St. David's Episcopal Church (Radnor, Pennsylvania) - History - Suburbanization

Suburbanization

After the construction of the "main line" of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1832, the once-isolated community began to evolve more rapidly, particularly after the railroad built local stations and offered frequent train service in the Philadelphia area. One of the way stations on the Main Line was named St. Davids for the church (the station is approximately 3 miles/4 km from the church), and a community of the same name grew up around the station. The community has no post office of its own, and is served by the nearby Wayne post office. As Philadelphians began to live outside the city in the late 19th century, the church’s parishioners became more suburban.

As the congregation grew, the parish expanded accordingly. A parish house (office building), with church school facilities, was built in 1924 and enlarged in 1950. Further growth of the congregation led to heated discussion over whether the parish should accommodate a burgeoning membership or retain its early character; this was resolved by the 1956 construction of a new worship building, several times the size of the original church. In a nod to history, the original building retained the name "church" (sometimes called the "old church" for clarity), while the new building was named the "chapel". As a result, the "church" is the small building, while the "chapel" is the larger one, to the unending confusion of visitors.

A separate building was built for Sunday school classes in 1965, the year the parish celebrated its 250th anniversary at a service attended by the Bishop of St David's in Wales. The building is named the Knewstub Building for a former rector of the parish.

Continued growth of the congregation rendered the chapel too small by the time it was 50 years old. A new, larger chapel, seating 650, was constructed adjacent to the old one in 2006. A three-manual, 48-stop, mechanical action organ was installed in 2007. The old chapel, its pews, etc., removed, is now used as the Fellowship Hall, hosting receptions after services and other church-related activities, and serving as a connector between the new chapel and the parish offices.

The church grounds lie at the intersection of three townships and two counties. The old church building, along with a portion of the graveyard, is located in Newtown Township, Delaware County; the chapel and offices (and thus the mailing address) are located in Radnor Township, Delaware County; and most of the graveyard is in Easttown Township, Chester County. All of these townships were originally in Chester County; when Delaware County was divided out of Chester County in 1789, the dividing line was drawn through the St. David’s grounds. This situation can cause problems for the editors and users of databases and directories.