The 40th Orlando Ridout Prize honors the name of the Anne Arundel County native who served as first director of the Maryland Historical Trust and continues to lead in preservation efforts for the architectural heritage of Anne Arundel County.
This year, we present the award to All Hallows Parish Cemeteries. Separated by five miles, All Hallows Brick Church (c. 1730) in Birdsville and All Hallows Chapel in Davidsonville (built as a Chapel-of-ease in 1860) and their cemeteries have been entwined as one parish since the Civil War. All Hallows Parish was one of the original thirty parishes created by law in 1692 when the Anglican Church was established in Maryland. An entry in the parish register recorded the earliest birth in the parish in 1669. An early wooden church was replaced by a brick church which burned around 1727. That church was rebuilt in 1730 and is the Brick Church we see today.Among the cemetery burials can be found William Burgess, Anthony Stewart, and James Dick of Londontown; General Jonathon Sellman, who served with Washington at Valley Forge; and other veterans of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In 2008, All Hallows’ Cemetery Committee (including Jim Lloyd, Bridget Blake, and Joan Placido) turned its attention to the neglected churchyards’ landscapes and the many damaged monuments. Aided by gifted historic stone conservator, Mr. Raymond Canetti and master craftsman, Gus Kiorpes, as well as many others, the Cemetery Committee has restored over 80 monuments. A number of other restorations are currently underway.
All Hallows Chapel and Cemetery
All Hallows Brick Church and Cemetery
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