture

Although the current chapel (the third on this site) was built about 1809, its simple Anglican styling reflects the Colonial-era, Church of England-influenced designs, of which few remain. The church is a small one-story rectangular brick building laid in Flemish bond.

St. Matthew's is situated in a large graveyard containing some early stones, the most notable being that of Benjamin Stoddert, the first Secretary of the Navy.[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Harris, Hank (June 30, 1988), "St. Matthew's Church Faces Turning Point", The Washington Post, retrieved June 3, 2019
  3. Mrs. Preston Parish (March 1971). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Matthew's Church" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
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