The enduring legacy of South Carolina’s oldest tearoom and gift shop
By Joan Perry | Contributing Writer
The story of the beginning of the Tearoom tradition at Saint Andrew’s Parish Church, a.k.a. Old St. Andrew’s, is a charming one.
The simple, elegant white church tucked under the live oaks, surrounded by azaleas on Highway 61, had lain empty for many years after the death of Reverend and horticulturist John Grimké Drayton. The church was one of the few buildings along the Ashley River that Union troops did not burn to the ground at the end of the Civil War. Reverend Drayton died in 1891, and St. Andrew’s lay dormant for the next fifty-seven years.
After reopening in 1948, the ladies of the church had their hands full, and often packed their lunches anticipating a long day cleaning and preparing for services. Their parked cars caught the attention of visitors on their way to visit the plantations and gardens. With no restaurants in the area, the women of the church found themselves sharing their midday meal
The enterprising women began bringing sandwiches, coffee, and desserts and served visitors out of their cars, on picnic tables, then in the parish house once it was built. A Gift Shop offering handmade wares and foods was soon added. The Tea Room and Gift Shop has remained a fixture on the church calendar for seventy years. Their initial act of hospitality evolved into today’s much-anticipated Annual Tea Room and Gift Shop.
Parishioners at Old St. Andrews have been preparing for the spring opening date of March 4th and reservation lines are busy. Lunch is served Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from March 4 – 16th at 2604 Ashley River Road. Reservation may be made for parties of four or more by calling 843-990-6281.
For residents of the Lowcountry, a visit to the Tea Room may feel like old home week. There is a good chance you will recognize a gentleman serving as parking attendant, spot an acquaintance serving your iced tea, and the diners at surrounding tables may look familiar. The Red Hat ladies make a colorful show, the DAR group visits, buses from church groups, Bishop Gadson, Sandpiper and the Franke at Seaside pull up to drop off and pick up.
A young Canadian couple on a spring visit thought they were well familiar with Tea Rooms. They were slightly bewildered to find, instead of hot tea pots, scones and shortbread, the menu included she-crab and okra soup, shrimp paste or chicken salad sandwiches and Arlene Hill’s special Coconut cake or the Huguenot Torte.
When Charleston’s Reverend John Grimké Drayton reopened the parish church eleven years after the Civil War ended, in 1876, worshippers from Charleston, traveled by steamer to Bees Ferry and walked to the church.
Reverend John Grimké Drayton also served St. John in the Wilderness Church in Flat Rock, North Carolina, as rector during the summer, and was buried in the graveyard at St. Johns. Because of the bond created by this close relationship, the congregation in North Carolina is sending a pilgrimage of thirty members to Charleston this spring, planning a highly anticipated Tea Room visit.
Church Tea Rooms in the south are a phenomenon. The entire Parish lends a hand, from the early morning kitchen help simmering chickens to stew for salad, the traditional family recipes contributed, craft donations for the shop, to the massive effort of volunteer help to bus tables and work check-out. An average of thirty five volunteers participate each and every day of the two week event.
Cindi Smith serves as the Tea Room Chairperson and Church Women’s President overseeing everything from managing the calendar, room setup, coordinating DHEC kitchen inspections to volunteer sign up. “The entire Parish participates in Old St. Andrew’s Tea Room success. It does take a village! From cooking, staffing or bringing their family and friends to lunch. Everyone is involved,” said Smith.
Chair for Outreach at Old St. Andrew’s – Dianne Bowler, explains that the project raises approximately $30,000 a year. Proceeds benefit a variety of outreach and parish programs of the church women including the WATCH group – the West Ashley Team Combating Homelessness, the HALOS project supporting children in foster or extended family care, and the International Seafarers Ministry.
The ladies who staff the hostess desk set a gracious tone by wearing period cotumes. Checking-out takes visitors through tempting craft sale items including art, hand crafted items, jams and jelly treats made by parishioners. Charleston may be a modern dining destination but these are purely Tea Room traditional recipes. Although the she-crab soup recipe remains a secret, you can buy a booklet of most of the recipes including the Artichoke Relish, Okra Soup, Magnolia Pie, Tipsy Pudding, Ashley River Mud Cake and yes, even the mandarin orange congealed salad.
Tours of the historic church are offered on Tea Room days. The church dates back to the early colonization of South Carolina and is the oldest surviving structure used for worship south of Virginia. It was one of ten Anglican Churches in South Carolina established by the Church Act of 1706. It is South Carolina’s only remaining colonial cruciform church. Part of the church was constructed from bricks used as ballast on ships arriving in the port, and a number of historic tombs are found in the courtyard.
Built to serve the Anglican planters along the Ashley River, which connected them to the city of Charles Town and to each other, the church served planters and the enslaved during the days of rice and indigo. In later years, the ministry served the enslaved and then freed men and women. The structure survived extensive damage over the years through wars, fires, the earthquake of 1886 and Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Current Rev. Marshall Huey was elected the church’s 19th rector and installed in 2006
A recent book by Paul Porwoll, Against All Odds: History of Saint Andrew’s Parish Church, Charleston, 1706 – 2013, was published in 2014. It tells the story of the oldest surviving church south of Virginia and the only remaining colonial cruciform church in South Carolina is one of wealth and poverty, acclaim and anonymity, slavery and freedom, war and peace, quarrelling and cooperation, failure and achievement. It is the story of a church that has refused to die, against all odds.
Reservations for groups of 4 or more are encouraged and can be made by contacting the reservation line at 843.990.6281 or office@oldstandrews.org. There is good information for volunteer opportunities and church information and history at:
:www.oldstandrews.org/
