St. Mary's Church

Photo by Alan L Brown - June 12, 2005

Photo by Alan L Brown - June 12, 2005

Plaque Location

The County of Middlesex
The Township of Adelaide Metcalfe
In front of the church, on the north side of Melwood Drive west of County Road 6 just east of Napier Road

Plaque Text

In 1832 and 1833 a considerable number of retired veterans of the British Army and Navy, some of whom had commuted their pensions for land, settled in this area. Largely members of the Church of England, their spiritual welfare was at first cared for by the rector of Adelaide township, the Reverend Dominick Edward Blake. In 1840 one of these settlers, Lieutenant Charles Preston, donated land for a church and burying ground, and this frame building was constructed about 1843. St. Mary's is the oldest remaining church in Middlesex County. It was consecrated by Bishop Benjamin Cronyn in 1860, and many of the original settlers lie buried in the adjacent churchyard.